SPORTS
Next step in Polk County native Kenny Strong's coaching journey is at Southeastern University
Thanks to growing up, working and playing football in Polk County, Kenny Strong knows that the talent base in the county is second to none. Strong, who helped Lakeland win a Class 7A state title in 2018 as an assistant coach, has been at Southeastern University as a running backs coach since 2022. Now he’s doing all he can to recruit Polk County talent to the NAIA school in Lakeland. ...
Sonia Cook has impacted high school girls sports for 40 years — and will continue to do so
Sonia Cook had it all planned out. She was going to retire as a coach last year — there even was a retirement celebration at the softball park where many former players showed up — then just teach this past school year to complete 40 years as a teacher. And when she was gone, there was no doubt she would be missed.
Region baseball: Jenkins' Glover pitches gem, Hatcher powers Lakeland to set up rematch
LAKELAND — If that old cliche is right that pitching wins championships, Xavier Glover has George Jenkins off to the right start. The senior right-hander hurled a four-hitter in George Jenkins’ 7-2 victory over Ocala Forest on Tuesday night in the Class 6A, Region 2 quarterfinals that sets up a rematch with district rival Lakeland. ...
Softball Game Preview: Lakeland Takes on Sandpoint
Lakeland is 10-0 against Sandpoint since May of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Lakeland Hawks will take on the Sandpoint Bulldogs at 3:00 p.m. Lakeland is no doubt hoping to put an end to a six-game streak of away losses. Lakeland is...
Vote now: Gavin Steadman's dominant effort highlights this week's Tremendous 10 poll
Baseball, softball and boys volleyball were deep in district tournaments last week and featured some top performances and upsets. Here are this week's nominees for The Ledger's Tremendous 10 poll. The poll is open until noon on Friday. In last week's poll, Santa Fe's Michael Welling finished with 39.8 percent...
Baseball Recap: Lakeland comes up short despite Tadgh Ellwood's strong performance
It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Lakeland can now relate to. They took an 8-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Sandpoint Bulldogs on Monday. Lakeland just can't catch a break and has now endured three defeats in a row.
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