The students will be recognized at an awards ceremony on Sept. 10. Ten students will receive $2,000 scholarships for best exemplifying PCA’s model of the triple-impact competitor:

• Personal Mastery — Making oneself better
• Leadership — Making one’s teammates better
• Honoring the Game — Making the game better

The finalists include:

Ellen Anderson – Memorial

Patrick Bailey – Episcopal

Douglas Berkman – St. Johns

Brent Diaz – Strake Jesuit

Allyson Duke – Goodrich

Jenna Dunn – Deer Park

Emily Gemp – Kinkaid

Kirsten Gertson – East Bernard

Erin Graham – Pasadena Memorial

Katie Holtman – St. Agnes

Romina Jara – Westchester Academy For International Studies

Lauren Kristine Koster – Alvin

Kenny Lahart – Strake Jesuit

Wyatt Lang – Sam Rayburn

Aaron Lavergne – Booker T Washington

Edward (Ned) Lu – St. Johns

Alyson Ludeke – Pasadena

Kaitlin Noser – BF Terry

Anissa Pena – Westside

Alfredo Ponce – Galena Park

Cali Roper – Willis

Devann Shelby – Yes Prep

Yuridiana Silvestre – Sharpstown

Max Skibber – Episcopal

Brian Skulski – Stratford

Alyssa Sturgis – Stratford

Brooks Taylor – Spring Branch

Riley Warden – Clear Creek

Scholarship donors include Deloitte, Comerica Bank, Friends and Family of Robert Snell and StarTex Power.

Rose Capital will now head to Seguin to compete in the Southwest Region.

West U beat Victoria East on Monday 14-7, which moved them on to the championship finals.

They team beat Amelia West End on Sunday, 6-5, and lost to Rose Capital on Saturday, 5-7.

The Seniors ended their season as District 16 and Section 3 champions.

West U will play Rose Capital twice tonight in Tyler starting at 5 p.m. If the Seniors win both games they will be Texas East state champions.

The West U team beat Amelia West End on Sunday, 6-5.

They lost their first game on Saturday to Rose Capital, 5-7.

The Seniors will play either Tyler Rose Little League or Victoria West tonight at 7 p.m.

The West U team beat Amelia West End on Sunday, 6-5. They lost their first game on Saturday to Rose Capital, 5-7.

To view more photos, visit the InstantNewsWestU Facebook page.

Registration will begin on Aug. 1 and ends Sept. 5.

The Registration fee is $125. Each player will be issued a team T-shirt and baseball cap.

Fall ball has one practice and one game per week on Sundays so players can participate in other sports.

Fall ball will focus on instruction, which allows players to tryout some new positions, transition to new divisions and refine fundamentals.

Players will be assigned to one of the following divisions, based on their age:

-          Juniors: 13 or 14 years old on April 30, 2012

-          Majors: 11 or 12 years old on April 30, 2012

-          Minors AA: 10 years old on April 30, 2012

-          Minors A: 9 years old on April 30, 2012

-          PeeWee 8: 8 years old on April 30, 2012

-          PeeWee 7: 7 years old on April 30, 2012

For more information, visit www.westull.org.

The West U 12 AL team lost to First Colony 17-2.

The West U NL team beat First Colony NL on Wednesday 11-0.

Both West U teams will play against each other tonight at 7 p.m. at Wallin Field.

The winner will face First Colony AL for the District 16 championship on Friday.

The WULL Junior team won their first game against Spring Branch NL and will face Post Oak tonight at 5:30 p.m. at South Campus, 10001 Stella Link Rd.

The 12U NL team will take on First Colony NL tonight at 7:45 p.m. at Wallin Field.

The WULL 12-year-old AL team will play tonight against First Colony AL at 6 p.m. in West U.

The WULL Juniors will start their all-star games tonight by playing Spring Branch AL at 5:30 p.m. at South Campus, 10001 Stella Link Rd.

The game will be held at 6 p.m. at Wallin Field in West U.

The 12U NL team recently beat Post Oak 17-7.

The 12U AL team beat Bellaire on Friday 14-5.

The team will take on First Colony AL in West U on Wednesday.

Pee Wee 7 Avalanche and Pee Wee 8 Osprey competed in the Baseball Olympics on May 22 at Wallin Field.

The event was sponsored by Texas Baseball Academy and Goode Company Restaurants.

Olympic swimming gold medalists Josh Davis and Kathleen Hersey shared their life stories with 61  swimmers, aged seven to 17, and then they spent time in  the pool helping the swimmers with proper stroke technique.

Each child also raced either Davis or Hersey and had their picture taken with the Olympians, who allowed the kids to wear one of their gold medals.

Davis and Hersey also signed posters, swim caps, and T-shirts for each of the kids who participated in the clinic.

The Piranhas first swim meet is Monday, June 6 at 5 p.m. at the West U Recreation Center against Southwest United.

For more information, visit the Piranhas’ website at www.westupiranhas.org.

Green Hat and Challenger Director Michael Miller sang the national anthem and several players were awarded scholarships.

Ryan Farney is the recipient of the Scotty Zornes scholarship. Zornes was a WULL coach who died in a car accident last August. Zornes and Farney both played from Tadpole through Seniors at WULL.

Turner Gauntt is the recipient of the Resnick Scholarship. The scholarship was established in memory of Matthew Dean Resnick, #6, who died following a tragic accident in January 2008. Gauntt was nominated by coaches from the A, AA, AAA, and Major Divisions because he demonstrates the characteristics of leadership, character and passion for the game.

Ross Fava was recognized for his volunteerism with the WULL Volunteer Award. Ross serves as a Green Hat, a manager and the “voice of the Challenger Program.”

Ten Senior players who played WULL from an early age through the Senior Division were presented with wooden bats during the closing ceremonies. Honorees include Derek Brown, Justin Densen, Dusty Dworak, Tyler Gauntt, Mitch Harris, Will Johnston, Ben Lee, Gray McGregor, Kyle Santry and Christian Segner.

The Majors Cardinals won first in the tournament, first place in the National Division and the sportsmanship award. The team is coached by Stuart Folb, Mark Cook, Ted Golbillot and Joe Parks. Team members include  Jackson Cook, Julian Peavy, Joe Gobillot, Sam Folb, Jake Painter, Jacob Nygaard, Jiries Ganim, Thomas Parks, Kyle Fullen and William Gage.

The PeeWee 8 Bulls won first in the PW8 Central Division as well as first in the PW8 Tournament. The Bulls are coached by Jeff Fleming, Cameron McKelvey, Kyle Turlington and Sonny Vu. Team members include Alex Gatto, Nathan Vu, Henry Thweat, Landon McKelvey, Reese Whittington, Joe Thompson, Josh Boihem, Will Turlington, Casey Propst and Joe Bush.

The PeeWee 7 Giants won first in the PW7 tournament and were first in the PW7 South Division. The team was coached by Brad Poteet, Juan Moreno, Frank Monacelli and Nir Grossman. Team members include Dayne Schnitzer, Kale Watts, Alex Flores, Oliver Snell, Nicolas Moreno, Daniel Poteet, Jack Murrell, Foster Hord, Elan Grossman and Diego Monacelli.

To view final tournament results, click here. To view team standings, click here.

West U Little League’s Aeros took first place in the AA Division spring season and also won the division’s post-season tournament.

Team members include (front row kneeling, left to right) Aidan Propst, Troy Hays, Jacob Tulek, Charlie Vaquero, Michael Fordham, Ben Ledig, Manager Scott Fordham, Joseph Wagnon, Mason Holt, Robert Brown, (back row) Coach Toby Holt, Parker Siegel, Tommy Williamson and Coach Peter Ledig.

Pastor Jeff Smith from St. Andrew Presbyterian Church gave the opening prayer and Kristine Mazziotti sang the National Anthem before District 16 Administration Charlie Fox threw the first pitch to Wyatt Hefley.

The games ended in a tie with big hits, some grand slams and lots of fun before everyone headed to the West U Elementary multi-purpose room for a season end party.  A BBQ meal was served, thanks to Randy Bullard and the West U Rotary, Gary Bloom and the West U area Kroger.

Volunteers from local churches and youth groups assisted and each player received a trophy while watching a highlight video of the season.

Next on the Challenger sports schedule is Challenger Football in the fall.

For more information, contact Joni Hruska Fichter at cptemps@aol.com.

Ten $2,000 collegiate scholarships will be awarded to student-athletes who are Triple-Impact Competitors.

Funds for the scholarships are provided by Deloitte, Robert Snell Fund and Comerica Bank.

The deadline is May 31, and students can apply online or print hard copy applications at: www.positivecoach.org/scholarship/application.aspx.

The winners will be announced from amongst 25 finalists at the PCA awards banquet on Sept. 10 at the Riverway Omni.

The PCA Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarship program sponsored by Deloitte honors ethical high school student-athletes who have a positive impact on three levels:

• Personal Mastery: Making oneself better
• Leadership: Making one’s teammates better
• Honoring the Game: Making the game better

The PCA Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarships will be presented from a list of selected finalists at the Sept. 10 banquet so the athletes will have the ability to hone their leadership qualities during their senior year in high school, and have the designation for use on their college applications.

PCA-Houston is part of Positive Coaching Alliance, a non-profit founded within the Stanford University Athletic Department in 1998, with the mission of “transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth.”

Two college scholarships are available for West University Little League players. The recipients will be announced at the Thursday, May 26 WULL Closing Ceremonies.

Every year the West University Little League selects a young man to be to be the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship in honor of the late Paul Wallin.

The candidates must have played in West University Little League for at least one year, be a May/June graduating high school senior and a college-bound freshman.

Candidates must possess the qualities of Desire, Discipline and Dedication.

To apply for this scholarship, visit www.westull.org for a complete list of the scholarship criteria and to download the application.

Applications must be received by Tuesday, May 10.  The recipient will be announced at WULL closing ceremonies on Thursday, May 26.

Another scholarship that is available is the Matthew Resnick scholarship.

The scholarship was established in memory of Matthew Dean Resnick, #6, who passed away following a tragic accident in January 2008.

Resnick truly loved the game of baseball. This joy is carried on by his family – parents Scott and Mary and brother, Mark and shared with the entire West University Little League Family.

Nominated by coaches from the A, AA, AAA and Major Divisions, a player will be selected who represents the three characteristics that made Resnick loved by all. Those characteristics are Leadership, Character and Passion for the Game.

The recipient of the Matthew Resnick scholarship will be awarded $1000 for the player’s college fund.

For those interested in supporting this scholarship fund, visit www.westull.org for information on how to donate.

The winner will be announced at the Thursday, May 26 WULL Closing Ceremonies and will receive $1,000 upon their freshman year in college.

The Challengers played their third game of the season on Sunday, April 10.

The Harbor Lights Choir sang the National Anthem with Challenger Director Michael Miller.

West U Rotarians manned the concessions stand and the traditional snow cones were enjoyed by everyone after the games.

Challenger games will be held on April 17, May 1 and May 15.

The season will conclude with a trophy presentation and BBQ for all the Challenger Division players after the game on May 15.

The game was held on Sunday, April 3.

Pastor Jeff Smith of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church gave the invocation and Dyllan Miller sang a rendition of the National Anthem.

Miller’s dad is one of the Challenger Directors and her sister, Molly, is a player.

Bellaire High School players and St. John School students were on hand to give high fives as their buddies rounded the bases.

The West U Rotarians staffed the concession stands and Green Hats and Auxiliary board members joined in the fun.

Challenger games will be held on April 10, April 17, May 1 and May 15.

The season will conclude with a trophy presentation and BBQ for all the Challenger Division players on May 15.

The game started with an invocation, the national anthem and a ceremonial first pitch.

The Strake Jesuit men’s baseball team volunteered as “buddies” for the game.

The bleachers were crowded with family, friends and fans, who came out to cheer on the players.

After the game, Challenger players had a family dinner at Little Matt’s.

Challenger games will be held on April 3, April 10, April 17, May 1 and May 15.

The season will conclude with a trophy presentation and BBQ for all the Challenger Division players on May 15.

Several Lamar and Bellaire High School athletes are among 110 student athletes today that will sign letters of intent for colleges.

Several Lamar and Bellaire High School athletes are among 110 student athletes today that will sign letters of intent for colleges.

Parents, coaches and the HISD Department of Athletics will join together today at 1 p.m. at Delmar Field House, 2020 Mangum Road to witness 110 student athletes sign letters of intent for colleges throughout Texas and the United States, including an Ivy League school.

National Signing Day is the day when senior high school football players all over the country sign letters of intent with colleges and universities. But at HISD the celebration includes all athletes, male and female, receiving college athletic scholarships in various sports.

Male and female athletes from more than 20 HISD high schools are being offered full athletic scholarships for sports including basketball, football, baseball, softball, soccer and track.

In the past, HISD’s national signing day event was limited to football players, but two years ago it was expanded to include all male and female athletes.

Marmion Dambrino, who was HISD’s Senior Athletic Program Administrator at the time, suggested the historic change. Now, she is the district’s first female Athletic Director and this will be her first Signing Day event in that role.

Among the female athletes signing on Wednesday are volleyball ace Assata Conway of Westside High School, who is expected to sign with Howard University, and three starters from the Bellaire Cardinals softball team: Gabby Smith, who has verbally committed to sign with the Texas Longhorns and her twin teammates Victoria and Michaela Granchelli are -expected  to play for Houston Baptist University.

The Houston ISD high School football players being showcased on National Signing Day include Bram Kohlhausen of Lamar and Darius Jenkins of Milby.

On the baseball diamond representing Lamar High School are Cole Lankford and John Williamson; Daniel Mengden of Westside; Zack Lemond of Waltrip; and Toller Boardman of Bellaire. All of them represented HISD on the 2011 All-Greater Houston Area Preseason High School Team.

In men’s basketball Sheldon McClellan of Bellaire High School is the second-ranked player in Texas according to ESPNU. He is expected to sign with the University of Texas. Other notable HISD gems of the gym include Demarcus Johnson of Jones and Yates teammates Shai Fields, who has verbally committed to Weber State, and Tre Bennett.

Prior to signing day most athletes have already verbally committed to a school but on Wednesday they will sign binding national letters of intent.  Once the letter is signed, athletes must attend the school in order to receive financial aid and NCAA rules forbid coaches from recruiting them further.

Anthony Rendon

Rice University Owls third baseman Anthony Rendon was recently named as the top player in the country by College Baseball Daily.

College Baseball Daily, a blog that has been in creation since 2005, has been counting down the 2010 college baseball season with the Top 100 Players in the county.

Rendon, a Houston native and a Lamar High School graduate, is a junior at Rice.

He recently was named the Houston area Preseason College Player of the Year for the second year in a row.  He first earned the preseason honor in 2010 after a standout collegiate debut where he was named the 2009 National Freshman of the Year.

A year ago Rendon helped lead Rice to the Conference USA regular season championship, a 40-win season and an NCAA Regional bid. His batting average was .394 and ranked among the NCAA leaders in home runs (26), RBI (85) and slugging percentage (.801).

He has received several All-America honors and was selected as the C-USA Player of the Year for a second-consecutive season and was the recipient of the 2010 Howser Trophy as the National Player of the Year.

On July 14, Rendon injured his ankle while playing for the United States National Team on its annual summer tour against South Korea. He underwent successful ankle surgery on July 26 in Houston, but missed the remainder of the Team USA’s 2010 summer season.

Numerous sports outlets have speculated that Rendon will be the number one pick in the 2011 draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the first draft pick, followed by the Seattle Mariners, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals, according to MLB.com.

Rendon is the son of Rene and Bridget Rendon of Houston.