The Miami Lakes Optimist 8U Bandits won the 2023 8U Weston Eagles Invitational. The team competed in six games and on April 2, defeated Team Sosa Elite 8U by a score of 9 – 6 in the championship game, Coach Jeffrey Rodriguez said. Shown in the photo are, front row from left: Jason Lloredo; Caleb Martinez; Matthew Torres; Lucas Sanchez; Brayden Pinto; Chris Jeong; Alec Rodriguez and Michael Simon. In the middle row are Fabian...

Camp Wannado  June 12 - Aug. 11  For kids in Voluntary Pre-K - 7th grade. Sports; weekly field trips; arts and crafts, video games and more.  Session 1: June 12 - June 30; Session 2: July 3 - July 21;  Session 3: July 24 - Aug. 11. Weekdays, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.  Pack lunch Monday - Thursday; a pizza lunch is provided on Friday. Camp is $45 to register, $135 per week. Camp Wannado at Miami Lakes...

    Juan Campiz protects first base on a softball field at Miami Lakes Optimist Park. He leans toward the batter, ready to field whatever may come from home plate.     His spot on the diamond is one he has held since he was a boy.      That child’s love for the game has continued to present day, when he is a youthful 96.      “I started playing baseball when I was 10...

   Led by state champion Mason O’Dell and state finalists Kalias Nazario and Damian Soto, the Mater Lakes wrestling program sent 16 athletes (12 boys, 4 girls) to the FHSAA state championships this year. The boys placed fourth in the state Class 1A tournament, and the girls placed eighth in the state.       Mason O’Dell, an eighth-grader, won his title at 106 pounds to finish with a 48-3 record....

     Dr. Yvonne Johnson-Phillips, vice president and chief medical officer at Baptist Health’s South Miami Hospital, was installed as the Orange Bowl Committee’s 85th president and chair as of Jan. 31.      Johnson has been a member of the committee since 2010. She succeeds President and Chair Frank Gonzalez, and is the first African-American woman to become president of the sports and charitable...