Posted on Fri, May. 23, 2008

In recent years, St. Thomas Aquinas and American Heritage were honored among the nation's 10 best athletic programs.

On Thursday morning, the accolades continued to accumulate for the two private schools.

During The Miami Herald's annual All-Broward Athletic Awards breakfast presented by BankUnited and also sponsored by the Miami Museum of Science, St. Thomas Aquinas won 17 awards, including the prestigious All-Sports and Boys' and Girls' Major Sports Awards, in front of a crowd of nearly 1,200 at the Signature Grand in Davie.

American Heritage also swept the three titles in the 3A-1A classification as part of its 14 awards.

''It's a great honor for us and for the school,'' said St. Thomas Aquinas football coach and athletic director George Smith, who was named Football Coach of the Year. ``I'm really happy about the athletes and their awards. We can't thank The Herald enough for what [it] does for high school sports, and our kids appreciate that. . . . Our kids like this. They understand the competitiveness of it. The competition is getting better and better, which means we have to step it up, too.''

The Raiders took two of the eight major individual awards when Smith was named The Miami Herald's overall Coach of the Year for Male Sports and Philip Pierre-Louis won the Male Athlete of the Year for Classes 6A-4A.

The two combined to lift the Aquinas football team to the Class 5A state championship after three consecutive seasons as runner-up.

Pierre-Louis, who will attend Auburn next season, also won the Track Athlete of the Year award after helping the Raiders win the Class 3A title. He won the 200 title in the state meet, was second in the 100 and was part of the third-place mile relay squad.

`A GREAT HONOR'

Pierre-Louis led the Raiders in receiving with 30 catches for 586 yards and eight touchdowns and added four more touchdowns on punt returns.

''It's a great honor to be named Athlete of the Year, especially with all the great athletes in Broward County,'' he said.

``It's a great feeling that all the hard work and determination all paid off.''

Cypress Bay's Emilie Amaro won two of the major awards: Female Scholar Athlete and Class 6A-4A Female Athlete of the Year.

South Broward's Alberto Benarroch, a two-time first-team soccer player, won the Male Scholar Athlete award.

Pine Crest swept the Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards for Classes 3A-1A. Basketball and track stand out Jeff Pelage was the male winner. Pelage averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds to help lead Pine Crest to a Class 3A state title, and won gold in the shot put and discus. Female winner Stephanie Eisenring earned three gold medals and a silver in the Class 1A swim meet.

Marty Cooper, who was named the Softball Coach of the Year for Class 3A-1A, also was honored as the overall Coach of the Year for Female Sports.

Cooper led his team to the Class 3A championship with wins in its final 10 games. The team previously had an injury-plagued stretch in which it lost 10 of 15.

Cooper's awards were part of a huge haul by American Heritage. The school swept the baseball awards, with Eric Hosmer named the Player of the Year, Juan Carlos Sulbaran the Pitcher of the Year and Todd Fitz-Gerald as the Coach of the Year.

But the three program awards were most special for Heritage, which was ranked the seventh best athletic program in the nation by Sports Illustrated.

''It's obviously the direction we want to go,'' said Patriots athletic director Byron Walker, who was honored as the football Coach of the Year for Classes 3A-1B.

``We have a well-rounded program at American Heritage. St. Thomas is kind of been an example for all of us in Broward County. In our niche, we want to be the best that we can be in whatever we're trying to do at out school, both academically and athletically.''

TALENT ALL-AROUND

Fitz-Gerald -- whose baseball team won the Class 3A championship earlier this week and will soon be crowned national champions by several publications, including Baseball America -- noted the school's athletic growth over the past decade.

''It's unbelievable,'' Fitz-Gerald said.

``Our athletic program has just come full circle. It's hard work. We've got great coaches in all areas. It's a special honor to be where we are right now.''

Other key moments included: longtime Cardinal Gibbons volleyball coach Louise Crocco was presented with the Lifetime Achievement; the Boyd Anderson boys' cross-country team received the Courage Award following the death of runner Corey McKenzie; Archbishop McCarthy's Colby Borchetta and Pembroke Pines Charter's Audrey Broyles won the Male and Female Senior of the Year Awards; and South Broward's father-son combination of coach Allen Held and wrestler A.J. Held swept the wrestling awards.