Florida Christian’s Estape and Doral’s Mathurin are Dade Golf Coaches of the Year
Miami Florida Christian’s boys’ golf team lost its top golfer from the previous season and still remained among the state’s top squads.
And the Doral Academy girls’ squad, which has been one of Miami-Dade County’s best in recent years, hit a milestone this season.
In recognition of those achievements, Florida Christian’s Eric Estape and Doral Academy’s Jamal Mathurin are the 2023 Miami Herald’s Golf Coaches of the Year for Dade County.
Estape entered his 12th season coaching Florida Christian looking to fill the void left behind by 2022 Miami Herald Player of the Year Nicholas Prieto, now a freshman at Arizona State University.
But a collective effort led by sophomore Kalani Centeno and junior Mason Keisch led the Patriots to a 9-1-1 dual meet record and a Dade-best fifth-place finish at the state Class 1A meet in November. Both Centeno and Keisch placed in the top 20 individually at state.
Florida Christian’s two-day score of 623 was the lowest at state by any Dade team this season regardless of classification.
The Patriots were consistent throughout the season, tying state powerhouse Miami Columbus for second at the Youth Fair Invitational and posting runner-up finishes at the Westminster Christian Invitational and districts before qualifying to state as a team for the second year in a row.
Mathurin led Doral’s girls to new heights in his first season as the Firebirds’ coach.
Doral posted its first ever state runner-up finish as a team at the Class 3A meet in November. The Firebirds also repeated as district champs and finished second at regionals behind one of the deeper squads in Dade County.
Junior Maria Quintero, who finished a Dade Class 3A-best 26th at state, led Doral. She also posted a district runner-up finish and placed sixth at regionals. Junior Mia Caraballo and sophomore Isabella Russo were also among the Firebirds’ top golfers.
