True North’s Lopez and Westminster’s Matias are the Dade 4A-2A Athletes of the Year
Jasen “J-Roc” Lopez and Zoey Matias’ talents in their respective sports was pretty evident from a young age.
Since the eighth grade, Lopez became a standout on both the football and basketball squads at True North Classical Academy.
Meanwhile at Westminster Christian, Matias was showing off her prowess at volleyball since middle school as well while keeping the Warriors in contention for state titles.
This past season was no different as each excelled to first team All-Dade honors in multiple sports.
As such, Lopez and Matias are the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Overall Athletes of the Year for Classes 4A-2A.
Lopez, a sophomore, is one of the top wide receiver prospects in the state for the Class of 2026 and showed why last fall when he helped the Titans advance to the Region 4-2A final for the second consecutive season.
Lopez caught 73 passes for 1,222 yards and 16 touchdowns in True North’s prolific offense.
Lopez then continued to dominate on the basketball court where he averaged 21.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.0 steals per game while leading the Titans to the Region 4-2A semifinals.
Lopez, who recently transferred to football powerhouse Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, already has over 10 FBS offers in football and is the first Athlete of the Year winner to earn the accolade while competing for True North.
Matias is continuing a family tradition of earning Athlete of the Year accolades.
She keeps the award in the family following in the footsteps of her older sister, Emily, who won it last year and does so after leading Westminster back to the Class 3A state finals during the fall indoor volleyball season.
Matias, a junior, took on even more of a leadership and versatile role on the court for Westminster, totaling 267 kills, 54 aces, 407 digs and 64 assists.
An accomplished player on the hardwood as well as on the sand, Matias dominated there as well as she teamed with Gigi Artilles in beach volleyball to go 11-3 as a team. Their efforts helped the Warriors advance to the state quarterfinals.
OTHER BOYS’ FINALISTS
▪ David Serra, Ransom Everglades (cross-country, track and field): Serra, a senior and Wake Forest signee, wrapped up a stellar career with state titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. He also won a state individual cross-country championship.
▪ Jacob Lombard, Gulliver (baseball, soccer): A sophomore, Lombard is continuing his family’s tradition of athletic excellence after keying the Raiders’ state championship run in soccer with his defense. He is also a top prospect for the Class of 2026 in baseball.
▪ Cosme Salas, Gulliver (football, soccer): A first team All-Dade selection in both sports, Salas is headed to Duke after leading the Raiders to their second consecutive state championship in soccer. As the place kicker for Gulliver, Salas nailed 8 of 10 field goals and averaged 42.4 yards per punt with a long of 63 and nine he landed inside the 20-yard line.
▪ Daniel Vanososte, Divine Savior (soccer, golf): A senior and first team All-Dade standout in both his sports, Vanososte won the Youth Fair golf Invitational and placed in the top 10 at regionals. And as a midfielder, he had nine goals and four assists for the Sharks soccer squad.
OTHER GIRLS’ FINALISTS
▪ Jackie Taylor, Gulliver (volleyball, cross-country, track and field): Taylor, the Herald’s 4A-2A Volleyball Player of the Year, is headed to the University of North Carolina after leading the Raiders to their first ever state championship.
▪ Reese Rosenthal, Gulliver (swimming, water polo): A first team All-Dade selection in both of her sports, Rosenthal won a state championship in the 100 breaststroke last fall. Rosenthal, a junior, led the Raiders’ swimming and water polo squads to state runner-up finishes.
▪ Aliyana Henry, True North (soccer, flag football): Henry, a senior, finished with 20 assists to lead the Titans’ soccer team back to the state final four. She then followed that up with a standout season in flag football to lead True North to the regional playoffs.
▪ Sofia Rua, Ransom Everglades (soccer, cross country, track and field): Rua excelled in cross-country and track, but made her biggest mark in soccer where she scored 12 goals and had eight assists to lead the Raiders to the Class 3A regional semifinals. She has signed with Division-III Bowdoin College.
