Aquinas’ Varhalmi and Andres are the Broward Water Polo Players of the Year
During his high school career at St. Thomas Aquinas, Marcell Varhalmi became an expert at stopping goals.
And Riley Andres became one when it came to scoring them.
They each were invaluable to their respective water polo teams this season as Varhalmi was one of the best goalies in the state, and Andres led the nation in scoring.
Varhalmi and Andres are the Miami Herald’s Broward County Water Polo Players of the Year.
Whether on the ground or in the water, Varhalmi showed talent as a goalie since he was in the eighth grade.
It was then that Varhalmi found a path on the Raiders’ boys’ water polo team.
“When my goalie coach overheard that I played the position in soccer too, he said, ‘You’re mine,’” Varhalmi said.
Varhalmi spent the next four seasons developing into one of the top goalies in the state. He wins Boys’ Player of the Year honors after recording 272 saves and averaging nearly 13 per game while leading Aquinas to a state championship.
It was the Raiders’ second state title since 2023 and third overall.
Andres’ swimming background helped as she became one of the state’s top scorers in recent years. But this season, she took things to an even higher level by scoring a staggering 282 goals.
She also assisted on 68 more goals and provided valuable defense to Aquinas with 118 steals.
Her efforts led the Raiders to the state semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Seminole.
Andres is headed to St. Mary’s College in California this fall.
“Having a strong swimming background and going into something I had a strong foundation for, made it an easier transition to water polo,” Andres said. “Playing a competitive sport gave me a sense of fulfillment.”
