Aquinas girls are perfect on way to BCAA Cross Country title
No team had achieved what seemed impossible, until Thursday.
Led by senior Valentina House, the St. Thomas Aquinas girls recorded the perfect score of 15 to win the BCAA Cross Country Championship team title at Markham Park.
It was the eighth straight title for the Raiders, who had the previous team record of 16 points set in 2014.
The Cardinal Gibbons girls finished second (67 points), while Coral Springs was third (102 points). St. Thomas won the boys title for the 12th consecutive year with 33 points. Coral Springs was second with 107 points.
House’s winning time of 19:52.92 came on the rain soaked 3.1 mile course. She was followed by teammate Bridget Alex (20:04.41), who was the defending champ from last year.
Aquinas has won the girls individual race seven of the last eight years.
Brandon Flagler of Monarch edged defending champion Nicholas Rischar of St. Thomas Aquinas at the finished line to win the boys race with a time of 16:28.30.
“The humidity and heat made it very exhausting, but I had my teammate Bridget pushed me the whole way,” House said. “Overall it felt pretty long, but I gave it my all.”
“Today was a team effort,” St. Thomas coach Trish Butler said. “We knew going in we were trying to sweep to get that perfect score that had never happened here. Today was a good day.”
Flagler, who became the first Monarch runner to win the event
“It was tough coming from the back of the pack,” Flagler said. “I was able to catch Rischar at the two mile marked despite a semi truck being in the way.
“I didn’t know if I could keep pushing, but I did and it worked.”
Rischar seemed somewhat surprised by Flagler’s effort to catch him.
As both runners gasped with exhaustion, Rischaf reached out to Flagler and said, “What are you guys made of?”
“It’s always insane when it boils down to the last few seconds,” Rischar said. “You work hard through the race and someone’s right behind you working as hard.”
Dave Brousseau
▪ Boys team scores (Top 10)
1. St. Thomas Aquinas 33; 2. Coral Springs 107; 3. Douglas 134; 4. Coral Glades 135; 5. West Broward 139; 6. Cardinal Gibbons 215; 7. Cypress Bay 234; 8. Fort Lauderdale 277; 9. Monarch 283; 10. Coconut Creek 312.
▪ Individual results (Top 15)
1. Flagler (MON) 16:28.30; 2. Rischar (STA) 16:28.40; 3. Breslin (STA) 16:37.90; 4. Louigene (CS) 16:53.70; 5. Ferguson (STA) 16:54.30; 6. Hoilett (CS) 17:15.70; 7. McPhee (Mc) 17:20.70; 8. Favard (W) 17:25.80; 9. Maus (STA) 17:25.80; 10. Nolasco (CB) 17:26.00; 11. Eaton (WB) 17:40.40; 12. Appolon (CRK) 17:46.80; 13. McGhie (WB) 17:52.70; 14. Leach (STA) 17:59.80; 15. Gonzalez (CGIBB) 18:01.30.
▪ Girls team scores (Top 10)
1. St. Thomas Aquinas 15; 2. Cardinal Gibbons 67; 3. Coral Springs 102; 4. Hallandale 102; 5. Douglas 147; 6. Cypress Bay 185; 7. Northeast 211; 8. Western 216; 9. South Plantation 231; 10. Dillard 256.
▪ Individual results (Top 15)
1. House (STA) 19:52.92; 2. Alex (STA) 20:04.41; 3. Torres Santos (STA) 20:55.16; 4. Williams (STA) 21:00.58; 5. Ross (STA) 21:00.63; 6. Gulley (CGIBB) 21:11.27; 7. Aristizabal (W) 21:16.33; 8. Gilman (CGIBB) 21:18.78; 9. Do. Spann (H) 21:29.38; 10. Da. Spann (H) 21:34.29; 11. Steere (CB) 21:43.09; 12. Copello (PPC) 21:44.37; 13. Powell (DILL) 21:50.65; 14. Wooten (H) 21:55.48; 15. Hammad (CS) 21.56784.
Girls’ Volleyball
Carrollton d. iMater Prep (25-8, 25-11, 25-9): Rebecca Fernandez 13 Kills, 5 Aces. Lucia Mantero 15 Aces, 5 Assists, 4 Digs. Lauren Weber 9 Digs, 2 Kills. CAR 6-9.
Florida Christian d. Archimedean (25-22, 25-10, 25-15): Karina Tohme 7 points, 4 aces, 5 kills, 2 digs. Emily Ruiz 8 kills, 7 digs, 6 points, ace. Madison Estape 15 points, 4 aces, 11 assists, 4 digs. FCS 17-6
Lourdes d. Palmetto 25-22, 25-22, 25-19): Paige Erickson 9 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks. Caro Baca 15 kills, 20 digs, 2 aces. Sabrina Garcia 17 assist, 3 kills. LOU 16-6
Boys’ Golf
Gulliver 320, Westminster Christian 350: Alexander Dalmau 72, John Marshall 79, Roman Lopez 83, Jason Klieneman 93, JP Meho 98
Girls’ Golf
Cardinal Gibbons 207, Pompano 242 (Pompano Beach Golf Course Par 36): Taylor Schembri 47, Anne Wilson 53, Jaclyn Schembri 50, Caroline Milroy 57, Kristina Kassis 60, Sophia Chatelaine 60, Anna Saveedra 56, Emily Kurdziel 67, Kaitlyn Bergeron 66, Alyssa Barwinski (CS) 72
This story was originally published October 12, 2017 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Aquinas girls are perfect on way to BCAA Cross Country title."