Poll: Which high school athlete should be the Miami Herald’s Player of the Week?
With five Miami-Dade and Broward county teams vying for boys’ basketball state championships this coming week, we’re continuing a weekly feature where we ask you to vote for the best performer of the week in South Florida high school sports.
Below is a look at the five candidates from last week’s action. Take our poll below to cast your vote. The poll will be open until Thursday, March 3, around 10 p.m. You may vote as often as you like until then.
Here are the candidates from last week’s events:
▪ Ta’Niya Latson, Plantation American Heritage, girls’ basketball: Latson, a McDonald’s All-American and FSU signee, had 24 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and three steals to lead the Patriots to a 69-31 win over Orlando Bishop Moore and their fifth consecutive state championship. This after she had 31 points on 12 for 17 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals in a state semifinal win over Pensacola Pine Forest.
▪ Cayden Boozer, Miami Columbus, boys’ basketball: Boozer had 15 points in Columbus’ regional semifinal win against Miami High, and followed that up with a 17-point, six-assist, five-rebound performance in the regional final win against Cypress Bay to send the Explorers to state for the first time since 2011.
▪ Gabriel Tellez, Miami Southwest, wrestling: Tellez followed up his victory in the District 15-3A championships last week by winning the Region 4-3A title at 106 pounds. Tellez, who is 42-2, scored one of the key victories by pinfall over Doral Academy’s Christian Vasquez to help the Eagles clinch a share of the regional team championship with Homestead South Dade.
▪ Mateo Hincapie, Doral Academy, boys’ soccer: Hincapie scored the game-winning goal with 26 minutes left in the second half to break a 2-2 tie and send the Firebirds to their second consecutive state championship.
▪ Michael Mocco, Coral Springs Charter, wrestling: Mocco avenged his District 15-1A final loss (9-7) at 182 pounds to state-ranked senior Joseph Nicolosi of American Heritage-Delray by beating him 6-5 for the Region 4-1A title at Jensen Beach High. Mocco was also the BCAA Champ and one of the BCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestlers in his weight class and is 42-2 this season.
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
