Poll: Who do you think was the best winter high school athlete in Miami-Dade? Vote now.
Miami-Dade County teams finished off another impressive winter sports season with eight state championships. The Miami Herald honored several of the players on those squads and others with its winter sports players of the year in the sports of basketball, soccer and wrestling.
As it does annually, the Miami Herald will select its overall Athletes of the Year and reveal those winners in June. But while this will not have a bearing on those results, the Herald is asking who YOU think was the best performer from that winter sports season.
Below is a look at the 10 athletes who were selected as Players of the Year in their respective sports from the winter season in Miami-Dade County.
Take our poll below to cast your vote. The poll will be open until Monday at 10 p.m. You may vote as often as you like until then.
We will publish a similar poll for the spring sports season and already published the results from our fall sports poll this week.
Here are the candidates:
▪ Cameron Boozer, Columbus, 7A-5A boys’ basketball: Boozer led the Explorers to their first-ever state championship and earned freshman All-American honors after averaging 18.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game.
▪ Esteban Lluberes, Riviera Prep, 4A-2A boys’ basketball: Lluberes averaged 18.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game to lead the Bulldogs to a Class 3A state runner-up finish.
▪ Janay Quinn, Miami High, 7A-5A girls’ basketball: Quinn returned from injury and led the Stingarees back to the state finals averaging 11.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 steals per game.
▪ Enjulina Gonzalez, Miami Christian, 4A-2A girls’ basketball: Gonzalez led the Victors to a state championship in Class 2A while averaging 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 5.8 steals per game.
▪ Carlos Zambrano, Doral Academy, 7A-5A boys’ soccer: Zambrano, an attacking midfielder, finished the season with 14 goals and six assists which helped the Firebirds repeat as state champions in Class 6A.
▪ Alex Rodriguez, St. Brendan, 4A-2A boys’ soccer: Rodriguez scored 28 goals, including the lone goal in the Sabres’ state championship victory. It was St. Brendan’s first boys’ state title since 1983.
▪ Katerina Puig, Lourdes, 7A-5A girls’ soccer: Puig scored multiple clutch goals that propelled the Bobcats back to the Class 6A state final.
▪ Catalina Garcia, Gulliver, 4A-2A girls’ soccer: Garcia scored 16 goals and dished out 11 assists -- both team-highs -- and helped power Gulliver to a District 16-4A championship.
▪ Sawyer Bartelt, South Dade, boys’ wrestling: Bartelt won his second straight state title in and has yet to lose a high school match (74-0) after his sophomore season.
▪ Mya Bethel, North Miami, girls’ wrestling: Bethel became Miami-Dade County’s first-ever girls’ state champion after winning the title in the 155-pound weight class.