Archbishop McCarthy, Columbus excel in region golf. Plus Belen, Dillard, Lourdes cross-country
The Columbus boys’ golf team saved its best round of the season for regionals, firing a 1-over par 289, good for runner-up honors behind Jupiter at the Region 4-3A Championship.
The Explorers entered the tournament ranked fourth and needed to finish in the top two to automatically advance to state.
Columbus coach Michael Marinelli said: “We knew we needed a good number to not have to rely on an at-large bid later in the week.”
The windy conditions did not stop the Explorers from that good number, qualifying at Plantation Preserve for state.
Hubert Ramirez fired a 2-under (70), tying for third overall. Hector Perez Sainz and Victor Herrera tied for fifth at 1-under (71), and Nico Sanchez added a 5-over (77) to complete the outstanding team score.
Marinelli noted: “After losing all five seniors last year, this was quite an accomplishment by a very young Explorers team. I could not be any happier with the way these boys played.”
The FHSAA Class 3A State Tournament is later this week at Mission Inn Resort & Golf Club at Howey-in-the-Hills.
BOYS: Region 4-3A at Plantation Preserve: Team: Region Champ Jupiter 285; 2. Columbus 289; 3. Palm Beach Gardens 297; 4. Somerset Academy-Pembroke Pines 300; 5. St. Thomas Aquinas 305; 6. Boca Raton 307; 7. Stoneman Douglas and Wellington 316; 9. Coral Glades 317; 10. Miami Palmetto 331; 11. Cypress Bay 335; 12. Doral Academy 384.
Individuals (par 72): Region Champs Talan Wilkes (Jup) and Tristan Wieland (Jup) 69; 3. Hubert Ramirez (Col) and Elijah Zamarron (Som) 70; 5. JJ Hyun Her (Flanagan), Patrick Pinkney (STA), Hector Perez Sainz (Col) and Victor Herrera (Col) 71. Also: 11. Trevor Tingle (Plm) 73; 15. Gabriel Holtz (Som), Jayden Thuraisingham (SD), Sergio Gonzalez (CB), Thomas Korona (STA) 74; 23. Ryan Shimony (SD) 75; 25. Brayden Peeler (CGl) and Lorenzo Cantarel (Coral Gables) 76; 30. Geoffrey Laklak (Plm), John Battaglino (Som), Josh Lieberman (SD) and Nicholas Sanchez (Col) 77.
More region golf
The Archbishop McCarthy boys’ golf team shattered the school record of 281 by shooting an outstanding 14-under par 274 to win the Region 4-2A Championship at the National Golf Club at Ave Maria.
The Mavericks’ Brett Moore finished first to capture the individual regional championship with a 65. Teammates Ryan Lopez and Gavin Duffy each shot 68 to tie for third, and Jack Haeflinger scored 73 to round out the record-setting team total.
Archbishop McCarthy will compete in the state tournament this week.
District cross-country
The Belen Jesuit boys’ cross-country team scored a perfect 15 points to win the FHSAA District 8-3A Championship at Larry and Penny Thompson Memorial Park in Miami.
This was the second time this season the Wolverines scored 15 points.
The 5K course was covered by Belen’s top three runners -- freshman Marcelo Mantecon and seniors Joshua Ruiz and Joseph Ruiz -- who finished first through third overall, respectively, in 15:56. Rounding out the perfect scoring top five were juniors Diego Magarino (fourth in 15:58) and Justin Ruiz (fifth of 145 runners in 16:01).
Belen actually took the top eight spots, but scoring is just a team’s top five. Senior Christopher Adams of St. Thomas Aquinas was ninth in 16:28.62.
This marked Belen’s 20th consecutive district championship and 42nd in program history. The Wolverines qualified for the region meet, which is Saturday in Stuart.
On the girls’ side, senior Ashley Fitzgerald of American Heritage-Plantation won the district title in 18:39.29. Senior Christiana Coleman of team champion Dillard was runner-up in 18:52.37.
The winning Panthers scored an impressive 29 points, thanks to Coleman, senior Raquel Edwards, seventh grader Miley Gill, freshman Peyton Williams and sophomore Abigail Richards, who all finished in the Top 10. Lourdes, led by freshman Alessandra Perez (fourth) and junior Olivia Rodriguez (eighth of 109 runners), was runner-up.
Next is regionals on the road to state.
BOYS: District 8-3A: Team: District Champ Belen Jesuit 15; 2. St. Thomas Aquinas 93; 3. Pembroke Pines Charter 136; 4. American Heritage-Plantation 146; 5. Dillard 156; 6. Boyd Anderson 178; 7. Felix Varela 205; 8. Mater Academy Charter 213; 9. McArthur 246; 10. Northeast 258; 11. TERRA 279; 12. ATM 295; 13. Archbishop McCarthy 313; 14. Stranahan 335; 15. Ronald Reagan 483; 16. American 484; 17. Coconut Creek 500; 18. Blanche Ely 511; 19. Everglades 552.
Individuals: District Champ Marcelo Mantecon (Bel) 15:56.36; 2. Joshua Ruiz (Bel) 15:56.55; 3. Joseph Ruiz (Bel) 15:56.70; 4. Diego Magarino (Bel) 15:58.77; 5. Justin Ruiz (Bel) 16:01.96; 6. Evan Torres (Bel) 16:11.84; 7. Joseph Socarras (Bel) 16:13.25; 8. Marco Prieguez (Bel) 16:13.40; 9. Christopher Adams (STA) 16:28.62; 10. Majet Bethely (BA) 16:30.74; 11. Alejandro De Bastos (PPC) 16:34.40; 12. Dashon Gill (Dil) 16:38.63; 13. Charles Carreno (Bel) 16:49.90; 14. Armando Cruz (Bel) 16:50.05; 15. Joushua Gammage (Dil) 16:50.90; 16. Axel Fink (ATM) 16:58.15; 17. Dudley Moise (McA) 17:00.76; 18. Gustavo Perez (STA) 17:31.66; 19. Marco Ristaino (STA) 17:31.90; 20. Stefan Lungescu (AHP) 17:44.90; 21. Mackenley Bonamy (BA) 17:48.68; 22. Deangelo Griffith (FV) 17:52.24; 23. Prince Valbrun (NE) 17:55.60; 24. Daniel Lopez (FV) 17:55.92.
GIRLS: District 8-3A: Team: District Champ Dillard 29; 2. Lourdes 49; 3. St. Thomas Aquinas 79; 4. American Heritage-Plantation 95; 5. Archbishop McCarthy 176; 6. TERRA 185; 7. Mater Academy Charter 186; 8. Pembroke Pines Charter 242; 9. Homestead 295; 10. Boyd Anderson 296; 11. Felix Varela 309; 12. Plantation 329; 13. ATM 337; 14. Everglades 347.
Individuals: District Champ Ashley Fitzgerald (AHP) 18:39.29; 2. Christiana Coleman (Dil) 18:52.37; 3. Grace Finneran (STA) 19:02.88; 4. Alessandra Perez (Lour) 19:20.79; 5. Raquel Edwards (Dil) 19:36.48; 6. Miley Gill (Dil) 19:39.48; 7. Peyton Williams (Dil) 19:42.13; 8. Olivia Rodriguez (Lour) 19:42.68; 9. Abigail Richards (Dil) 19:53.61; 10. Ella Collins (STA) 19:57.26; 11. Caro Timiraos (Lour) 20:16.70; 12. Daniella Fraga (Lour) 20:18.43; 13. Lorena Enamorado (MAC) 20:23.05; 14. Cristina Sanchez (Lour) 20:32.42; 15. Helen Ribas (AM) 20:35.72; 16. Abagail Laine (T) 20:46.17; 17. Sienna Alvarez-Coia (AHP) 20:53.84; 18. Alexandra Palekar (AHP) 20:57.25; 19. Zoe Giacobbe (STA) 20:57.48; 20. Hayley Arroyave (Lour) 20:59.28.
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Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
