Belen wins in boys’ volleyball, water polo. St. Thomas Aquinas baseball beats Douglas and more
For the second consecutive year, the Belen Jesuit boys’ volleyball team won the Jungle Queen Tournament at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale.
In the finals, Belen (9-1) defeated Timber Creek-Orlando 25-15, 31-29. Morrison Hadad led the Wolverines with 13 kills, 7 digs, 4 aces and 2 blocks.
Max Klemick (6 kills, 3 blocks) and Federico Marino (6 kills, 4 blocks) had a strong performance in the middle, and Nicholas Hernandez totaled 5 kills and 6 digs.
Belen beat Palmetto in a semifinal match, and Timber Creek beat Miami High in the other semifinal, setting up the showdown. The Wolverines went 5-0 in the two-day event.
Jungle Queen Tournament: Semifinal: Belen Jesuit d. Palmetto 25-20, 25-19: Morrison Hadad 9 kills, 8 digs, 2 aces; Federico Marico 6 kills, .364 hitting percentage, 2 blocks; Max Klemick 5 kills, 3 blocks. Bel 8-1.
Jungle Queen Tournament: Belen Jesuit d. Cardinal Gibbons 25-20, 25-20: Nicholas Hernandez 9 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks; Morrison Hadad 9 kills, 3 blocks, 3 aces; Lorenzo Torres 10 digs, 4 assists. Bel 7-1.
Jungle Queen Tournament: Belen Jesuit d. Jupiter 23-25, 25-17, 15-9: Nicholas Hernandez 8 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks; Federico Marino 7 kills, .600 hitting percentage, 4 blocks; Max Klemick 5 kills, 3 blocks. Bel 6-1.
Jungle Queen Tournament: Belen Jesuit d. Ferguson 25-21, 25-11: Nicholas Hernandez 7 kills, 7 digs; Luke Diaz 24 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks. Bel 5-1.
More boys’ volleyball
Belen Jesuit d. Braddock 25-20, 29-27, 23-25, 25-23: Federico Marino 15 kill, .552 hitting percentage; Nicholas Hernandez 15 kills, 10 digs. Bel 11-1.
Belen Jesuit d. True North 25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 27-25: Lorenzo Torres 28 digs, 5 assists, 2 aces; Morrison Hadad 15 kills, 9 digs, 4 aces; Nicholas Hernandez 13 kills, 16 digs. Bel 10-1.
St. Thomas Aquinas d. Fort Lauderdale 18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 33-31: MaxPreps Player of the Match John Virginio 12 kills in 19 attempts (53-percent hitting percentage), 20 serve receive, 10 digs; Luke Swadener 22 assists, 9 kills, 2 blocks; Joseph Strong 7 kills, 8 serve receive, 2 digs; Sebastian Nicholson 5 kills, 5 blocks; Charles Campbell 5 kills, 2 blocks; Evan Beharry 14 digs, 13 serve receive, 3 aces; Adriano Chiabra 16 assists, 3 digs, 2 aces. STA 4-2.
Water polo
The Belen Jesuit boys’ water polo team won the 5th annual Forza Stefano Memorial Tournament in Pembroke Pines.
The Wolverines defeated Dr. Krop 13-3, Cypress Bay 19-9, Boca High by forfeit and the state’s fourth-ranked team MAST 10-9.
Columbus won the bronze medal, going 3-1 with wins over St. Thomas Aquinas, Nova and Miami Country Day. The Explorers (16-3) are ranked sixth in the state.
More water polo
In the regular season, the Columbus boys’ water polo team beat Mater Lakes Academy, ranked fourth in the state, 16-12. Senior Gavin Gitchev led the Explorers (13-2).
Prior Columbus defeated Cypress Bay 12-2, and for the first time in school history, Columbus beat St. Thomas Aquinas. The Explorers also had a good showing at the Gulliver Prep Invitational.
Gulliver Prep Invitational: Columbus 16, Cutler Bay 4: Fabrizio Ojeda (Jr.) 5 goals.
Gulliver Prep Invitational: Columbus 9, St. Thomas Aquinas 8: Daniel Morgado (Jr.) 4 goals.
Gulliver Prep Invitational: Columbus 13, Mourning 9: Sebastian Hidalgo (Sr.) 5 goals.
Gulliver Prep Invitational: Columbus 17, Cooper City 5: Marcos Perez (Sr.) 5 goals.
All games anchored by senior goalie and team captain Raul Martinez.
Baseball
The St. Thomas Aquinas baseball team defeated Stoneman Douglas 7-3. The Raiders scored three in the bottom of the first and three more in the third to build a 6-1 lead.
Winning pitcher Anthony Ciscar allowed one run on four hits and four walks with six strikeouts in five innings. Zack Malvasio hit a home run, drive in four and scored twice, and Joshua Jennings collected two RBI.
This marked the Eagles’ first loss to a Broward team since a 4-3 defeat against Taravella in the 2022 season opener.
Speaking of Taravella, the Trojans improved to 10-3 with a 5-0 victory over Cypress Bay.
St. Thomas Aquinas 7, Stoneman Douglas 3: STA: WP Anthony Ciscar 5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 4 BB, 6 K; Quinn O’Keefe 2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K, Save; Zack Malvasio 1-2, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R; Joshua Jennings 0-3, HBP, 2 RBI; Cash Clementi 2-2, 2 R, 2 BB; Cole Lasher 0-3, R, BB, HBP, SB; Andrew Alvarez 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB. SD: P Breylynn Courtney 2.1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K; Devin Fitz-Gerald 2-4, 2B, R, SB; Rylan Rujo 2-4, 2 RBI, SB; Alex Rodriguez 0-2, R, 2 BB, 2 SB; Erik Torres 0-2, R, BB. STA 11-3, SD 9-2.
Taravella 5, Cypress Bay 0: T: WP Anthony Tizol 4.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K; P Mikael Ghann 2.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K; Jonathon Lopez 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; EJ Burns 1-3, BB, 2 R; Sebastian Mayfield 1-3, R; Jake Miller 0-3, BB, RBI. CB: P Mason McGeehan 5 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 5 BB, 4 K; P Gabe Gener 2 IP, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K; Mason McGeehan 1-3, 2B. T 10-3, CB 2-8.
More baseball
Monsignor Pace is undefeated at 11-0, after beating iMater Charter. Robert Kramer was 4-5 with two doubles and three RBI.
In a wild battle, Coral Gables scored three times in the top of the seventh to defeat Coral Reef 15-12. Coral Reef led 4-1. The Cavaliers plated six in the top of the third to go ahead 7-4. Trailing 10-5, Coral Reef rallied with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Behind 12-9, the Barracudas evened things with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Miami Christian shut out Calvary Christian 5-0. The Victors improved to 8-2. Calvary is 10-2.
Prior, Calvary scored the game’s lone run in the top of the seventh to edge Chaminade-Madonna 1-0. The Lions are 6-3-1.
Monsignor Pace 11, iMater Charter 3: MP: WP Carmani Boozer 6 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K; P Jeremiah Contreras 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K; Sean Duffin 2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 BB, RBI, 3 R, 2 SB; Yuniel Parades 2-4, RBI; Dyson Joseph 0-3, 3 RBI, 2 R; Nicolas Bermudez 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Robert Kramer 4-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Rodolfo Marichal 2-3, 2B, BB, R. iMC: Rogert Jimenez 2-4, 2B, 3B, R; Bryant Hernandez 1-2, RBI. MP 11-0, iMC 4-6.
Coral Gables 15, Coral Reef 12: CG: Brian Santana 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R; Dylan Rodriguez 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, 4 RBI, R; Michael Alvarez 2-2, 2 BB, HBP, 2 RBI; Manny Rodriguez 0-1, 2 RBI; Felipe Valdes 0-1, 2 BB, HBP, 2 R; Alexander Batista 2-4, BB, R. CR: Adrian Romero 2-2, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R; Daniel Martinez 2-4, 2 2B, 3 R; Marcus Garcia 2-4, 4 RBI, R; Oscar Sanchez 3-3, 2 RBI, R; Jake Yngber 2-4, R. CG 4-5, CR 3-8-2.
Calvary Christian 1, Chaminade-Madonna 0: Calv: WP Kaden Foran 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K; P Carlos Lugo 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K, Save; Johnathan Gomez 0-3, BB, RBI; Jacob Basabe 0-0, R; Cole Cleveland 2-4. CM: P Michael Gine 5.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 K; P Gage Agate 0.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K; Miguel Roa 2-3; Joseph Billisi 1-2, HBP; Adriano Diaz 1-2, BB. Calv 10-1. CM 6-3-1.
Softball
Led by Julie Gatto and Jaqui Perez-Abreu, Lourdes softball won two more games to improve to 6-2.
Braddock 22, South Dade 12 (5 inn.): WP Veronica De La Torre; Belinda Magena 3-5, 2 R; Joy Vidal 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R; Veronica De La Torre 2-3. Brd 4-3-1.
Lourdes 23, Southridge 8: WP Sr. Isa Astudillo 4 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 K; Jr. Julie Gatto 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Jr. Sophia Pierro 3-4, HR, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI; Soph. Eva Pozo HR, 3 RBI; Soph. Jaqui Perez-Abreu 2B, 3 RBI. Lour 6-2.
Lourdes 16, Mater Academy Charter 1: WP Jr. Julie Gatto 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 6 K; Soph. Cristina Alfonso 3-4, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI; Soph. Jaqui Perez-Abreu 2-3, 2B, RBI. Lour 5-2.
Palmer Trinity 17, Ransom Everglades 2: WP Hailey Rodriguez; Kinsey Cerda 1-2, 3 RBI; Gina Pineda 2-3, 2 RBI; Hailey Rodriguez 3-3, 3 R. PT 5-3.
Palmer Trinity 5, Carrollton 1: WP Emmy Cerda 13 K; Mela Fajardo 1-4, 3-Run HR; Kinsey Cerda 2-4, 2 R; Emmy Cerda 2-3, RBI. PT 4-3.
Basketball all-star game
Continuing a two decade-long tradition of hoops excellence, Tournament of Champions, INC, presented by Wesley Frater, announced a new site for the 2024 Florida All-Star Basketball Classic.
For 28 years, the Games continue to be the premier showcase for South Florida’s best high school hoopers, where they can show off their skills on a statewide stage and in front of college recruiters.
In 2024, this class is set to make its mark at one of Florida basketball’s oldest and most historic event as they hit the hardwood in Miramar.
Forty-eight competitively ranked high school seniors -- 24 girls and 24 boys -- have been selected from more than 1,000 seniors, who were nominated by a committee of basketball experts, prep scouts, media, coaches, Source Magazine and confirmed by RMF Magazine.
“The tradition and prestige of the Florida All-Star Basketball Classic are unrivaled. It’s truly in a league of its own atop high school athletic events that, for almost three decades, has recognized and created an opportunity for some of Florida’s best high school athletes,” Frater said. “As this year’s Games celebrate 29 years, it is truly a magical moment to welcome our title sponsor Warren Henry Automotive Group, Publix Supermarket, Kings Intelligence and presenting sponsor Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.”
March 24: Miramar Vernon E. Hargray Enrichment Center, 7000 Miramar Parkway.
Girls: 1 p.m.: North vs South.
North Coach Richard Walker (South Broward); South Coach Adam Hopkins (Monsignor Pace).
Boys: 3 p.m.: North vs South.
North Coach Derek Felder (South Plantation); South Coach Jean Dubuisson (Monsignor Pace).
Submit sports info
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have varsity results and top performers (with stats), email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. Send after the game, the next day or weekly. You will be alerted when it will appear in the newspaper and online.
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Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
