Poll: Who should be the Miami Herald’s High School Athlete of the Week? (April 28)
South Florida’s top athletes were recognized recently in the sports of boys’ basketball, flag football, softball, tennis and track & field.
This week, we continue a feature where we ask you to vote for the best performer of the week from badminton, baseball, boys’ volleyball, softball, and tennis in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Take our poll below to cast your vote. The poll will be open until Thursday, May 1, around 10 p.m. You may vote as often as you like until then.
Here are the candidates:
NOTE: You should see a Miami Herald box underneath this note for you to type Yes and click Submit. That will ignite the actual poll to vote.
▪ John Bishop, Chaminade-Madonna baseball: the senior drove in winning runs, walk-off style, in both extra inning tournament games as the Lions (23-3) won a district title. In the district finals, a 1-0, eight inning win over NSU University School, he went 1-for-2 with 2 walks and the winning RBI single. In the semifinal, a 2-1, 17-inning win over HEA, he was 4- for 8 with a winning RBI double.
▪ Catherine Cardona-Carballosa, Palmetto tennis: the senior won districts at No.1 singles and No.1 doubles to qualify for state, while helping lead the Panthers to the team district title. Then she won her No.1 singles region semifinal match against Miami Coral Gables and No.1 singles region final match against Doral Academy.
▪ Bridget Chalich, Pine Crest tennis: the senior won districts at No.1 singles and No.1 doubles to qualify for state, while helping lead the Panthers to the team district title. She also won her region semifinal No.1 singles match over West Palm Beach Dreyfoos School for the Arts.
▪ William Foss, True North baseball: the junior pitcher led the Titans (17-7) to their first district title in program history. He allowed 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 4 as True North beat Westminster Christian 5-1 in the district finals.
▪ Giannicarlo Guzman, St. Brendan baseball: the sophomore pitcher tossed 3 innings of shutout baseball as the Sabres (15-11) won their first district title in baseball in 10 years with a 6-1 win over Killian. He allowed 0 runs, 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 6. He later hurled 5 innings of 1-hit baseball in St. Brendan’s dramatic come-from-behind 2-1 region quarterfinal win over Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian.
▪ Tina Liu, Plantation American Heritage tennis: the senior led the state-bound Patriots to the region title by beating No.1 singles players from Delray American Heritage and Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest. She also teamed with Angelina Lin to win at No.1 doubles against Pine Crest.
▪ Jadyn Nunez, Doral Academy baseball: the senior pitcher hurled 3 strong innings of relief to earn the save as the Firebirds (21-5-1) edged Southridge 6-5 for the district title. He allowed 1 run on 1 hit and 1 walk, while striking out 7. Then in a region quarterfinal, he batted 3-for-3 with 1 HR and 2 RBI in an 8-4 win over Pembroke Pines Flanagan.
▪ Joshua Peralta, Hialeah Gardens badminton: the junior avenged two losses (last year at GMAC and this year at Youth Fair) to Coral Park’s Leandro Villalobos to win his first GMAC title. After losing the first set (21-18), he came-from-behind to win it all (21-11 and 21-11).
▪ Emely Ramirez, Braddock softball: the junior pitcher recorded the victory and also helped her cause offensively by going 4-for 5 with 5 RBI as the Bulldogs (13-5) defeated Miami Beach 13-5. The next game she whirled a no-hitter against Miami Varela.
▪ Diego Requena, Reagan boys’ volleyball: the junior setter had 18 assists, 4 kills, 3 aces and 7 digs in a 3-set win over Dr. Krop and 23 assists, 7 kills and 10 digs in a 3-set win over Divine Savior as the Bison improved to 19-3.
▪ Heather Robertson, Coral Springs Charter softball: the senior hit four home runs in five at bats and totaled 10 RBI in 3 games to earn MVP honors as the Panthers won their third consecutive (fifth in seven seasons) BCAA Big 8 Tournament. They beat Coral Glades (Robertson 2-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI), St. Thomas Aquinas (Robertson 3-3, 3 home runs, 1 walk, 3 runs, 7 RBI) and Western (Robertson 1-3, 1 home run, 1 walk, 2 runs, 2 RBI).
▪ Katarina Slazas, Palmetto badminton: the senior wrapped up her high school badminton career winning her fourth girls’ singles individual GMAC championship in four years while leading the Panthers to their fourth consecutive team title. None of her opponents in this year’s tournament reached double-digits in points against her.
▪ Rolando Torrellas, Cypress Bay tennis: the senior won districts at No.1 singles and No.1 doubles to qualify for state, while helping lead the Lightning to the team district title. He also won his region semifinal No.1 singles and No.1 doubles matches over Boca Raton Olympic Heights and No.1 singles match in the team’s region final win over Parkland Stoneman Douglas.
▪ Quinley Wylie, Coral Reef softball: the junior pitcher stepped up her game (defensively and offensively) with an injury to its other starting pitcher and led the Barracudas (17-5) to their third consecutive GMAC title. She was 1-for-3 with 1 walk, 2 runs and 1 RBI in a GMAC win over Hialeah; 1-for-1 with 2 walks and 3 runs in a GMAC win over Hialeah-Miami Lakes; and 1-for-2 with 1 walk and 2 runs in a GMAC win over Palmetto.
