American Heritage excels at state golf. Plus hoops, NSU soccer, more state cross-country
American Heritage in Plantation continues its success in golf, ultra successful for many years (since 1985) under the direction of FHSAA Hall of Fame Coach Brandt Moser.
At the 2025 FHSAA Golf State Championships in Howey-In-The-Hills for Class 2A, American Heritage added greatly to its impressive golf resume. The girls’ team won the state championship, while in the boys’ division the Patriots were third. Leading the boys’ team was junior Sohan Patel, who won the individual state title for the second consecutive season.
Of 97 golfers, Patel won state by one stroke, finishing the 2-day competition with an impressive 5-under par 139. That is a state record 10 individual state champions (via six different players) in the last 20 years for Moser at Heritage.
The Patriots also set a state mark in the girls’ division, winning the program’s 12th girls’ team state championship since 2005. They finished 19 strokes ahead of runner-up SLAM Academy.
Sophomore Nicole Wu led Heritage with 147 (73-74), good for eighth overall (first for Broward 2A girls’ golfers at state).
Senior teammate Lilly Riegger was ninth, shooting 149 (77-72), and junior Aryanah Ahmad placed 13th at 150 (75-75). Sophomore Laura Monsalve had 155 (79-76) for 21st, and 8th grader Myla Kumar 176 (86-90).
SLAM received strong efforts from sophomore Marley Pedrique, who was third of 96 golfers at 142 (72-70). She was first of Broward and Miami-Dade 2A girls’ golfers at state. Sophomore teammate Ashley Balcom was 19th overall at 153 (74-79).
Archbishop McCarthy senior Abigail Lee was 17th at 152 (79-73). On the boys’ side, Pompano Beach junior Liam Johnston was 10th at 150 (78-72), and Coral Springs Charter teammates Bento Assis and Hudson Fee tied for 12th at 153.
GIRLS: Team: 1. Champion Plantation American Heritage 601; 2. SLAM 620; 3. Academy of the Holy Names 623; 4. Lakeland McKeel 641; 5. St. Petersburg 658; 6. Barron Collier 672; 7. Archbishop McCarthy 675; 8. Delray Beach American Heritage 703; 9. Lourdes 706; 10. Bishop Moore 715; 11. Jacksonville Santon 731; 12. Santa Rosa Beach South Walton 733; 13. Lemon Bay and Villages 735; 15. Aubrey Rogers 762.
Other top Broward/Miami-Dade scorers: 25. Elisa Hernandez (AM) 158 (77-81) and Brianna Breto (SLAM) 158 (79-79); 31. Cooper Aucoin (North Broward Prep) 163 (81-82); 32. Arya Luthra (Gulliver Prep) 163 (85-78) and Ava Koury (NBP) 163 (88-75). 41. Sophia Coronel (SLAM) 167 (80-87); 43. Tingting Zhuang (NBP) 168 (83-85).
BOYS: Team: 1. Champion Bishop Moore 603; 2. Fleming Island 604; 3. Plantation American Heritage 617; 4. Wesley Chapel 623; 5. Tallahassee Lincoln 627; 6. Coral Springs Charter and West Palm Beach Dr. Joaquin Garcia 628; 8. Wesley Chapel Cypress Creek 633; 9. Stuart South Fork 635; 10. Naples Barron Collier 638; 11. Live Oak Suwannee 640; 12. Estero 642; 13. Tampa Jesuit 644; 14. Villages 647; 15. Fort Myers 675; 16. Lemon Bay 729.
Other top Broward/Miami-Dade scorers: 23. Patrick Pinkney (Archbishop McCarthy) 156 (80-76) and Marco Sanchez (AM) 156 (73-83); 28. Yuanzhou Ye (AH) 157 (81-76); 47. Brookman Tyrer (AH) 161 (85-76) and Kolton Viveros (CSC) 161 (81-80); 50. Easton Viveros (CSC) 162 (79-83); 55. Nate Burkhalter (AH) 163 (79-84).
NOTE: Info on the FHSAA State Golf Championships in Class 1A and Class 2A already ran/posted in prior columns.
State cross-country
At the FHSAA State Cross-Country Championships at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, the Carrollton girls’ cross-country team was fourth in 2A girls. It marked the second consecutive year the Cyclones finished in the top four.
Carrollton was led by junior Daniela Hernandez, who placed fourth of 245 runners in 18 minutes 45.20 seconds. She was the top female finisher from Miami in all classifications.
Junior Gabriella Socarras missed the podium by two spots, finishing 17th in 19:17.30. She was the second-best finisher from Miami.
Other top Carrollton contributors were junior Emma Filippi in 50th (20:10.70), freshman Antonia Beltran in 55th (20:16.70), 8th grader Paola de la Iglesia in 57th (20:21.30), senior Veronica Larrea in 125th (21:54.40) and 8th grader Gabriella Bodoh in 139th (22:12.90).
Full State Cross-Country Story:
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/high-school/article313031708.html
Other notable efforts: 1A Boys: 15. Benjamin Francis (Jr., Highlands Christian) 16:35.90; 17. Lucas Latimore (Jr., Westminster Academy) 16:43.70. Team: Westminster Academy sixth. 1A Girls: 10. Avery Carvell (Fr., Westminster Academy) 19:35.20; 13. Noelle Richardson (Jr., Westminster Academy) 19:41; 14. Sabrina Martinez (Sr., Riviera Prep) 19:41.70; 15. Naomie Debomy (South Florida HEAT) 19:50.60. Team: Westminster Academy fifth. 2A Boys: 21. Emilio Perez-Garcia (Jr., Gulliver Prep) 16:43.50; 23. Ryan Frawley (Sr., Pine Crest) 16:48.80; 29. Tyler Keating (Soph., Gulliver Prep) 16:53.80; 37. Darian Rodriguez (Soph., Keys Gate) 16:56.50. Team: North Broward Prep eighth. 2A Girls: 15. Claire Chanon (Soph., Cardinal Gibbons) 19:29.70; 25. Molly Murphy (Jr., Cardinal Gibbons) 19:33.40; 27. Aleah Sawyer (Jr., Gulliver Prep) 19:35.60; 33. Harper Thomerson (Fr., Calvary Christian) 19:45.30; 35. Allison Albrecht (Jr., Cardinal Gibbons) 19:48.90; 37. Gillian Carvalho (Fr., Ransom Everglades) 19:51.10. Team: Ransom Everglades eighth; Cardinal Gibbons 10th. 3A Boys: 7. Stefan Lungescu (Sr. American Heritage Plantation) 16:01.70; 36. Adam Stewart (Jr., Pembroke Pines Charter) 16:35.30. 3A Girls: 15. Abigail Richards (Sr., Dillard) 19:12; 26. Marisa Mantecon (Fr., Lourdes) 19:33.20; 27. Daniella Fraga (Sr., Lourdes) 19:34.60; 39. Ava Barrera (Soph., Lourdes) 19:51.50. 4A Boys: 15. Diego Eseverri (Sr., Columbus( 16:05.80; 16. David Lazo (Jr., South Plantation) 16:07.10; 19. Martin Fernandez (Jr., Doral Academy) 16:14.70; 27. Malcolm Spence IV (Jr., Flanagan) 16:24.50; 31. Mauricio Escalona (Sr., Braddock) 16:29.40. Team: Columbus ninth. 4A Girls: 37. Nicole Lewis (Soph., Doral Academy) 19:43.60; 44. Kendall Parrott (Fr., St. Thomas Aquinas) 19:54.40. Team: St. Thomas Aquinas sixth.
Soccer
The NSU University School boys’ soccer team won the Palm League Championship with a 3-0 victory over Pine Crest.
Isa Khaderi, Raul Leyva and JJ Martinez each scored, and goalkeeper Will Zalkin recorded his fourth shutout of the season as the Sharks improved to 4-0-1.
NSU University School beat Ransom Everglades and North Broward Prep to reach the finals. Pine Crest defeated Palmer Trinity and Boca Raton St. Andrew’s to advance to the finals.
BOYS: Belen Jesuit 2, SLAM 2: Bel: Carlos Lopez 1 goal; Marcelo Martel 1 goal; Andres Lopez-Gottardi 1 assist; Alejandro Salamanca 1 assist. Bel 4-1-2.
BOYS: Belen Jesuit 2, St Brendan 0: Simon Parra 1 goal; Carlos Lopez 1 goal; Dilan De Leon 1 assist; Andres Lopez-Gottardi 1 assist. Bel 5-1-2.
BOYS: Miami Beach 3, Braddock 0: Thiago Marchisone 1 goal; Andres Grajales 1 goal; Santiago Lemos 1 goal; Valentino Levy 2 assists; Gonzalo Villalba 1 assist; Gkp Kingsley Cospolite 5th shutout. MB 6-0.
BOYS: St. Thomas Aquinas 6, Cardinal Gibbons 1: CG: Vasco Pinza 1 goal; Eugene Gibbons 1 assist. CG 1-3-1..
GIRLS: Palmer Trinity 5, Boca Raton Saint Andrew’s 0: Lila Algarin 2 goals, 2 assists; Scarlett Baur 1 goal, 2 assists; Natalia Davila 1 goal; Carol Egea Guimaraes 1 goal; Brooklyn Schiffrin 1 assist. PT 5-0-1.
GIRLS: Westminster Christian 1, Palmer Trinty 0: WC Julianna Riccio winning goal; PT Gkp Valentina Herrera 9 saves. WC 3-2, PT 5-1-1.
Basketball
Emma Esparza, a junior, led Palmer Trinity over LaSalle 53-37 in girls’ basketball.
GIRLS: North Miami 90, South Plantation 13: Rayna Benoit 28 pts (4-6 3-ptrs), 3 asts, 2 rebs, 6 stls; J’adore Hayes 28 pts, 15 rebs, 4 asts, 6 stls; Naima Garnes 17 pts, 5 asts, 10 stls; Donnesha Morency 3 pts, 6 asts, 4 rebs, 3 blks; Lailah Willis 6 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls; Roseda Desdunes 6 pts, 3 asts, 3 rebs.
GIRLS: North Miami 93, ATM 5: Rayna Benoit 31 pts (2-3 3-ptrs), 3 asts, 3 rebs; Donnesha Morency 17 pts, 10 asts, 11 stls, 2 rebs; Shaneika Maxenat 14 pts, 9 stls, 11 rebs, 2 blks; Naima Garnes 11 pts, 8 asts, 10 stls, 6 rebs; J’adore Hayes 6 pts, 15 rebs; Lailah Willis 6 pts, 4 rebs.
GIRLS: Palmer Trinity 53, LaSalle 37: Esparza 22 pts, Nieves 14, Laria 4, Wright 11, Sullivan 2. 3-ptrs: Esparza 2, Nieves 4, Wright 1. Rebs: Wright 12. Stls: Esparza 7. Asts: Esparza 5. Blks: Sullivan 1.
Submit spots results
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have varsity sports results and top performers (with stats), email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. You will be alerted when it will appear in the newspaper and online.
Also, some will be considered athlete of the week nominations.
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Compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 12:32 AM.
