St. Thomas Aquinas boys adjust, top Ransom for third state water polo title

Three times during the season they met. And all three times the Ransom Everglades’ boys water polo team managed to nip St. Thomas Aquinas in close games, including two by golden goal in overtime.

But on Saturday afternoon, when the stakes were as high as they could be, it was St. Thomas that beat Ransom when it counted the most.

With Samuel Eastaugh and Holden Harkins leading the way with a combined eight goals, Aquinas took a big lead into the third period and held off a late Ransom rally to win the boys water polo state championship, 14-12, at Belen Jesuit’s Gian Zumpano Aquatic Center.

The win completed a 26-4 season for STA and marked the third state championship for the program, adding to titles won in 2023 and 2013.

All three titles have come under the tutelage of long-time coach Michael Goldenberg, and it was he who jumped into the pool along with his assistant coaches, Eric, his son, and Gal Ben Kiki to celebrate with their players.

“We knew we were close every time with them previously so we really didn’t do anything differently strategically,” said a soaking wet Goldenberg, who is the only coach the program has ever known since beginning in 2005. “We just figured out a few matchups that may have been more favorable for us. The key was never really falling behind them. We knew with a great team like Ransom, you can’t really afford to fall behind because they’re a smart team with the lead.”

Instead, it was St. Thomas playing the role as a smart team with the lead.

Leading just 8-7 at halftime, Aquinas’ key moment came in the third period when they scored five straight points, four of them from Eastaugh and Harkins, to open up a big 13-7 lead. Leading 13-8 going into the final seven-minute period, St. Thomas became less aggressive offensively and concentrated more on soaking up the 30-second shot clock on each possession along with playing solid defense.

It worked for the most part as neither team scored until the 3:03 mark when Ransom’s Jack Merrick converted a penalty shot and then a second one with 2:31 left to make it 13-10. Ransom, which entered the contest with a 28-2 record and No. 1 national ranking, kept pressuring and converted two more goals, one with 58 seconds left and finally an Astin Gould goal to cut it to 13-12.

But there were only 12 seconds left following Gould’s goal and all St. Thomas needed to do was play keep away which they did. With the Ransom net empty, Lev Konnikov fired a long shot the length of the pool into the back of the net with one second left to complete the scoring and the celebrating from the big St. Thomas crowd was underway.

‘With a six goal lead, we definitely had to be smart with our possessions, soak the clock use it to our advantage,” Goldenberg said. “We made a few mistakes and gave up a few goals but took that big lead and rode it all the way home.”

When Ransom scored the first goal of the game, it would mark the only time all game St. Thomas trailed. The Raiders, who knocked off Sanford Seminole 13-10 in a Friday afternoon semifinal, went on a mini 4-1 run from there, with Eastaugh scoring three times to open up a 4-2 lead after one period.

“We had the lead late in both of those golden goal losses to them during the season so we knew the line of separation between us and them was virtually nothing,” said Eastaugh, who finished with five goals. “Today we came out and with six of us seniors, we knew it was our last shot to go out on top. There were no other options but to find a way to get this thing done and we did just that.”

Harkins finished with three goals, and he finished a high school career that tallied up to a total of six state championships. In addition to the one he got as a freshman on that 2023 team, he was also the long snapper for the football team and won four state titles there as well.

“It’s just been an amazing four years for me at this school,” Harkins said. “To have been a part of so many state titles, I feel really blessed. This year was my last year as a captain for water polo and I really tried to instill and carry that brotherhood mentality that coach Harriott (head football coach Roger Harriott) preached over from football because that ‘team thing’ is really what gets it done.”

For Ransom and associate head coach Petar Solomun, it was a lot of heartbreak.

All season long they carried the mantle and handled the pressure of being the top-ranked team in the country. That included a thrilling golden goal overtime win on Friday night over defending state champion Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy when Merrick scored to give them a 13-12 win in the semifinals.

“Today, they (St. Thomas) got a little bit of separation early on us and those things happen I guess,” Solomun said. “Just like nobody wants to fall behind us, it goes the same for us. Playing from behind is tough and that third period was the key. Both teams played very well, we got some good looks, but it was a matter of their shots going in and ours not and that’s when we fell way behind. As it turned out, too far behind.”

Like St. Thomas, Ransom was looking for a third state title, but the drought has been a longer one having last won it in 2017.

“Today didn’t end the way we wanted but make no mistake about it, I’m very proud of our boys and what they accomplished this season,” Solomun said. “Unfortunately we came up just a little short in the end but St. Thomas is a great team as well and congrats to them on their state title.”

GULLIVER GIRLS FALL IN SEMIS

The Gulliver Prep girls’ water polo team was looking to capture the same magic that took it to the state championship a year ago but it didn’t happen. The No. 3 seeded Raiders dropped a 12-5 decision to Winter Garden West Orange on Friday night in a semifinal contest to finish the season 20-4. Sanford Seminole won its second state title in three years on Saturday afternoon when it knocked off West Orange 8-4 in the girls championship game.

This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 10:00 AM.