Blanche Ely girls’ hoops repeat as BCAA Big 8 Champs; Heritage girls’ soccer advances
The Blanche Ely girls’ basketball team successfully defended its BCAA Big 8 Tournament title last week with a 57-54 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas at South Plantation High School.
St. Thomas Aquinas led 24-19 at halftime. Ely out scored the Raiders 25-16 in the third quarter to go ahead 44-40.
The Tigers opened the game on a 10-5 run.
In the semifinals, Ely beat Western 92-45, and St. Thomas defeated Dillard 67-30.
Prior, the Tigers beat Northeast 84-17, and the Raiders defeated Coral Springs 84-54.
All Big 8 Team: Ely: Janessa Kelly, Michiyah Simmons, Ja’Leah Williams. St. Thomas Aquinas: Karina Gordon, Breanna Gustave. Dillard: Kintaeja Lang. Western: Taja Stephens.
Girls’ soccer playoffs
Mia Young scored twice, and Diana Pon had a goal and three assists as American Heritage defeated Pompano 8-0 in a 4A district tournament semifinal.
With the victory, the Patriots (6-1) will play in the district finals, which automatically qualifies them for the region quarterfinals.
Savannah Hydes had one goal and two assists. Dori Johnson had two goals, and Alexa Garcia and Lilly Sargent-Burns also scored. Laniaya Delvalle provided two assists, and Isabella Fernandez added an assist.
Also, junior forward Emily Thompson, who tore her ACL last season, made her return on Wednesday, giving Coach Cindy Marcial’s Heritage side some extra push during the playoff run. Marcial is in her ninth season with the Patriots, winning state five times and reaching the state finals seven times.
Last season an impressive Cardinal Gibbons team eliminated Heritage in the region semifinals.
“Obviously our goal is to make it back to the state final game [Heritage won state in 2019],” Marcial said. “Our main thing is keeping everybody safe and healthy.”
Gibbons is strong once again, which probably sets-up another showdown between these two soccer powers in the district finals and region semifinals.
“We have no seniors, which is a first for us,” Marcial said, “but my junior captains are really strong, great leaders, and these girls play really well together.”
National Signing Day
Five Pine Crest School student-athletes from the Class of 2021 participated in National Signing Day on Wednesday.
Haley Cisewski committed to Loyola University Maryland for swimming; Jamie Corsillo committed to the University of Notre Dame for tennis; Charlie Del Vecchio committed to the University of Chicago for baseball; Taylor McClain committed to Bucknell University for lacrosse; and Mahdere Yared committed to Yale University for cross country and track & field.
“This is a special day for Haley, Jamie, Charlie, Taylor, and Mahdere and the pinnacle of their pre-collegiate athletic achievement,” said Jeff Johnson, Pine Crest School athletic director. “Getting to this point takes years of dedication, perseverance, and at times, having to meet challenges with grit and tenacity.
“These student-athletes have balanced conditioning, practices, and competitions with a challenging academic workload. On behalf of our faculty and staff, President Dr. Dana Markham ’18H and I congratulate the coaches and families. We are proud to know that they will represent Pine Crest at the collegiate level.”
PHOTO: Five Pine Crest School student athletes signed National Letters of Intent for college on Wednesday. Pictured, from left, are (back) Taylor McClain ’21, Jamie Corsillo ’21; (middle) Charlie Del Vecchio ’21; and (front) Haley Cisewski ’21 and Mahdere Yared ’21.
Antonio Ferguson II of Dr. Krop High School signed with Northwestern Oklahoma State University, an NCAA Division II football affiliate.
A defensive back, Ferguson is a three-year varsity player and two-year starter for the Lightning. He amassed 101 tackles, 54 solo tackles, four tackles for losses, two interceptions, 10 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries. He will major in Communication.
Wrestling
BCAA Tournament: Deerfield Beach: Senior Ryan Anderson won a Broward County title at 126 pounds on Saturday at Coral Springs High School. He is 2020 district champion at the 126 weight division and a Class 3A state qualifier. He is also an Honor’s student.
Wrestling coaches
To nominate 2-3 top high school wrestlers of the week, email hssports@miamiherald.com. Include school, first and last name, weight class, what the wrestler did. Varsity only.
Submit varsity
game results
For high schools in Broward and Miami Dade counties, if you have varsity game results for this column, email hssports@miamiherald.com. Varsity only.
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Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
(jvarsallone@miamiherald.com)
