Lourdes' McKeon, St. Brendan's Sicre are Miami-Dade co-cheerleading coaches of the year
Miami Lourdes Academy had a breakthrough season, winning its first state championship.
And Miami St. Brendan's cheerleading squad continued its tradition of success, adding a ninth state championship to its expanding trophy collection.
As a result, their coaches - Lourdes' Victoria McKeon and St. Brendan's Victoria Sicre - are the Miami Herald's Miami-Dade Competitive Cheerleading Co-Coaches of the Year.
Lourdes collected multiple championships on its way to its first state crown, also winning the Nfinity The America's Cheerleading Cup, the Bobcat Battle and the UCA Florida Regional before finishing first at state in the Class 1A Medium division.
The Bobcats' score of 91.60 was the highest of any Class 1A squad following a runner-up finish a year earlier.
Lourdes' squad consisted of Gloria Aguirre, Mia Alvarez, Brooke Bolt, Yva Cao, Adriana Caso, Cassandra Esquivel, Sophia Evans, Valeria Fierman, Adriana Figueredo, Mia Goff, Gabriella Gonzalez, Anabelle Huembes, Carolina Lopez, Francesca Loureda, Lauren MacNamara, Emma Menendez, Alani Ortega, Camila Rodriguez, Zoe Rodriguez, Camila Sanchez, Angelica Santeliz, Danielle Torrents, Samantha Torrents, Sophia Vadillo. McKeon was joined by assistant coaches Alessandra Infante and Sophia Eguiguren.
Lourdes followed this up by placing sixth of nearly 30 finalist teams in the Small Varsity Division II at the UCA nationals in Orlando.
Meanwhile, St. Brendan continued its cheerleading dynasty by winning the Class 1A Large division title. The Sabres followed this up with a sixth-place finish of their own at nationals in the Medium Varsity Division II.
St. Brendan's squad consisted of Alessandra Cardelles, Ashley Morales, Ava Diaz, Bianca Miro, Brooke Vila, Cecilia Castro, Danielle Perez, Elysabeth Yanes, Gabriela Hernandez, Giulianna Hernandez, Isabella Alonso, Isabella Garcia, Jillian Rodriguez, Juliette Reina, Lauren Blanco, Luna Sixto, Lydie van Hemert, Madison Labarraque, Megna Martin, Mia Hernandez, Ariana Santana, Olivia Bertot, Olivia Riverol, Sarah Bencomo, Sophia Iglesias, Vanessa Bu-Nassar, Veronica Hutner. Sicre was joined by assistant coaches Veronica Salazar, Ana Alvarez and Cecilia Esteban.
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New York Times
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Team guides Fixtures (All times ET/UK) June 18: Real Madrid vs Al Hilal (Miami, 3pm/8pm) June 18: Pachuca vs Red Bull Salzburg (Cincinnati, 6pm/11pm) June 22: Real Madrid vs Pachuca (Charlotte, 3pm/8pm) June 22: Red Bull Salzburg vs Al Hilal (Washington, 6pm/11pm) June 26: Al Hilal vs Pachuca (Nashville, 9pm/2am June 27) June 26: Red Bull Salzburg vs Real Madrid (Philadelphia, 9pm/2am June 27)
New York Times
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- New York Times
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(All times ET/UK) June 18: Real Madrid vs Al Hilal (Miami – 3pm/8pm) June 18: Pachuca vs Red Bull Salzburg (Cincinnati – 6pm/11pm) June 22: Real Madrid vs Pachuca (Charlotte – 3pm/8pm) June 22: Red Bull Salzburg vs Al Hilal (Washington – 6pm/11pm) June 26: Al Hilal vs Pachuca (Nashville – 9pm/2am June 27) June 26: Red Bull Salzburg vs Real Madrid (Philadelphia – 9pm/2am June 27) Real Madrid. In truth, they will be many's favorites to win the entire tournament. Having already lifted the trophy a record five times, Madrid are accustomed to being the most successful team in the world, so there will be an expectation that the 15-time European champions will go all the way in this new-look, 32-team format. Advertisement Of course, Madrid are never far from their own unique version of calamity. After a La Liga and Champions League double in 2023-24, Carlo Ancelotti's side ended 2024-25 without a trophy, which is implicitly a sackable offence among the club's hierarchy at the Santiago Bernabeu. With Madrid parting ways with Ancelotti this summer, fans will be keen to see the early signs of a new era under Xabi Alonso, who was confirmed as the new boss in the Spanish capital after incredible success at Bayer Leverkusen. As a new era and an opportunity to impress their new manager awaits, Madrid will be desperate to land some silverware after a rare campaign without a title. Follow the Club World Cup on The Athletic this summer… Real Madrid vs Al Hilal. Real Madrid are expected to win nearly every game they play in, but you can make a strong case that the Group H team most likely to give them problems are Al Hilal. While Neymar's signing did not work out as planned, Saudi Arabia's most-decorated club have shown real ambition in recent seasons and have genuine quality in their squad. Plenty of familiar names have been brought across from European football, with Kalidou Koulibaly, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo all regular starters this campaign. Add in the attacking threat of Saudi legend Salem Al-Dawsari and this game could be among the top picks to watch across the whole group stage. Incidentally, Real Madrid's last Club World Cup victory came in 2022 after defeating Al Hilal 5-3 when the two met in the final in Morocco. Anything similar to that scoreline and we are in for a treat when the two take to the field at the Hard Rock Stadium on June 18. Real Madrid have long been synonymous with the term 'galactico', so this answer is as easy as it gets. When you can rattle off star names such as Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, and now Trent Alexander-Arnold, you can be confident that stadiums will be fuller than most when Madrid come to town. Advertisement Mbappe is arguably the man that fans will most desperately want to see after a strong debut season from an individual goalscoring perspective. With 43 goals scored in all competitions, Mbappe surpassed Ivan Zamorano's previous record of 37 goals in his first season at Madrid — even though his 31 La Liga goals (24 non-penalty goals) were not enough to help his side secure the league title. Given their global appeal, Madrid's tour of the U.S. is likely to resemble the Harlem Globetrotters this summer. Win, lose, or draw, they are the main characters of this tournament, never mind the group. Oscar Gloukh. Red Bull Salzburg have a penchant for spotting young attacking talent and Gloukh may well be the next one off the production line. The 21-year-old has been one of the few bright sparks in an otherwise disappointing season in Salzburg. Gloukh's close control, weight of pass, and two-footedness display a technical proficiency beyond his years. The Israel international operates as a No 10 but regularly drifts wide into pockets of space towards the left touchline. Four assists in the 2024-25 Austrian Bundesliga is a fairly modest return compared with a 2023-24 campaign that saw him notch 11 assists (0.5 per 90 minutes) — the highest of any player in the league. However, Gloukh still shoulders a lot of his side's creative responsibility, with his 23 chances created in this year's Champions League being more than double his nearest team-mate in a Salzburg shirt. As shown below, many of those passes are direct, forward balls punched through to runners ahead of him from the left halfspace. Looking further afield, Al Hilal's Marcos Leonardo is certainly worth your attention if he is not already on your radar. Leonardo only made the move from Benfica in September, but the Brazilian striker has already bagged 17 goals in 21 starts in the Saudi Pro League — averaging a rate of 0.88 goals per 90, which edges ahead of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo (0.86 per 90) for those wondering. Advertisement With a penchant for a first-time finish, a lot of Leonardo's best work comes between the width of the goalposts — regularly attacking crosses and being surprisingly effective in the air for a man who is just 5ft 9in (175cm). Efficiency is a word that you would associate with Leonardo, even if it is not synonymous with Brazilian style. If he can get himself back to full fitness in time — having suffered a torn muscle in his adductor with an expected June return — there is every chance he adds to his glut of goals this summer. How Al Hilal approach this tournament. They might have finished second in the Saudi Pro League this season, but a winning mentality runs through the club after a record-extending 19th league title in 2023-24. Such a memorable year saw Al Hilal go an entire league season unbeaten, with a record of 31 wins, three draws and no losses. Under the management of former Benfica boss Jorge Jesus, the Riyadh-based side set a new world record by winning 28 consecutive games in all competitions in March 2024 — ending their streak one month later after 34 wins in total. Jesus parted ways with the club in May after ceding the Saudi title to Al Ittihad and losing to Al Ahli in the AFC Champions League Elite semi-final. Al Hilal legend Mohammed Al-Shalhoub has taken over as caretaker manager in the interim, ending the season well with four wins out of five in the Saudi Pro League. If they take the tournament as seriously as they should, Al Hilal could surprise a few sides with the quality they have throughout the spine of the team. There is a former Premier League cult hero spearheading Pachuca's attack. At the ripe old age of 35, former West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and Everton striker Salomon Rondon is still banging in the goals in Mexico, having joined Pachuca in early 2024. With 22 league goals since joining — 14 this season — Rondon is comfortably the leading goalscorer in the Pachuca squad and is showing no signs of stopping. In truth, Pachuca are not coming into the tournament in red-hot form. After just three wins in the first half of the 17-game regular season, Pachuca battled to eighth spot in Mexico's Liga MX Clausura (second half of the season) to make the play-offs, before losing to Club America in the quarter-final. Realistically, Pachuca will not be expected to qualify from such a tricky group this summer, but do not be surprised if Rondon manages to get on the scoresheet somewhere along the way. (Top photos: NurPhoto/Getty Images; design: Kelsea Petersen)
