19 hours ago
St. Thomas Aquinas, American Heritage again sweep Broward All-Sports awards
It was a banner year for the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders, even by their always lofty standards.
Plantation American Heritage also excelled as one of the top all-around athletic programs in Broward County.
So it should come as no surprise that the two schools, once again, are being honored with the Miami Herald's All-Sports Awards in Broward County for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
In addition to the overall All-Sports award, the Herald also gives out the Boys' Major Sports Award, which recognizes success across six sports (football, basketball, soccer, baseball, track and field, and wrestling), and the Girls' Major Sports Award, which looks at how schools fared across five sports (indoor volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and field, and softball).
Both schools swept all three awards in their respective classifications, with Aquinas winning the large schools division and American Heritage in the small schools division.
For St. Thomas Aquinas, the Raiders won an impressive five team state titles this year in football, girls' volleyball, boys' basketball, baseball and boys' lacrosse.
The football title was the Raiders' sixth in a row. The basketball team won its first title since 2001. Volleyball won its eighth overall and second consecutive title. Baseball won for the first time since 2018. And boys' lacrosse won for the fourth time in school history.
Additionally, STA's girls' soccer and girls' track and field teams were state runner-up and five other teams — softball, boys' tennis, girls' tennis, boys' water polo and beach volleyball — advanced to the state semifinals.
The boys' soccer, boys' volleyball, girls' water polo, girls' lacrosse and flag football teams also advanced to the regional final. And to further add to the success, the girls' swimming team finished sixth at state, while the girls' cross country team and boys' swimming team finished seventh and boys' track and field came in ninth.
American Heritage, meanwhile, won four team state titles of its own in football, baseball, girls' soccer and girls' tennis. The girls' soccer team also won a national title.
The football title was the school's sixth overall and first under third-year coach Mike Smith. Baseball won it all for the second time in the past three seasons. The girls' soccer team now has 14 state titles and has won three in a row. And American Heritage's girls' tennis has won seven state titles overall.
Additionally, the Patriots' girls' basketball and softball teams finished as state runners-up, both golf teams finished third and boys' track and field placed sixth.
Others to note (in alphabetical order)
▪ Blanche Ely: The Tigers won a state title in boys' basketball and reached the regional final in girls' basketball.
▪ Calvary Christian: The Eagles won a state title in boys' basketball and finished ranked in the top 5 nationally.
▪ Cardinal Gibbons: The Chiefs won a national title and finished state runner-up in competitive cheerleading, finished third in Class 1A in boys' wrestling, reached the state semifinals in boys' basketball and girls' soccer, and advanced to the regional final in boys' volleyball.
▪ Chaminade-Madonna: The Lions won the Class 1A state football for their seventh title in eight years.
▪ Cypress Bay: The Lightning were state runner-up in girls' soccer, advanced to the state final four in boys' tennis, reached the state quarterfinal in girls' tennis and appeared in the regional final in both girls' volleyball and beach volleyball.
▪ Dillard: The Panthers repeated as Class 3A state champions in girls' track and field, was runner-up in girls' cross country and third in boys' track and field.
▪ Flanagan: The Falcons finished third at state in boys' track and field.
▪ Fort Lauderdale: The Flying L's finished third at state in girls' swimming
▪ Highlands Christian: The Knights advanced to the state final four in boys' soccer.
▪ Northeast: The Hurricanes reached the state final four in girls' basketball.
▪ Pembroke Pines Charter: The Jaguars reached the state final four in boys' soccer, the regional final in boys' basketball and finished ninth at state in boys' cross country.
▪ Pine Crest: The Panthers finished third at state in boys' swimming, sixth in boys' golf and eighth in girls' swimming. They also reached the regional final in girls' volleyball and girls' tennis.
▪ Sagemont: The Lions won their third state title in a row in boys' basketball and reached the regional final in girls' volleyball.
▪ Somerset Academy: The Panthers won the Class 2A state title in boys' wrestling, reached the regional final in girls' soccer and finished eighth in girls' track and field.
▪ Stoneman Douglas: The Eagles won a state-record, fifth consecutive state title in baseball and reached the regional final in girls' soccer, boys' tennis and girls' tennis.
▪ Stranahan: The Mighty Dragons won a state title in boys' basketball - their fourth since 2019.
▪ Western: The Wildcats won a state title in competitive cheerleading, reached the state final four in softball and made it to the regional final in both football and flag football.
▪ Westminster Academy: The Lions won their first state title in boys' water polo in addition to finishing fourth at state in boys' cross country, sixth in girls' cross country, seventh in boys' swimming and ninth in boys' track and field. They also reached the regional final in girls' basketball.
