Latest news with #LacrossePlayersoftheYear
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas' Finch and Campbell are the Broward Lacrosse Players of the Year
St. Thomas Aquinas stuffed its lacrosse trophy case once again in 2024 and now the Raiders have some individual awards to add to it, too. James Finch and Jordan Palmer are the Miami Herald's Broward County Lacrosse Players of the Year. Finch, a junior, is the Herald's Boys' Lacrosse Player of the Year for the third straight year after helping the Raiders win their fourth state title. The attack scored 76 goals and added 76 assists as the engine of one of the top teams in the state. Finch also had 34 ground balls and seven takeaways for St. Thomas Aquinas, which won yet another state championship with a well-rounded style of play. 'It was the greatest feeling ever, I was bawling my eyes out,' Finch said. 'It was always the talk I heard from the 2022 team, how good it was to win state. Their grit, their determination. That's the team we wanted to model ourselves around.' Finch is already orally committed to Ohio State and is closing in on 200 goals in his career, topping 50 in each of his first three seasons in Fort Lauderdale. Most importantly, he now has a championship on his resume after narrowly missing out in each of his first two seasons of high school. Palmer, the Herald's Girls' Lacrosse Player of the Year, was one of the most well-rounded players in the county and helped the Raiders come just one goal short of a trip to the final four. The midfielder had 69 goals, eight assists, 30 ground balls, 12 caused turnovers and 53 draw controls this season to wrap up her career at St. Thomas Aquinas. The Raiders reached the Region 4-2A championship, but came up just one goal short against Vero Beach. The senior was especially dominant in the postseason, scoring 13 goals in the region playoffs, including two in the season-ending loss to the Indians. Palmer scored 14 hat tricks, including at least four goals in five of her last six games in high school and seven in a thrilling shootout win against Bradenton Manatee—another region finalist—in March. Palmer is heading to UCF in the fall and will keep playing lacrosse as a club sport there. 'We did so well and played for each other the whole season,' Palmer said. 'We won a lot of really close games and games we haven't won in the past. Overall, it was amazing.'
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Gulliver's Schnur and Westminster's Vanegas are the Dade Lacrosse Players of the Year
One was already the leading scorer in program history before putting together another big season this year. The other helped her school make history with its first district championship. As the top players for the top teams in Miami-Dade County, Gulliver Prep's Sebastian Schnur and Westminster Christian's Kiera Vanegas are the Miami Herald's Miami-Dade County Lacrosse Players of the Year. Schnur followed up a record-setting junior season in Pinecrest with another 100-point season to help Gulliver advance in the region playoffs for the first time since 2019. The attack led the county with 57 assists and also scored 48 goals to finish with 105 points—no one else in Miami-Dade had more than 82. The senior also had 49 ground balls—the third most on the team—and had four takeaways. This is Schnur's second straight season as the Herald's Miami-Dade County Boys' Lacrosse Player of the Year after he piled up 130 points as a junior last year. 'Last year, we had 15 seniors graduate so there were a lot of holes to fill,' Schnur said. 'Collectively, our senior group did a great job leading and getting a lot of freshmen and sophomores to play and get to that level we needed.' Schnur will attend Wake Forest University starting this fall and play lacrosse, which is played there as a club sport. 'I just decided Wake because it's a great location and looks like it'll be a great college experience and a great fit for me,' Schnur said. Vanegas, a junior, helped the Warriors make history this year by winning a district title for the first time. The midfielder was a do-everything star in the middle of the field for Westminster Christian, which is why she's the girls' Player of the Year. She piled up 62 goals and 23 assists, and also had 99 ground balls, 52 caused turnovers and 63 draw controls. 'It was a record-breaking season and so amazing,' Vanegas said. 'We were really focused on playing together as a family and it worked great in the end.' The Warriors began their girls' lacrosse program just five years ago and already have become one of the premiere programs in Miami. This year, Westminster Christian was the only team from Dade County to reach the region playoffs. In the Warriors' district championship, Vanegas was at her best, scoring six goals and handing one assist to help Westminster Christian topple Palmer Trinity. Although the Warriors bowed out in the first round of the region playoffs, Vanegas will be back next year and Westminster Christian will get a chance to build on a breakthrough season. 'I improved my leadership skills. I struggled with that last year,' Vanegas said. 'I knew I was a strong player on the field, but didn't take that part seriously. I definitely matured this year and definitely loved the team in a much better way this year.'
