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Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Calvin Russell, Jim'Miyah Branton are the Miami-Dade 3A-1A Athletes of the Year
Miami Northwestern's Calvin Russell and SLAM Miami's Jim'Miyah Branton have each known when to elevate their play and their team throughout their stellar high school careers. They've also played integral roles in building up the teams they play for to become some of the state's best. Russell did it once again this season on the gridiron and the basketball court. Branton wrapped up her career by elevating the Titans both on the basketball court and on the field in flag football. For their efforts, Russell and Branton are the Miami Herald's 2024-25 Overall Athletes of the Year in Miami-Dade County for Classes 3A-1A. Russell is the Boys' winner after showing his vast potential and upside once again in both sports. Russell, a 6-5, 200-pound, five-star prospect wide receiver, is on numerous colleges' radars heading into his senior season for good reason. This past fall, Russell caught 41 passes for 776 yards and 13 touchdowns and was a key part of the Bulls' revival and march to the Class 3A state championship. Even when Northwestern was struggling the prior couple of seasons, Russell's talents stood out as he often played quarterback as well as receiver and showed off his ability to make plays both with his arm and his legs. Those skills have served him well on the basketball court. This past spring, Russell was a force on the court, averaging 15.2 points, eight rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals to lead the Bulls to the Class 4A regional semifinals, as well as district and GMAC championships. And Russell might just be getting started. 'I haven't really showed nobody what I am,' Russell said during last season. Branton is the Girls' Overall Athlete of the Year and the first for SLAM Miami after helping turn the Titans back into a state powerhouse in basketball. Branton, an athletic 5-6 wing, who can shoot and defend with the best in the state. She filled up the stat sheet most nights for SLAM, averaging 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals per game and leading the Titans to the state final four for the second consecutive season. But after basketball season, Branton wasn't done. Branton was a force for the SLAM flag football team, which advanced to the regional finals in Class 1A for the first time. Branton threw for over 1,200 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. She also ran for over 1,600 yards and caught seven touchdown passes. On defense, she was spectacular as well, recording 29 interceptions. Branton, who has signed to play collegiate basketball at Austin Peay, doesn't plan on slowing down at the college level, either. 'I feel like I'm going to be the same player I was in high school,' Branton said earlier this year. 'I'm going to prove a point and show everyone in the college world what I can do.' BOYS' FINALISTS ▪ Tywan Cox, Northwestern (football, track and field): An accomplished athlete on the Bulls' state championship football team, Cox followed up with a stellar season in track and field, winning a state title in the 400 meters and helping Northwestern win a state title in the 1,600-meter relay. ▪ Ben Hanks Jr., Booker T. Washington (football): Hanks Jr., who also competed in track and field during his high school career, became one of the best cornerbacks in Dade County. He broke the single-season interceptions record this year with 13 and signed with the University of Florida. ▪ Ezekiel Marcelin, Central (football): Continuing a legacy of greatness at his school, Marcelin signed with the University of Miami after another stellar season in which he totaled 15 tackles for loss, four sacks and 60 tackles overall. ▪ Jacob Lombard, Gulliver (soccer, baseball): A top baseball prospect, Lombard had another stellar season on the soccer pitch as well, leading the Raiders back to the state final four. GIRLS' FINALISTS ▪ Tyra Cox, Northwestern (track and field): Cox joined a longstanding legacy of great female athletes at her school after finishing her career with three more state titles including victories in the 200 and 400 meters as well as the 1,600-meter relay. Cox broke the state meet record in the 400 to finish with six career individual state titles. ▪ Gigi Artiles, Westminster Christian (volleyball, beach volleyball): Artiles rose quickly in recent years to become one of the most dominant players in the county. This season, she helped the Warriors win their first indoor state title since 2016 and finish state runner-up in beach. Artiles has committed to Georgia. ▪ Grace Aldrich, Carrollton (track and field, cross-country): Aldrich, a two-time Runner of the Year in cross-country, finished as a state runner-up individually this past season. Then in the spring, Aldrich was at the forefront of the Cyclones' first ever state team championship in track and field. Aldrich won a state title in the 1,600 meters and helped Carrollton win a state title in the 3,200-meter relay. ▪ Zoey Matias, Westminster Christian (volleyball, beach volleyball): Like her sister, Emily, Zoey became one of the most versatile players on the court or on the sand. This season, she helped the Warriors win their first indoor state title since 2016 and finish state runner-up in beach. She has signed with Missouri.
Miami Herald
19-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Montalvo fuels SLAM girls' basketball team's victory as it chases return trip to state
Despite all it accomplished on the way to Lakeland last season, SLAM Miami's girls' basketball team was still hurting when they lost in the semifinals. Senior wing Adaya Montalvo was in even more pain a short time later when she tore her ACL while competing in a showcase event in front of college scouts. Neither Montalvo nor the Titans let either setback stop them. On Tuesday night, both showed how strong they have recovered as Montalvo scored 18 points to help SLAM secure a 75-52 victory over Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons in a Region 4-3A semifinal at the Titans' home gym. SLAM (15-12) will next host Miami Carrollton, which ousted Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest in its semifinal, on Friday at 7 p.m. in the regional final for a chance to return to Lakeland next week. 'This has been the culmination of everything we've done this season, testing ourselves and playing the best teams in every class, and the girls look like they're putting it all together,' SLAM Miami coach Krystal Cabrera said. 'We're a little more seasoned and we returned our core players who know what it looks like. With the rigors of the season, we're ready for this moment.' Montalvo is one of the team captains Cabrera is referring to who keyed SLAM's run to state last season. She spent most of the offseason off the court rehabbing her injury. Montalvo, whose two sisters, Alivia, an eighth-grader, and Aubreyanna, a junior, are also on the team, returned to the Titans in December. But it took some time before Montalvo felt like herself on the court. 'It took me about 10 games and a lot of practices. It was rough the first month and I've been a little inconsistent too, but I feel like I'm finally finding my groove and my teammates have helped me a lot with that,' Montalvo said. 'I feel like the coaches give me confidence because, honestly, I was doubting myself coming off the ACL. I just want to go back to state and make it a big comeback.' 'AD,' as Montalvo's teammates and coaches call her, took another big step in that goal on Tuesday. She set the tone for SLAM's win with 10 quick points in the first quarter, which put the Titans ahead and allowed them to lead for the duration of the game following a 2-2 tie. 'AD played with a lot of energy and that kid came back at midseason and is the heartbeat of this team,' Cabrera said. 'Seeing her play like that after everything she's been through is a great feeling.' From that point on, it was a collective effort, which Cabrera believes will be the key if SLAM is to achieve its ultimate goal. Samantha Bautista drilled four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Makayla Turner added 10 points while Taeler Suber and Aubreyanna Montalvo each scored nine points. The Titans had to contend with Cardinal Gibbons' senior Savanna Nicholson, who scored a game-high 30 points and made six 3-pointers. '(Nicholson) is a really good player and we knew we had to respect her game and stop her, and still she had a phenomenal night,' Cabrera said. But the Chiefs (16-9) were unable to slow down SLAM in the paint and yielded too many open shots from the perimeter as well. Makayla Midgett also had 10 points for Gibbons. 'Most of us have been in this program for a long time and we want something new,' Adaya Montalvo said. 'The state tournament is a different type of feeling so when we step out there, it's going to be a different hunger and we're gonna show out.'
