Belen Jesuit's water polo team is the Leo Suarez-Walter Krietsch Courage Award recipient
Sophomore Lucas Osuna, 15, died suddenly on March 28 during a tournament at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove.
Osuna's death, which was later reported as having been caused by a spontaneous rupture of the aorta potentially linked to an undiagnosed genetic condition, shook not just the Belen community, but the South Florida water polo community as a whole.
Many rallied to show their support for the Wolverines as they tried to move forward.
Belen's team found the resilience to not just cope with its immeasurable loss, but to play on and complete their season.
Every season, the Miami Herald salutes an individual or individuals in the South Florida high school sports community, which shows extraordinary courage in the face of adversity with its annual Leo Suarez/Walter Krietsch Courage Award.
This year's recipient is the Belen Jesuit water polo team.
The award is named in honor of two former Miami Herald editors, who passed away before their time, but showed extraordinary courage in the face of adversity.
Such as the case with the Wolverines, who roughly a week after Osuna's death, returned to the pool at nearby Gulliver Prep School.
'We got together with the kids and asked them what they wanted to do,' Belen coach Jimmy Aguilera said at the time. 'Did they want to honor [Osuna] by playing or some other way? We were going to proceed the way they felt was right. They decided to keep going as far as we can make it. Right now, it's not about the results of the games. It's about being there for each other.'
Belen met as a team and chose to continue its season.
The Wolverines honored Osuna's memory prior to, during and after their first game back.
Belen players wore his name and No. 19 on their competition swim caps during the match.
Their reserve players held a picture of Osuna as they cheered their teammates in the pool during the match. Coaches and parents wore yellow T-shirts with Osuna's name and swim cap painted on the back as well as caps with the No. 19 on them.
A moment of silence was held just prior to the match starting. Osuna's name was displayed on the scoreboard on the far side of the pool.
The team posed for a picture in front of the scoreboard with a sign filled with written tributes and the number 19 written large in the middle. They presented Osuna's parents, Mike and Jeanette, with a pair of framed collages with pictures of their son and his swim caps.
And in that game, they scored 19 goals in a shutout win over Coral Gables.
In their next game, Belen again scored 19 goals and won its district championship after a 19-18 win over Ransom Everglades.
The Wolverines' season would finish a week later in the regional semifinals after a 16-15 overtime loss to Ransom.
But what mattered most to them was playing on to honor Osuna's memory.
'The whole situation put life into perspective,' Belen athletic director Laz Fernandez said in April. 'These kids' willingness to keep playing demonstrates their desire to fight for Lucas and that's very resilient and very admirable.'
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