Latest news with #CypressBay
Miami Herald
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cypress Bay's Tyler Johnson is the Broward County Boys' Volleyball Player of the Year
Tyler Johnson embraced the underdog mentality during his time playing for the Weston Cypress Bay boys' volleyball team. During his high school career there, Johnson, a 6-foot, 3-inch outside hitter, has never been part of the tallest or deepest roster in the state or even Broward County. And yet Johnson and the Lightning have consistently remained among the best. 'Since sophomore year, it's been an honor to be part of such a great program. We've had two great coaches during my time here, who have built a great culture there,' Johnson said. 'The mentality we had. We were understaffed compared to other teams we played, but we didn't let it stop us.' Johnson is taking that approach to his next step - playing collegiate volleyball at Brigham Young University. And he'll head there after finishing a stellar senior season and earning his second consecutive Miami Herald Broward County Boys' Volleyball Player of the Year honor. Johnson finished the season with 302 kills, 147 digs and 52 blocks. His efforts helped Cypress Bay advance to the Class 3A regional semifinals before losing in four sets to Miami Columbus. The Lightning went 19-7 and navigated through a tough schedule in Class 3A, which was considered the toughest of the three classes this season after the state expanded to a three-class format. Cypress Bay lost only once to a team from Broward and beat several of the top teams in the state along the way. 'We took a lot of younger kids on the team this year and helped them fall in love with volleyball and really embrace the sport,' said Johnson, who also played a lot at the setter position during his career. Johnson, who has played on Team Florida on the boys' national select team in recent years, will join one of the country's top-notch programs at BYU. He plans to take the most he can from the lessons he learned while helping the Lightning evolve into one of Broward's best teams over the past four years. 'I think I have to have that mentality (in college),' Johnson said. 'I'm a little undersized and gonna be among a bunch of giants so I have to have that mentality when I go over there.'
Miami Herald
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cypress Bay's Michael Marsans is the Broward County Boys' Volleyball Coach of the Year
Weston Cypress Bay has been one of the top boys' volleyball teams in Broward County in recent years. In addition to its talented rosters, its coaching has kept it among the most consistent. In the two seasons since he became head coach, Michael Marsans has maintained that standard for the Lightning. This past year, Marsans guided Cypress Bay back to the regional playoffs and to a successful 19-7 season in which it lost only once to a Broward County opponent. Marsans is the Miami Herald's Broward Boys' Volleyball Coach of the Year. He led the Lightning to the regional semifinal round for the second consecutive season in Class 3A, which many considered to be the toughest of the state's classifications after this year's expansion to a three-class format. Cypress Bay's season ended with a close four-set loss to Miami Columbus. Along the way the Lightning beat some of the top teams in the state such as Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, Miami Palmetto, West Palm Beach Kings Academy, Miami True North and Fort Lauderdale Archbishop McCarthy. Led by Miami Herald Player of the Year Tyler Johnson, a BYU signee, the Lightning again had one of the more dominant squads in the state and the ability to take over matches quickly all season. Johnson is one of five seniors the Lightning graduated, but Marsans has a strong young core of talent led by rising senior Mateo Foronda, which he hopes to build around to attempt again next season to reach the state final four for the first time in school history.
Miami Herald
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cypress Bay's Brunt and Heritage's Croke are the Broward Tennis Coaches of the Year
Both American Heritage's Toby Croke and Cypress Bay's Michael Brunt have presided over two of the premier tennis programs in the state in recent years. For Croke, it had been a little bit since one of his Patriots' squads had finished the season at the top. That changed this season when American Heritage's girls secured the Class 2A team state championship. On the boys' side, Cypress Bay didn't come away with a state team title. But the Lightning maintained their standard with top performances both individually and as a team in Class 4A. As such, Croke and Brunt are the Miami Herald's Tennis Coaches of the Year for Broward County. Croke wins the Girls' Coach of the Year honors after leading the Patriots girls to their first state title since 2021 and their seventh overall. Senior Tina Liu and junior Angelina Lin led the way as a doubles team and at the top of Heritage's singles' rotation. After losing in districts to rival Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest, American Heritage bounced back with a huge team win over the Panthers in the rematch a week later to secure a regional title. Heritage carried that momentum to the state meet where it swept Orlando Lake Highland Prep and followed that with a 4-2 win over Naples Barron Collier to secure the championship. Brunt wins the Boys' Coach of the Year honors after leading Cypress Bay to the Class 4A state final four. Although the Lightning lost in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Orlando Lake Nona, Cypress Bay dominated the competition throughout the season in Broward County. The Lightning won district and regional championships led by Pablo Alunni-Cobo at the top of its singles rotation. Alunni-Cobo then teamed up with senior Rolando Torrellas and sometimes with junior Sebastian Elias to win some clutch matches throughout the season.
Miami Herald
14-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Girls' basketball: Pine Crest's Sangha has stellar game in regional quarterfinal win
The girls' basketball regional playoffs opened Thursday night with the quarterfinal round. Among the best individual performances was that of Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest junior Isabella Sangha, who led the Panthers (20-4) with 31 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a 60-45 victory over Davie NSU University School in a Region 4-3A quarterfinal at Pine Crest School. Franky Garfi also had 15 points and 13 rebounds while Maci Nitowski had 14 points. The Panthers will head down to Miami to face Carrollton, which advanced with a win over Miami Killian, on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the regional semifinals. MORE GIRLS' BASKETBALL ▪ Region 4-7A quarterfinal - Miami High 77, Boca Raton 26: The Stingarees (17-10) emphatically secured some payback against the team which eliminated them in the same round in last season's playoffs. Jamir Cook totaled 27 points and 16 rebounds while Alexie Nicolas had 19 points, eight steals, six rebounds and six assists. Sydney Wilson scored only four points, but had 12 assists and seven steals. Devyn Riggins had 10 points and seven rebounds. The Stingarees will next host Cypress Bay in the regional semifinals on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ▪ Region 4-7A quarterfinal - Cypress Bay 48, Lake Worth Park Vista 38: Danielle Oz led the Lightning (18-6) with 21 points, five rebounds and five steals. ▪ Region 4-6A quarterfinal - Nova 78, Coral Springs 22: Jaelynn Housey led the Titans (21-5) with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks. Kimora Exum had 15 points and five rebounds while Ke'mora Evans had 13 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals. J'Yan Tyrell had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Nova will next host Stuart Martin County on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ▪ Region 4-5A quarterfinal - Northeast 71, Lourdes 28: Nykeria Flowers led the Hurricanes (26-2) with 19 points, six steals and five assists. Jazmine Jones had 17 points, seven steals, six assists and four rebounds. Ya'Niyah Young and Merelyn Lopez-Galindo each had 11 points. Northeast hosts Sebastian River next on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ▪ Region 4-5A quarterfinal - Sebastian River 52, North Miami 45: J'adore Hayes finished with 26 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks for the Pioneers, who finished the season 17-9. ▪ Region 4-4A quarterfinal - Northwestern 51, Boynton Beach 39: Jade Yacinthe totaled 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead the Bulls (21-4). Myah Newton had 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Terriyah Montgomery and Tayana Dixon each had 10 points. Northwestern hosts Mater Lakes next on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Region 4-4A quarterfinal - Mater Lakes 58, Naples Barron Collier 54: Vanessa Vancott totaled 29 points, 11 points and five steals to lead the Bears (19-9). Mya Glover had 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. ▪ Region 4-3A quarterfinal - Cardinal Gibbons 60, Monsignor Pace 35: Savanna Nicholson led the Chiefs (16-8) with 27 points, three steals and three assists. Makayla Midgett and Maleia Coker each had 10 points. Midgett also had five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Coker also had seven rebounds. Gibbons will travel to Miami to face SLAM on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ▪ Region 4-3A quarterfinal - Carrollton 76, Killian 48: Sela Travieso led the Cyclones (16-8) with 22 points six assists, three rebounds and three steals. Josephine Salazar had 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Gabriella Garcia-Pons had 11 points and eight rebounds. ▪ Region 4-2A quarterfinal - Somerset Prep 79, True North 30: Gabrielle King finished with 25 points, seven steals and five rebounds to lead the Hurricanes (18-10). Chardae Rumph had 17 points and Riley Stoker totaled 13 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Somerset will next travel to Fort Lauderdale to face Westminster Academy on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ▪ Region 4-1A quarterfinal - Hebrew Academy 45, Pine School 25: Eli Wolfson led the Warriors (16-4) with 27 points and Ella Turetsky had nine points. Hebrew Academy will next travel to Boca Raton to face Grandview Prep on Tuesday. MORE SCORES 4-7A: Doral Academy 87, Palmetto 28; Western 56, Ferguson 38; 4-6A: St. Thomas Aquinas 79, Boca Raton Olympic Heights 33; Southridge 77, Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge 49; Stuart Martin County 74, Homestead 34; 4-5A: Blanche Ely 57, Pembroke Pines Charter 43; Jensen Beach 60, McArthur 38; 4-4A: American Heritage 63, Naples Lely 13; 3-3A: Somerset Canyons 66, North Broward Prep 30; Fort Myers Bishop Verot 67, Coral Springs Charter 49; 4-3A: SLAM 73, Keys Gate 49; 4-2A: Miami Country Day d. Posnack (forfeit); Palmer Trinity 71, Westminster Christian 43; Westminster Academy 75, Chaminade 12; 4-1A: Boca Grandview Prep d. Colonial Christian (forfeit); Miami Christian 63, Boca Raton Christian 26; Schoolhouse Prep 60, West Palm Beach Atlantic Christian 32.
Miami Herald
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Ferguson boys soccer ousts Cypress Bay, faces Columbus next; Palmetto girls advance
Sometimes you just have to ignore the name on the jersey. And that's exactly what the Ferguson boys' soccer team went out and did. Despite being a No. 3 seed and hosting the No. 6 seed, the Falcons entered Tuesday afternoon's Region 4-7A quarterfinal matchup against Cypress Bay a slight underdog. This was the same Lightning program that has a half-dozen state championships including five in a seven-year span from 2011 to 2017 with the most recent coming in 2022. In contrast, Ferguson was making only its second regional appearance in the last 13 years and looking to advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2012. That's exactly what the Falcons did. An early goal by Rodrigo Carmona in the game's 11th minute didn't seem like a big deal at the time. But as it turned out, it was the only score of the game as the Falcons (10-2-2) on the strength of solid second half defense in addition to a pair of outstanding saves by goalkeeper and senior captain Anthony Pasto emerged with a 1-0 victory at Tropical Park The win advanced the Falcons (10-2-2) to a regional semifinal matchup with No. 2 seed Columbus on Friday at FIU Soccer Park at 7 p.m. after the Explorers eliminated No. 7 seed Coral Glades 5-1 in the opposite quarterfinal. 'Sure they had the caché coming in with the championship banners and there were some our kids yesterday that were talking about how they have all those state titles from the past and were a really strong program,' Ferguson coach Joey Ojeda said. 'I just drilled them on the fact that they play 80 minutes of soccer just like us and that all of that is from the past. Today, they paid no attention to that, fought their tails off from start to finish and came out on top.' Nobody fought harder than Pasto. With that one goal deficit, Cypress Bay (12-5-3) pressed the action in the second half and had the ball down on Ferguson's end for much of the time. Solid defense kept Cypress Bay players at bay but twice, the Lightning had golden opportunities to score the equalizer. The first came with 29 minutes left when a perfect centering pass from the corner found Gerardo Galvan down low right smack in front of the net with only Pasto in the way. He right-footed one as Pasto reached out with his left hand to deflect it away. With the ball still loose in front of the net, defender Diego Carmona (no relation to Rodrigo) got to it first and cleared the ball out. Thirteen minutes later, Lorenzo Abbiatti rifled a perfect centering pass from the right that Sebastian Paba was waiting for. He headed it straight for the left corner of the net but Pasto reached out and snagged it with both hands. 'Sure, I had a couple of big-time saves in the second half which is great but other than that, I didn't have to do much because my defense was out there protecting me,' Pasto said. 'It was all from being locked in, from the start of the game all the way to the final whistle, we all got it done as a team. What we did today meant so much, not just for us but our fans, our school, everybody. Nobody from the outside thought we weren't going to do it today and we kind of felt like the underdog but we had that positivity that I think got us through.' Carmona's goal was almost a little fluky. When he took a pass down the right side from Alejandro Insignares, Cypress Bay keeper Simon Arango came out to meet him but didn't get there in time. Carmona simply flicked the ball with the side of his right foot and the ball bounced the last 20 yards into the bottom left corner of the net. 'We probably have practiced that play millions of times,' Carmona said. 'I saw the keeper out of the corner of my eye and then just flicked it with my foot to misdirect it. I wasn't sure if I was off sides or not and fortunately I didn't hear the whistle. I honestly didn't think that would turn out to be the only score of the game but fortunately it held up.' For Ojeda, Tuesday's win signaled that he has this Falcons program on a fast-track to success after taking over a struggling program just 18 months ago. 'I think, last year when I came in, there was a lack of professionalism and a lack of commitment to the program,' said Ojeda, who played for the program before graduating in 2018. 'Last year we lost in the district final when we needed to win in order to make it to regionals and that was real heartbreak for out kids. But I think the heartbreak really inspired the underclassmen to pick up the mantle, maintain that professionalism and commitment to the program and today's result was their reward.' ▪ Region 4-7A quarterfinal - Columbus 5, Coral Glades 1: Jorge Gonzalez-Tello scored a pair of first half goals to stake his team to an early 2-0 lead and the No. 2 seeded Explorers never looked back, cruising to an easy victory. After Coral Glades scored on a penalty kick early in the second half trimming Columbus' lead to 2-1, Andres Gotera, Jayden Glasper and Santiago Montoya each scored a goal to complete the scoring. ▪ Region 4-6A quarterfinal - Miami Beach 4, Braddock 1: Tomas Visintini 2 goals 1 assist, Jamary Joseph 1 goal, Rocko Benitez 1 goal, Tomas Cortez 1 assist, Yelvim Bustamante 1 assist, Santiago Lemos 1 assist. Miami Beach (16-3-2) will face Olympic Heights in Boca Raton on Friday at 7 p.m. MORE BOYS SCORES Region 4-7A: Stoneman Douglas 3, Greenacres John I. Leonard 2; Doral 3, South Dade 1; 4-6A: South Broward 3, Monarch 2; St. Thomas Aquinas 4, Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 0; Boca Raton Olympic Heights 5, Fort Lauderdale 1; 4-5A: Pines Charter 6, Sebastian River 0; Archbishop McCarthy 1, Coconut Creek 1 (McCarthy wins 3-1 PK); Varela 3, North Miami 1; 4-4A: Mater Lakes 5, Pompano Beach 1; TERRA 2, Mourning 1; Belen 2, Jackson 0; Somerset Academy 3, Key West 0. GIRLS' SOCCER ▪ Region 4-7A quarterfinal - Palmetto 1, Boca Raton Spanish River 1 (Pal wins 3-1 in PK): Palmetto goalkeeper Abigail Pereira celebrated her birthday in style on Tuesday night when she recorded a pair of saves during the penalty kick shootout round. Palmetto (13-4-1) was less than 10 minutes away from winning the game in regulation before Spanish River's Madelyn Garrett scored with 9:27 left tying the game. They could've won it with less than a minute left in the second 10-minute overtime as well but Raya Kempler's shot from the left side bounced off the left post. Kempler recorded the assist on Palmetto's regulation goal when Cooper Ricklick scored with 12:47 left in the first half. The No. 4 seeded Panthers will travel to Weston on Friday at 6 p.m. to take on top seeded Cypress Bay. MORE GIRLS SCORES Region 4-7A: Cypress Bay 3, Boca Raton 0; Wellington 8, Coral Reef 1; Stoneman Douglas 0, Doral 0 (Douglas wins 4-3 PK); 4-6A: St. Thomas Aquinas 8, Braddock 0; Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 2, Flanagan 1; Cooper City 3, Fort Lauderdale 0; Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge 2, South Broward 1; 4-5A: Lourdes 8, Jensen Beach 0; Archbishop McCarthy 8, Okeechobee 0; Pines Charter 8, Varela 0; 4-4A: American Heritage 8, Key West 0; Somerset Academy 4, Mourning 0; TERRA 1, Mater Lakes 1 (TERRA wins 3-2 PK).
