St. Thomas Aquinas water polo wins region title. District, region baseball and tennis. Plus more

The St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ water polo team edged Miami Country Day 10-9 to win the Region 3 title. Trailing 9-8, the Raiders (24-4) scored twice in the fourth period for the come-from-behind win. Lev Konnikov led St. Thomas Aquinas with six goals. Samuel Eastaugh recorded two goals, and three assists. Jake Corbett and Matthew Lapin each scored, and Tommasso Leonardi added an assist. The True North baseball team won its second consecutive district championship, capturing the District 15-2A title with a 3-0 win over Palmer Trinity. Winning pitcher Will Foss tossed four innings of shutout ball, while allowing one hit and two walks and striking out five on 67 pitches. Alex Diaz followed with 2.2 strong innings of relief, adding two strikeouts to keep the Falcons off balance. Carlos Victorero closed the door, needing just one out to seal the shutout by inducing a game ending groundout for the save. Junior Noah Gamboa led the offense, going 2-for-2. He also produced one of the game’s highlights with a spectacular diving catch at second base in the top of the fifth with runners in scoring position to preserve the shutout. UCF commit Matias Fischer was 1-for-3, driving in a run and stealing a base, and teammates Jayden Cedeno (Jr.) and Kash Ojeda (Sr.) each added hits. Ojeda also drove in a run to help extend a lead they would never relinquish. True North (16-7) is a No.1 seed heading into regionals on Saturday. Palmer Trinity (21-5) will also advance to regional play. The region quarterfinalists from the area include: 7A: Stoneman Douglas, Coral Glades, Cypress Bay, Southwest, Columbus, South Dade, West Broward, Western. 6A: St. Thomas Aquinas, Braddock, Doral Academy, Flanagan, Southridge, Coral Springs. 5A: Mater Academy Charter, Hialeah, Archbishop McCarthy, Pembroke Pines Charter. 4A: American Heritage-Plantation, Key West, Belen Jesuit, Somerset Academy-Pembroke Pines. 3A: St. Brendan, Miami Springs, iMater Charter, Sunset, Monsignor Pace, Cardinal Gibbons, Gulliver Prep, Killian. 2A: True North Classical, Archbishop Carroll, Palmer Trinity, Westminster Christian, Florida Christian, Chaminade-Madonna, NSU University. 1A: Miami Christian, Highlands Christian, Dade Christian, Schoolhouse Prep, Brito. Belen Jesuit won the boys’ title, and Lourdes was the girls’ champion in District 16-3A tennis. Both advance to regionals along with district runners-up TERRA boys and girls. Isabella Giordano of TERRA won the No.1 girls’ singles title and teamed with Sophie Gutierrez to also win at No.1 doubles to automatically qualify for state as did Belen’s Julian and Sebastian Vinals. In District 14-1A, freshman Lexie Bursa and 8th grader Alexandra Siegle of Westminster Academy qualified for state by winning the No.1 girls’ doubles title. Bursa also reached state by winning districts at No.1 singles. For the past four years, middle school and high school students involved in the program. This season, the Aviators went undefeated in the regular season in the girls’ division at 10-0. Last season they were 3-6. The boys’ team also had a winning record at 6-4, compared to last season’s 2-7 mark. At the District 15-1A Tournament, sophomore Marcella Camarota reached the finals in No.1 girls’ singles, and three doubles tandems were semifinalists. Those athletes were sophomores Ana Delgado & Camarota at No.1 girls’ doubles; 8th grader Layla Monzon & junior Zoe Kennedy at No.2 girls’ doubles; and 7th grader Lucas Camarota & 8th grader Dyllan Korse at No.2 boys’ doubles. Emely Ramirez was the winning pitcher for the Bulldogs (7-7). Emily Cancio and Grace Serracin each batted 2-for-3. Anais Gonzalez and Anelis Goberna were 2-for-4 with Goberna hitting a home run. The final rosters are set for USA Football’s 15U and 17U U.S. boys’ and girls’ national teams. In June, they face international teams in 5-on-5, Olympic-style flag football in Los Angeles at USA Football’s annual Junior International Cup. In 17U, Westminster Christian High School’s Anthony Vera (QB) and Miami Palmetto Senior High School’s Britton Bayag (recent WR/DB transfer from Westminster Christian) became four-time members of the program and will seek to become some of the most decorated athletes in Junior National Team history this summer as they go for their fourth gold medal as teammates. Monarch High School’s Christopher Cortinas (WR) of Coral Springs also made the 17U roster. Cortinas is a first-time member of the program. The Ransom Everglades girls’ flag football team defeated Mater Bay Academy 40-0 but then lost in the district semifinal against SLAM in a close battle 14-12. For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have varsity sports results and top performers (with stats), email hssports@miamiherald.com. They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. You will be alerted when it will appear. Also, some will be considered athlete of the week nominations.