Vote for Miami Herald High School Athlete of the Week (27)

Nominees include standouts from lacrosse, track, volleyball, and water polo

Mar. 28, 2026 at 4:34am

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The Miami Herald is asking readers to vote for the High School Athlete of the Week for Week 27 of the 2025-26 varsity sports season. The poll features nominees from lacrosse, track & field, boys' volleyball, and water polo, and will be open for voting until Thursday, April 2.

Why it matters

The Miami Herald's High School Athlete of the Week award recognizes the top performers from local high school sports, shining a spotlight on the achievements of student-athletes in the community.

The details

This week's nominees include Lucas Albert of Gulliver Prep lacrosse, who set a school record with 10 goals in a game; Billy Essig of Belen Jesuit volleyball, who had a standout performance at the Miami Classic tournament; Charlie Friguls of Columbus volleyball, who was named tournament MVP; Ashton Gould of Ransom Everglades water polo, who scored the winning goal in overtime; Sophia Kingston of Gulliver Prep water polo, who had a dominant showing at the Gulliver Prep Invitational; Marcelo Mantecon of Belen Jesuit track & field, who won three individual national titles and a relay title at the Nike Indoor Nationals; Kevin Muñoz of Southwest volleyball, who helped lead his team to a thrilling 5-set win; and Marcos Sanchez of True North volleyball, who had a strong performance in a win over previously undefeated Varela.

  • The poll will be open for voting until Thursday, April 2 around 10 p.m.

The players

Lucas Albert

A junior lacrosse player at Gulliver Prep who set a school record with 10 goals in a game.

Billy Essig

A junior volleyball player at Belen Jesuit who had 61 kills, 19 digs, and 2 aces at the Miami Classic tournament.

Charlie Friguls

A senior setter for the Columbus volleyball team who was named tournament MVP at the Miami Classic.

Ashton Gould

A junior water polo player at Ransom Everglades who scored the winning goal in overtime against St. Thomas Aquinas.

Sophia Kingston

A senior water polo player at Gulliver Prep who had 25 goals, 11 assists, and 13 steals in several wins.

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What’s next

The poll will close on Thursday, April 2 around 10 p.m., and the winner will be announced shortly after.

The takeaway

This week's nominees showcase the diverse talent and impressive achievements of high school student-athletes across a range of sports in the Miami area. Voting for the Athlete of the Week award gives the community a chance to recognize and celebrate these young athletes' hard work and success.