Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Patriots looking to rebuild
American Heritage has to find replacements for Schwartz, Campbell
All high school coaches have to deal with turnover as seniors graduate and some underclassmen transfer.
American Heritage coach Greg Barnes has an especially difficult hill to climb after losing two of the top athletes in the country to graduation.
Sun Sentinel Broward County Class 2A-1A athlete of the year Anthony Schwartz graduated and is now playing football and running track at Auburn, while first-team All-County pick Tyson Campbell is playing football at Georgia.
“You really can’t replace Schwartz and Tyson because those are some of the elite kids in the country,” Barnes said.
Both athletes were recognized in high school as supremely talented players. Campbell was rated a five-star prospect in football and was the No. 12 overall football player in the 2018 class, according to 247Sports.
Schwartz, who was a four-star football prospect and No.163 overall in the class, made an even bigger name for himself in track. After winning gold medals at states as a sophomore, he set state records in the 100-meter (10.07 seconds) and 200-meter dash (20.41 seconds).
Schwartz is still running track at Auburn, along with former Chaminade-Madonna football and track star Shaun Shivers.
“All I can do is rebuild, like I did with them,” Barnes said. “They just worked hard, and that’s it, just got to keep working hard.”
The Patriots have to replace the entirety of last year’s state champion 4x100 relay team, which featured Campbell, Schwartz, current Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II and then-freshman Jaden McBurrows. The three seniors graduated, and McBurrows, the only underclassman, transferred to St. Thomas Aquinas.
With so much turnover, Barnes is using last year’s second-place finish at the state meet to try to fire up the newcomers who will have a chance to assume the mantle. He said some standouts early in the year are Clarence Burly, Vinson Davis and Monte Parker.
“It’s definitely a motivating factor,” Barnes said.
The team that beat American Heritage by 10 points at states last year is also dealing with turnover, and not just with athletes.
Former assistant coach Calvin Golson takes over for John Battle as the head of the Hallandale track team this season after Battle stepped down, Hallandale athletic director Anthony Shinhoster said.
Golson has big shoes to fill, as Battle led the Chargers to back-toback Class 2A state titles.
Golson’s team also lost several talented athletes, including Milton Ingraham, who set school records in in shot put and won gold at states in both the shot put and discus throw, Peter Anderson, who finished fourth at states in the 400, and Amari Johnson, who won a state title in the 300m hurdles and finished second in the 110m hudles.
Hallandale does return John Ferguson, who finished second behind Ingraham in shot put at states, and Rasmus Wright, who was part of the Chargers’ state champion 4x400 relay team.
Miramar and Piper both came up just short of a state championship last year, with the Patriots finishing three points behind Class 4A champion Miami Northwestern, and the Bengals falling only two points behind Miramar.
Both teams return key athletes this year. Miramar boasts Florida State signee and first-team AllCounty pick Taylor Banks and Osaji Skyers, who finished third in the 110m hurdles and sixth in the triple jump last year. The Patriots lost Sun Sentinel Class 4A-3A Broward County athlete of the year Jamal Walton and first-team All-County pick Terrence Horne to graduation.
Piper returns Sukeil Foucha, who was the state champion in the 800 and qualified for states in the 1,600. The Bengals did lose firstteam All-County pick DaeQwan Butler to graduation, though.
Cardinal Gibbons looks to be another team to break out after finishing 17th at states last year. The Chiefs boast first-team AllCounty picks Jackson Marseille in the high jump and Jimmy Nutt in the pole vault.
In Palm Beach County, Boca Raton is the reigning county champion but will have to fend off the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the county, Palm Beach Central and Glades Central.
The Broncos return junior hurdler Tyler Drew, who won the 110-meter hurdles at the district and county meets. The Raiders bring back senior Odieu Hilaire, who finished third at states in the triple jump, and junior Matron Thornton, who placed fifth at regionals and 15th at states in the 800.