Students, Coaches Honored By Palm Beach Post
High School Sports Awards: Check out 2025 Player of the Year winners in Palm Beach County
Portrait of Eric J. Wallace
Palm Beach Post
Coach of the Year: Hillary Carney, Benjamin girls soccer
There were any number of reasons why Carney's Bucs weren't supposed to be hoisting a state championship trophy this February. Benjamin lost its top three scorers from last year, including The Post's overall Girls Athlete of the Year. The Bucs entered district play with a losing record and faced a playoff gauntlet that included their local rivals and the four-time defending state champions. And yet, Carney rallied Benjamin to the state summit and national prominence as legendary Tiger Woods cheered his daughter from the stands. It was one of Palm Beach County's most thrilling underdog runs in recent memory.
Boys Lacrosse: Jayden Vega, Benjamin
Vega was a man on a mission, totaling 81 goals and 65 assists to pace the nation's top-ranked team in both categories. The senior also contributed 41 ground balls and lent a dominant physical presence to the Buccaneers’ offense, showing up as the biggest play-maker in Benjamin's most crucial games, including three separate wins against state runner-up St. Andrew's.
Girls Tennis: Maria Navarro, Benjamin
Navarro, a sophomore, advanced for the second straight season to the state individual finals in 1A. Navarro also made the state doubles semifinals with Milana Ronert. The blonde-haired righthander has two more years to bring home the top prize in both singles and doubles. She has exquisitely hard topspin strokes from both wings and is a dangerous poacher at net in doubles.
Girls Track and Field: Sofia Balistreri, Benjamin
Balistreri was state champion in the 800-meter run, state runner-up in 4x800-meter relay and had a third-place finish in 1600-meter run at the 1A state meet. She was the region, district, Palm League and Palm Beach County champion in the 800-meter run and the region and district champion in 1600-meter run.
Full story available here: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/2025/05/28/high-school-sports-awards-show-2025-all-county-winners-palm-beach/83881571007/
Full story available here: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/2025/05/28/high-school-sports-awards-show-2025-all-county-winners-palm-beach/83881571007/
Main Address & Lower/Middle School
11000 Ellison Wilson RoadNorth Palm Beach, FL 33408
Ph: 561.626.3747
A premier PK3 - Grade 12 independent, coeducational day school with campuses in North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. Since 1960, The Benjamin School has provided a challenging college preparatory education to a diverse student body in a structured, nurturing community environment.