Parkland’s Best: Player of the Year, All Conference Awards & More

by Matt Rothman April 20, 2026

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Parkland’s Best: Player of Year, All Conference Awards & More

Zeinab Mourad. {MSD Wrestling}

The city of Parkland has produced some incredible wrestlers over the years, including three who have earned Player of the Year honors and several all-conference selections and honorable mentions.

Zeinab Mourad received that recognition for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas girls’ wrestling team after an outstanding 25-1 season, with her only loss coming in the State Championship. Despite battling injuries throughout the year, she captured BCAA, District, and Regional titles.

Mourad has also found tremendous success in judo, traveling across the country to compete in national tournaments. She is a five-time national champion and has qualified for the world championships in each of the past two years. She trains at Ki-itsu-sai Judo National Training Center in Coconut Creek under coaches German Velazco and Jhonny Prado.

The Mocco brothers were also named Player of the Year in boys wrestling while competing for Cardinal Gibbons High School. Michael Mocco capped off a historic career by winning his fourth consecutive state championship, finishing with a perfect 54-0 record and securing his second straight undefeated season. A University of Iowa signee, he is also a U.S. Open champion and previously won a U17 Freestyle World Championship in Amman, Jordan. In addition, he is a two-time U.S. Junior Nationals champion in Fargo, North Dakota, and has claimed titles at prestigious events such as the Ironman Wrestling Tournament in Ohio and the Super 32 Challenge in North Carolina.

Peter Mocco, a sophomore, also delivered a dominant season, going 55-0 and winning a state championship. He previously won a title as an eighth grader at Coral Springs Charter and was the state runner-up last year. A three-time Fargo All-American, he captured a U.S. Junior National Championship this past July and also won the NHSCA Championship last year. He now has his sights set on competing for a title at the U17 World Team Trials.

The girls’ soccer team featured Alexa Jordan, who was named to the First team after finishing with six goals and 10 assists. The Eagles went 9-7-2 and won eight straight District Titles before knocking off Doral Academy in their first game of Regionals.

Breanna Gordon and Jackie DeStefano were each named to the Second Team, while Gordon led the team in goals with nine. DeStefano had three goals and three assists. Sabrina Cernech, Audrey Haltwanger, and Emily Rodriguez were all Honorable Mentions.

The boys’ soccer team had three players recognized on the Second Team: Anthony Carnuccio, Cristian Cubillas, and Liam Ulinski. The Eagles won their second straight District Championship and also advanced to the Regional Semifinals.

The boys’ basketball team had Zach Story and Derek Scheidt named Honorable Mentions. Sorry led the team in scoring with 12.8 points per game while Scheidt averaged 7.6 as the team went 10-17. Jacob Balk and Santiago Caro were both Honorable Mentions for the boys’ wrestling team after each winning a District Championship and competing in Regionals.

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Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student.