MIAMI — Fresh off their win at the National AAPA Challenge Bowl, Miami-Dade physician assistant program champions will once again be recognized for their academic prowess, as will the baseball team for its success in the college world series and its Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) State Championship title.
The honors will be given to both teams by the Miami-Dade County Commission during its meeting on Tuesday at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami. July 1 will be declared MDC Physician Assistant Team Day and MDC Sharks Baseball Team Day.
MDC’s men’s baseball team claimed the FCSAA title by defeating nationally ranked No. 13 Polk State College 4-2, catapulting them to the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., where the came in second in the nation.
The Sharks have claimed the state title 11 times.
For head coach Danny Price, FCSAA was his first championship in his four years with the team. Price was named Coach of the Year for the State of Florida and for the Southern Conference.
The team clinched its 29th Southern Conference Championship title with an overall record of 30 wins and 14 losses, and a conference record of 17-6.
Meanwhile, MDC also went head-to-head with students from other physician assistant (PA) programs across the country, claiming first prize in the National AAPA Challenge Bowl. The match, which took place in Boston recently, attracted some 74 teams from across the country, including Duke, Yale, Stanford, Wake Forest and the University of Florida.
Team members included Cecilio Padron, 21, who was an auto mechanic with no medical experience before enrolling in MDC’s PA school.
Another member, Arian Pupo, recently arrived from Cuba, where he started medical school, and now dreams of practicing medicine. Leopoldo Catala is an international student with a student visa.
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