RGVSPORTS.COM
Three boys and three girls track and field athletes will be nominated for Rio Grande Valley Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year and the Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year on June 14.
The winners will be recognized at the 2016 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet at DoubleTree Suites in McAllen. Representatives from the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, The Monitor, the Brownsville Herald and the Valley Morning Star voted on three nominations for each category.
The winner will be revealed at the banquet.
The nominees for Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year:
>> Joshua McGowen, McAllen High: McGowen swept all three of his events at the District 30-6A meet: the 110 and 300 hurdles and 100 dash. McGowen could possibly qualify for state in four events. According to Athletic.net, McGowen holds the second- and seventh-fastest times in the state among Class 6A competition in the 110 and 300 hurdles.
>> Anthony Garza, Brownsville Porter: Garza is a Class 6A regional qualifier and won the 1600 race and was second in the 3200 at the District 32-5A meet.
>> Mike Zuniga, Rio Hondo: Zuniga owns the Valley’s top mark in the shot put and signed earlier this week to compete for Texas-San Antonio in track and field. He is the District 32-4A champion in the shot put and discus.
The nominees for Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year:
>> Nicole Gonzalez, Harlingen South: Won the 100 and 200 meter dashes, and the 400 run at the District 32-6A meet.
>> Sydney Salinas, Weslaco High: Salinas is No. 1 in the Valley in the pole vault and in the top 8 in the state in the event. She is also a member of Weslaco High’s dominant relay teams.
>> Gaby Garza, Brownsville St. Joseph: The sophomore already owns one of the three best 300 hurdle times in Rio Grande Valley history.
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson will be the keynote speaker at June’s banquet.
Pearson, who was inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 2011 after a standout career defined by his performances in the clutch, will highlight the function hosted by RGVSports.com in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame. The awards banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will recognize team and individual standouts in multiple sports over the past year.
To buy tickets to the banquet, log on to TheMonitor.com, BrownsvilleHerald.com, or ValleyStar.com and click on the rgvsports_banquet link on the toolbar on the home page of each website.