By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
MISSION — Brownsville athletes Cassie Valdez, Kai Money and Julie Lucio were among those winning top honors at Tuesday night’s All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet at Mario’s Banquet & Conference Center.
The event was hosted by RGVSports.com and AIM Media Texas in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame as 33 awards involving 12 UIL sports were presented to the Valley’s most successful athletes, coaches and teams from the school year just completed.
Former San Antonio Spurs player and current team broadcast announcer Sean Elliott was the keynote speaker.
From Brownsville, top winners at the banquet included Valdez of Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Money of St. Joseph Academy. Both 2018 graduates, they were named Sub-6A Female and Male Athletes of the Year, respectively.
This school year, Valdez was The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro MVP in softball for the third straight time and the District 32-5A Offensive MVP. An infielder/pitcher, Valdez led the 26-12 Lady Chargers to a repeat 32-5A championship by batting .611 with 60 RBIs, 58 runs scored and 11 home runs as a senior. She had glowing numbers as a pitcher as well.
In volleyball, Valdez was the 32-5A MVP and sparked her team to the 32-5A title. She also was named the All-Valley Volleyball Player of the Year at the banquet on Tuesday.
Softball, though, is her sport. Valdez has signed to play NCAA Division I ball at the University of Texas-San Antonio.
Regarding her awards on Tuesday, Valdez said, “It’s such an honor to be nominated and then get these awards. I’d like to thank all my coaches and everyone who has contributed to my career in sports. It’s a good way to transition into college and it gives me a confidence boost for what I can do in the future.”
Money was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Bloodhounds, who went 7-5 last fall and advanced to the second round of the TAPPS playoffs. During his senior season of football, Money passed for 2,539 yards and 35 touchdowns while rushing for 1,502 yards and 11 scores.
Money also played basketball and soccer and ran track.
“I’m very honored,” said Money, who plans to attend the University of Texas-Austin this fall and pursue a biology/pre-med degree and walk on to the Texas Longhorns football team. “It’s something I’ve worked for before high school and during high school.
“It’s awesome to come out here to this banquet and it’s very cool for Valley high school athletes to be able to experience this,” he added. “I’d like to give a shout-out to my parents for always believing in me and my teammates and friends throughout the past four years. It was an experience (in high school) I’ll cherish the rest of my life.”
Also Tuesday, Julie Lucio of Brownsville Veterans was named the All-Valley Girls Golfer of the Year. The University of Houston signee averaged 71.38 strokes over 18 holes this school year, which was the best average in the Valley for high school girls.
She sparked her team to a second straight appearance at the Class 5A state tournament in May.
“Having this award to end the (school) year means everything,” Lucio said. “It’s been amazing to be a Brownsville ISD student/athlete. I’m just looking forward to what I can accomplish in the future. I can’t wait for college.”
Brownsville Veterans picked up the award for Sub-6A program of the year. It was the second straight year for the school to win such a recognition. McAllen High captured the 6A Program of the Year award.
During the 2017-18 school year, Brownsville Veterans won district titles in football, volleyball, boys and girls swimming, girls basketball, girls golf, baseball and softball. All of the school’s teams went to the playoffs for the second consecutive year, including the boys soccer squad. It advanced to the Region IV-5A finals for the second straight season in April.
Among the other top award winners for athletes and teams at the banquet were McAllen High’s Serena Cervantes (6A Female Athlete of the Year), McAllen High’s Shane Casas and Los Fresnos’ Sebastian Gonzales (6A Co-Male Athletes of the Year), McAllen High soccer (6A Girls Team of the Year), San Benito football (6A Boys Team of the Year), Sharyland High golf (Sub-6A Girls Team of the Year) and Santa Rosa basketball (Sub-6A Boys Team of the Year).
Santa Rosa’s Johnny Cipriano was chosen All-Valley Boys Coach of the Year for taking his basketball team to the state tournament in back-to-back seasons.
McAllen High’s Pat Arney was named the All-Valley Girls Coach of the Year for guiding the Lady Bulldogs soccer team to the state tournament. The Lady Bulldogs became the first girls team from the Valley to make it to state in their sport.
Hanna’s Jay Medina was the winner of the annual Tom Landry Award for Excellence. He played baseball and ranked 19th academically out of more than 600 students in his class with a 4.5 grade-point average. He received a $2,000 check for college.