PHARR — After a tumultuous and unpredictable 2020 season like no other, high school football is back in full force across the Rio Grande Valley.

As the 7-on-7 summer circuit winds down and summer strength and conditioning programs at schools across the RGV continue to ramp up, teams throughout the Valley are preparing for their first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic began while others are eagerly awaiting their first taste of football since 2019.

Many of those teams and dozens of the Rio Grande Valley’s shining stars on the gridiron gathered Thursday morning at PSJA Stadium in Pharr for The Monitor’s Class 6A High School Football Media Day where one common sentiment was shared all around: it’s good to be back.

“We didn’t have a season last year, so it feels good to be back and feel that atmosphere being back around our teammates,” La Joya High senior quarterback Tristen Treviño said. “We’re very excited. Our whole team has been working this whole summer.”

“It feels good getting together as a team, getting back in that rhythm and keeping it going from there,” PSJA High senior Viggo Lopez said, one of three returning receivers in the Bears’ high-flying offense. “We’re ready to reach, climb to the top and fight for that district championship. It’s really motivated all of us in the weight room.”

The chase for the RGV’s eight playoff berths in 6A — four from District 31-6A and four in 32-6A — figures to be a tight race to the finish line decided by a number of South Texas’ most established veterans and rising stars.

PSJA North senior running back Isaac Gonzalez, The Monitor’s 2020 All-Area Football Offensive Player of the Year, returns after leading the Valley in rushing with 1,266 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground while averaging 7.1 yards per carry and tallying six 100-yard games.

Gonzalez is one of 11 offensive starters back in Raiders’ black for his fourth season as the team’s primary ball carrier. He and his teammates are hungrier than ever after bowing out of the area round of the 6A DII playoffs last year due to COVID-19 contact tracing.

“This year we’re going to go harder and be way more successful than we were last year,” he said. “We don’t want to go to the first or second round; we want to go deep into the fourth and fifth rounds and play those big schools up north. We want to show them what the Valley can do.”

The Raiders are poised to challenge for the District 31-6A title this season but must get past reigning champs Edinburg Vela first.

The SaberCats were nothing short of dominant during a 2020 campaign when they rumbled to their fifth district championship in the last six years without trailing for a single second during the regular season.

Vela brings back 43 varsity lettermen — far and away the most throughout the Valley — in addition to 15 starters this season, but will look to senior quarterback Chase Campbell to deliver a breakout season in his first year as the team’s starter behind center.

“The confidence level is definitely going to be there for us,” Campbell said. “We have a great coaching staff led by Coach (John) Campbell to push us on and off the field. … We have the confidence that if we work hard, we can go out there and outperform the other team.”

Campbell isn’t the only 6A signal caller expected to take a big step forward this year.

Donna North senior Robert Gomez and La Joya’s Treviño are both set for big seasons after each experienced a significant setback last year.

Gomez emerged as a dynamic presence behind center and one of the Valley’s premier deep-ball throwers, racking up 765 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air before sustaining a season-ending leg injury midway through the season against Weslaco High.

Treviño, meanwhile, nearly won La Joya’s starting quarterback job as a sophomore in 2019 before missing last season when the Coyotes and crosstown rival La Joya Juarez-Lincoln elected to sit out the 2020 season amid health and safety concerns.

He’s since taken the reins of La Joya High’s offense during summer 7-on-7 play and should expand the capabilities of the Coyotes’ flexbone offense.

A trio of 31-6A teams are also adjusting to head coaching changes ahead of the new season: Edinburg Economedes, Edinburg High and Mission High.

Economedes tabbed former Vela offensive coordinator Sean Van De Merghal as its next head coach and he’s brought a palpable level of excitement to the Jags’ program.

Despite struggling during a shortened 2020 campaign, Econ returns 32 lettermen and 13 starters which should make it one of the RGV’s most experienced teams and very deep along the defensive and offensive lines.

“We’ve got to communicate well with each other and we try to hang out together as much as we can on and off the field. We try to be closer than brothers, like best friends,” Econ offensive lineman Preston Alvarado said. “It gives us a really big advantage, especially since we have a lot of seniors coming back with experience. It really helps the team out a lot and gets us really hyped up on the field.”

Edinburg High, meanwhile, brought in former Bobcat star and Weslaco East defensive coordinator Rene Guzman to lead a program that narrowly missed out on the playoffs last season.

The Bobcats return 30 players with varsity experience who say they’ve been working harder than ever before under their first-year head coach.

“He’s brought a lot of intensity. He expects a lot from this program because of our rich history,” Edinburg High senior quarterback Roland Abrego said. “For us, we just have to keep our foot on the gas pedal, keep working hard and bring it even more.”

Mission promoted former special teams coordinator Daniel Longoria as its newest head coach, as he takes over a squad that returns five starters from the RGV’s fiercest defense in 2020.

Linebackers Luis Balderas and Jude Jaime, defensive back Luis Briseño and defensive end Zeke Cuadros should have the Eagles squarely in the thick of 31-6A’s district title hunt.

Edinburg North will also bring back one of the Valley’s elite defenses in 2021.

The Cougars, who are fresh off a trip to the state 7-on-7 championships in June and their second straight playoff appearance, will have 36 varsity players back in the fold with defensive back Giovanni Gonzalez, linebacker Daniel Rodriguez and defensive lineman Trebor Acuña expected to set the tone.

“The chemistry is there and we feel great,” Gonzalez said. “Our younger guys aren’t so young anymore. They’ve been playing against us and guys up north. They have the experience to match up with and play against all these other teams.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

LA VILLA — Kassidie Rodriguez did a little bit of everything during her final season at Mercedes.

The Tigers’ senior asserted herself as one of the Rio Grande Valley’s elite softball stars by producing at the plate, on the basepaths and in the circle.

Tuesday night was no different.

Rodriguez turned in another dominant all-around performance Tuesday night alongside the top senior standouts across the Valley and helped lead the East All-Stars past the West in a 7-2 victory during the return of the RGV Softball All-Star Game at La Villa High School.

“I think it came down to our chemistry,” Rodriguez said. “I made a lot of friendships and connections, and I think that really helped us. We trusted each other, but also just tried to have fun at the end of the day.”

Rodriguez, a UT-Dallas softball signee, earned the starting nod in the circle for the East All-Stars and quickly made her presence felt both offensively and defensively.

The Mercedes ace pitched two scoreless innings, striking out two and surrendering one hit, before legging out an infield single and swiping both second and third base to put the East on the scoreboard first.

Rodriguez struck again at the plate later in the night smacking an RBI double into the gap between left and center field before eventually scoring for the second time on the night.

“I didn’t really put pressure on myself and none of the girls really put that much pressure on themselves because this was basically the last game of our high school careers,” she said. “We just came to have fun, but we knew we were going to win and executed.”

Rodriguez was awarded MVP honors for her efforts after the game, but her stellar performance was merely a microcosm of a complete all-around team effort by the East All-Stars.

Rodriguez combined with Port Isabel’s Allison Gonzalez, Harlingen South’s Kylie Ruiz and Harlingen High’s Audrie Sayas to pitch a gem in the circle with the group routinely pitching the East of jams without trailing at any point.

That was also due in large part to exceptional defensive plays by Los Fresnos’ Aileen Avelar, Lyford’s Hannah Garza — who gunned down a runner sprinting toward the plate with a laser throw after a line drive bounced off the top of the center-field fence — and Harlingen South’s Alexa Saucedo, who caught multiple runners in pickle plays from her spot defensively at third base.

“I was very excited because putting all this talent together is something you don’t see often,” said Avelar, an Oklahoma Baptist signee. “I was ready to show out with my friends and it was so much fun.”

The East, however, inflicted most of its damage offensively.

After McAllen Rowe’s Ziomara Jasso tied the game at 1 during the third inning by beating out an infield single that scored McAllen Memorial’s Tori Alvarado, the East came roaring back by scoring six unanswered runs.

Harlingen South’s Alexa Saucedo led off the top of the next frame with a leadoff triple followed by a steal of home plate on a wild pitch.

Then Avelar cracked the game wide open with the biggest hit of the night, a screaming line drive down the right-field line that spurred a three-run rally in the fifth.

Rio Hondo’s Dominique De Jesus put an exclamation point finish on the East’s night offensively with a two-out, two RBI double during the sixth — the seventh extra-base hit of the evening for her side — to ensure every member of the East All-Stars reached base safely at least once.

“We never got flat,” Avelar said. “I’m just very grateful to be here and play alongside so many great players and have (Los Fresnos) Coach (Traci) Blackman out here watching us.”

Jasso pushed the last run of the game across for the West on a fielder’s choice in the final inning, collecting both of her team’s RBIs on the night. Edinburg Vela’s Karina Guzman collected MVP honors for the West All-Stars after starting the game in the circle and tallying five strikeouts.

Despite a resounding win for the East, though, the theme of the evening for all 45 seniors selected to participate was gratitude after seeing the 2020 RGV Softball All-Star Game and much of their junior seasons wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It feels good to end on a note like this,” Rodriguez said. “We made some fun memories and it was a good time.”

“I’ve grown up with a lot of these girls,” Avelar said. “It was very meaningful to end my last high school game with all my friends.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

WESLACO — The Harlingen High Cardinals and Harlingen South Hawks locked up the Rio Grande Valley’s final two berths in the 7-on-7 high school football state championships Saturday, as District 32-6A squads dominated the Mid-Valley state qualifying tournament.

The Cardinals and Hawks tallied a combined 7-0-1 record to headline several noteworthy performances by 32-6A teams among a 16-team field at Bobby Lackey Stadium and Weslaco East High School early Saturday.

Harlingen High clinched its first appearance in the state 7-on-7 tournament — which is set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday in College Station — for the first time since 2012, while South punched its ticket to the state championships for the first time in program history.

“It feels great,” Harlingen High junior Izaiah Bell said. “I never expected for us to come out like this after the pandemic, but it’s awesome and we’re ready to go compete at state.”

“It feels really great. I’m really excited for my team and I couldn’t do it without them,” Harlingen South sophomore Xander Casares said. “Honestly, it’s still weird to be back out here, but we’re getting back into the rhythm of it.”

Bell and the Cardinals started the day off with fireworks in Pool A’s round-robin play.

Bell, the team’s starting running back, stepped in to play quarterback for a short-handed Harlingen squad and grew in confidence as the day progressed.

He helped the Cards muster enough offense to squeak by Laredo United in a 21-20 win and escape with a 13-6 victory over host Weslaco East 13-6, while tying PSJA High at 20 to advance to the state-qualifying round.

Harlingen faced Mission High — the winners of a hyper-competitive Pool B that also featured McAllen Memorial, Sharyland High and Sharyland Pioneer — in the first of two matchups with a state title berth on the line.

Bell chucked four touchdown passes against Mission, and the Cardinals recorded a trio of interceptions to down the Eagles 26-7 in their most lopsided victory of the tournament.

“I felt more and more comfortable as we went on and on completing passes and stuff,” Bell said. “We were definitely prepared for it. We just need to keep doing the same thing and dominate.”

Down the road at Bobby Lackey Stadium, meanwhile, Harlingen South showed its youth would not slow the team down.

A bevy of sophomores helped lead the Hawks to a 4-0 mark, becoming the only team to finish the Mid-Valley state qualifying tournament with a perfect record.

Casares and the Hawks flexed their muscles offensively early with a 25-6 win over Edcouch-Elsa and a 25-13 victory against McAllen Rowe to start the day before downing District 32-6A rival Weslaco High to take first place in Pool C.

They advanced to face Laredo Alexander, which rallied to beat San Benito in the waning moments of the final round-robin game in Pool D, in the state qualifying round.

That’s when South’s defense made its presence felt.

The Hawks tallied four interceptions, including a pick-six, during their final game to pick up a 29-26 win over the Bulldogs to secure their spot at the state tournament.

Casares said South has thrived in its return to 7-on-7 competition this summer, thanks in large part to first-year head coach Israel Gonzalez, formerly of Lyford, who has injected energy into the young program during the offseason.

“Today shows that we’re in it together. Even when something goes down, we’re all going to be there to help each other out no matter what,” Casares said. “The coaches have changed our mindset with everything we do now. We do everything at 100% and it just gives us that extra energy.”

The Cardinals and Hawks became the fifth and sixth Rio Grande Valley teams to book their spots at this year’s state 7-on-7 tournament, doubling the RGV’s number of representatives from the 2019 state championships.

They join the Edinburg North Cougars, Mercedes Tigers and Mission Veterans Patriots in the Division I bracket and the La Feria Lions, who will compete in the Division II bracket.

Together with San Benito and Weslaco, Harlingen High and South helped District 32-6A teams dominate a majority of the competition at the Mid-Valley state qualifying tournament.

The four squads sported a combined 11-2-1 record Saturday and lost only one game to non-district opponents.

The Cards and Hawks believe their showings made a significant statement about the strength of the Class 6A football in the Mid-Valley as the regular season approaches.

“It feels great,” Casares said. “This really shows what Harlingen is all about. It puts us on the map.”

“I feel like we’re going to do great things as a team next year,” Bell said. “We’re just going to keep building.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

McALLEN — For Raymondville’s Jayson Cantu, the summer recruiting season could not come soon enough.

The Bearkats rising senior was coming off his first full season as the team’s starting quarterback and looking forward to hitting the recruiting trail when the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the Rio Grande Valley in 2020 and placed a de facto moratorium on recruiting across the country.

Cantu was one of many high school athletes throughout the Valley and beyond that was stripped of the opportunity to travel to campuses and compete at recruiting camps to place himself on the radar of college coaches.

Now nearly a year later with the NCAA’s recruiting dead period being lifted, he’s one of many high school football players across the country who are aiming to maximize their newfound opportunities during the most chaotic month for athletes and recruiters alike in recent memory.

“It’s been humbling for me to start hearing from recruiting coaches and being asked to attend various football camps and campus visits,” he said. “Looking back a year ago, I didn’t think this would be possible.”

Cantu learned to make the most of his chances during a wildly unpredictable junior season leading an explosive Raymondville offense.

He helped the Bearkats score a staggering 35.0 points per game, but the team was limited to a three-game schedule that featured no district contests and only one regular-season game.

Raymondville’s signal caller jumped at the opportunity to compete at a pair of summer recruiting camps hosted by Texas A&M-Kingsville in Weslaco and McAllen on Thursday and Friday, which presented the first chance for Cantu and others to receive hands-on instruction from college coaches in the Valley in two years.

“It was a great experience learning positional skills from the Javelinas’ coaching staff. Being able to attend the camp was an honor for me and a great start to my upcoming senior football season,” Cantu said. “With limited film from last season, these camps have helped me talk with recruiting coaches. It’s an opportunity for them to see me in person perform.”

“It was an awesome experience. I loved the environment and everyone wanted to compete,” PSJA Southwest junior running back Angel Hernandez said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and it’s a blessing, honestly. I’ve been here in The Valley my whole life and for a college to come down here is just a big opportunity.”

The Javelinas’ dual RGV recruiting camps at Weslaco’s Bobby Lackey Stadium and McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium drew close to 180 combined athletes from every corner of the Valley as well as the Corpus Christi and Laredo areas.

For many, it introduced them into the college football recruiting sphere and represented the first major opportunity to gain exposure on the recruiting circuit without having to travel to other parts of the state.

“The camp was an amazing experience for me and I learned a lot from Coach (Michael) Salinas’ great atmosphere,” said McAllen Memorial junior quarterback JP Cortez, who attended with his brother Sebastian. “It means a lot because we get to showcase our talent so close to home without traveling. It’s been a great opportunity for student-athletes in the RGV to take advantage of.”

For others, the Valley-based camps represented one of many opportunities that have reappeared to start the summer recruiting season.

Cantu and Edinburg Vela senior quarterback Chase Campbell were a few of many RGV players to attend camps hosted by Stephen F. Austin in San Antonio and beyond.

They are a pair of several standouts who are going outside of the Rio Grande Valley to maximize their visibility for many college coaches who are looking to play catch up by scouting as many high school players as possible.

“Before that dead period was lifted, it was just DMs and calls but now with camps opening, it’s everyone trying to get in front of coaches,” said Campbell, who plans to attend camps hosted by Houston, Lamar, SFA and UTSA among others.

“It’s huge because it allows me to get in front of college coaches to showcase my talents and it also allows me to finally meet the coaches that have been in contact with me,” he added. “The level of talent at these camps is huge, so getting reps against those players will definitely get me ready for the season.”

Others like PSJA North sophomore quarterback Ale Aparicio, one of the RGV’s breakout stars during the 2020 season, are going even farther.

Aparicio, who a year ago was preparing for his first varsity season during the summer largely without his teammates, traveled to huge camps at Texas A&M and LSU featuring hundreds of the top up-and-coming players from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“Having the opportunity to go to two great camps with high levels of competition and coaching is just a blessing,” Aparicio said. “I was definitely nervous but excited. It was weird for a little bit, but it was beneficial overall being able to show my skill and talent to many recruits.”

“The coaches were very technical through every drill and it really shocked me how every camper got the coaches’ attention,” he added. “I was able to take some words from Coach (Ed Orgeron) and Coach Jimbo Fisher were some words that I will definitely keep in mind on and off the field. Like Coach O said, ‘Don’t let anyone get in the way of fulfilling and our suiting your dreams.’”

Whether competing at camps within the Valley, beyond or both, though, many of the RGV’s top high school players view this frenetic month of recruiting activity as the key to promoting the region’s talent level on the gridiron and bringing more similar opportunities to South Texas in the near future.

“It means a lot to me for this opportunity to have come up,” Cantu said. “The Valley does have a lot of talent. I hope this camp will be the start to more colleges coming down to the RGV.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

McALLEN — Kathia Nitsch always wanted to compete for the Texas Longhorns growing up as a talented multi-sport athlete in McAllen, but never foresaw how she would compete in the orange and white.

Nitsch, who enjoyed a decorated high school track star as a champion hurdler during her time at McAllen Memorial, advanced to the 2019 Region IV-6A meet in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles before knee injuries ended her track and field career.

That setback, however, helped the former Mustangs standout find her true athletic passion.

“I didn’t row in high school and it was actually kind of a funny story how I got into it,” she said. “I had suffered from some knee injuries while running track. My dad came up to me one time and was like, ‘Hey, maybe we can sign you up for this Texas camp and a few other rowing camps to see if you like it, and then wherever you go to college, you can try to walk onto a team there.’”

Nitsch acclimated quickly to rowing and excelled while experiencing her first taste of the sport. She stood out enough to gain recruiting interest from a number of programs, including the Longhorns.

Nitsch embraced the sport and walked onto the rowing program at Texas and became a key contributor early in her collegiate career, helping the Longhorns capture the NCAA Women’s Rowing National Championship against a highly competitive field on May 30 in Sarasota, Florida.

“It definitely is really special and I’m still kind of on that high from a few days ago,” she said. “All throughout high school, my goal was to be an athlete at Texas, so to finally attend school there much less to bring home a national championship was definitely really special, and to do it around such amazing girls, teammates and coaches was just even better.”

Nitsch, a sophomore, helped power the Longhorns to the first national championship in program history alongside redshirt senior and Brownsville St. Joseph alumnae Maria Valencia after the team’s 2020 season was completely derailed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robbed of their chance to compete and with their international teammates prevented from traveling home, Nitsch and the Longhorns got to work, determined to emerge from the lockdown as one of the nation’s top teams.

“It was really hard. We couldn’t go see other friends and we couldn’t go to class. But one thing that we had was working toward that one common goal,” she said. “Each person played an equally important role, like even the teammates that weren’t on the travel squad for the national championships who were just as important because had one of them gotten COVID, then we would have been out. Everybody on the team played an equally important role.”

Nitsch and the Longhorns rebounded with a strong 2021 campaign and dominant run to the NCAA Championships.

She served as the stroke, the rower responsible for setting the stroke rate and rhythm of the boat, for Texas’ fours team that seized first-place finishes in every regular-season meet as well as the Big 12 Championships.

Nitsch’s group earned third place during their race at the national championships, finishing behind Washington and Stanford with a time of 7 minutes, 7.186 seconds. Another third-place finish by the Longhorns’ second eight squad in the grand finals placed the team within striking distance of the national title with one race to go before a rain delay stalled the competition.

“The second eight and four raced their hearts out and put us in a position to win it,” Texas head coach Dave O’Neill said after the national championship races. “Admittedly, they were a little disappointed with the result, but we are all proud of their efforts.”

The lengthy weather delay forced the Longhorns to huddle underneath their team tent to await the final race of the day together, allowing Nitsch and some of her fellow teammates the rare opportunity to send off Texas’ first eights team.

The group needed a first-place finish in the final race in addition to Stanford finishing ahead of Washington to win the national championship via a tiebreaker.

“There were lightning delays, so we got to see all of our teammates come back off the water, which never happens. It was just a really special moment when we all got together as a team and really hyped them up and got them excited for their race,” Nitsch said. “I think they knew, but our coach didn’t tell them what happened with us and didn’t tell them what they needed to do.

“They kind of got the vibe that maybe things hadn’t gone perfectly, but then we were able to send them off from the dock, which is something that usually doesn’t happen because we’re still racing when they’re already sent off,” she added. “When you get like 20 girls all sending them off, it was a really special moment. We did our little Texas chant and that’s when we had so much confidence in them. I think they gained a lot of energy from us being able to push them off and just send them on their way to their race.”

The Longhorns pulled off a climactic comeback down the stretch, surging past Stanford during the final 500 meters to beat the Cardinals by about 1.5 seconds and clock in with a winning time of 6:17.387.

“There was no shortage of drama in the last race,” O’Neill said. “When they started to move with 500 meters to go, I had a good feeling they were going to pull it off. The toughness, composure and teamwork that went into that sprint was fun to watch, and I’m really proud of everyone on the team.”

For Nitsch, who never could have predicted her role in securing an NCAA rowing championship as a hurdler at Memorial, the team’s triumph shows the value of determination and hard work.

“For me, it was never a goal to be a rower, and the road to accomplishing something like that for yourself isn’t straight. And it’s you probably won’t end up where you want to be,” Nitsch said. “I always have thought that if you continue to work hard, trust the process and rely on everyone around you, then you can be really successful in anything you do. It may not be what you originally intended, but as long as you’re working hard and you’re passionate about something, then something awesome will come out of it.”

“I think a lot of times, like, being from the Valley, it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m from the Valley. I can’t do it.’ That is the mentality that I saw in some of my teammates growing up, and I just hope that this proves you can do it in anything, even in rowing,” she added. “Being from the Valley definitely shouldn’t limit anybody, but, if anything, should encourage athletes or students to do more.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

ELSA — Edcouch-Elsa senior Madi Treviño has always found a way to make an impact on the basketball court.

During her four-year varsity career, the Yellow Jackets’ star forward was consistently able to leave her imprint on a game whether the ball was in her hands or not.

Treviño became Edcouch-Elsa’s go-to scorer, defensive spark plug and one of the Rio Grande Valley’s most dynamic playmakers on both ends of the floor, while leading the Jackets to three consecutive postseason appearances.

Treviño’s versatility and leadership on the hardwood garnered her numerous accolades and the opportunity to take her talents to the collegiate level, as the Yellow Jackets forward signed a national letter of intent to continue her career at Texas Lutheran.

“I’d like to thank everyone for being so supportive,” Treviño said. “I would also like to thank TLU for giving me the opportunity to continue my career. It is an honor.”

“That was one of the things that we wanted to bring into our program,” Edcouch-Elsa head coach Daniel Richardson said. “Being able to have kids continue to develop their game at the next level and also, obviously, get a good education, that’s what we hope for as coaches.”

Treviño finishes her career as one of the Valley’s most prolific scorers and one of the most decorated Edcouch-Elsa basketball stars in recent history.

She tallied more than 1,000 career points during her four-year tenure with the Yellow Jackets, joining an elite group of eight active RGV basketball standouts to reach that elusive offensive milestone.

Treviño earned back-to-back second-team all-district selections as a sophomore and junior as she developed into one of the area’s most well-rounded offensive stars.

Her ability to drive the lane and finish through contact while stretching the floor with her 3-point shooting made her a difficult assignment for defenders and spread opposing defense to open up scoring opportunities for her teammates.

“When she had the ball in her hand, we could do a lot of stuff. We can run sets, we could set ball screens for her or we could spread the floor and let her go to work. It just allowed her to really kind of expand her game and be a playmaker,” Richardson said.

“She’s improved with her ball handling and her shooting ability as far as her finishing ability. She had a great float game,” he added. “Any time she was going down the lane and she hit that Euro step, it almost always put two points on the scoreboard for us. She’s developed a really nice left hand. We kind of added something to her game every single year. That was the goal.”

That rapid development culminated with a banner season for Treviño as a senior, when she emerged as the Jackets’ veteran presence on the court and one of the Valley’s savviest floor generals.

Treviño led Edcouch-Elsa to a tie for second place in District 32-5A during a turbulent season defined by stoppages and scheduling changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She became one of the most consistent players across South Texas, routinely making timely steals and shots to keep the Yellow Jackets in tight games.

Treviño was voted District 32-5A’s Offensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on The Monitor’s 2020-21 All-Area Girls Basketball Second Team after averaging 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals per game, all of which marked career highs.

She was also recognized as a Class 5A First Team All-Valley selection by the RGV Basketball Coaches Association and was selected to participate in the RGVBCA and RGV Vipers All-Star games.

“Playing for Edcouch-Elsa has introduced me to a lot of great people and I’ve made some of the best memories (here) over the last four years,” Treviño said. “To Coach Richardson, I am extremely grateful to have a coach like you helping to make me the player that I am today. Thank you for your patience and for never giving up on me.”

Treviño now heads to Seguin to join forces with two former Rio Grande Valley basketball stars, Edinburg High’s Jayla Santa Maria and Los Fresnos’ Jovanna Adame, on Texas Lutheran’s roster after the Bulldogs advanced to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinals last season.

“If you can have kids like that in your program, and other kids trying to (be like her), then you’re going to have a successful program,” Richardson said. “If the girls know and see what a college player looks like on a daily basis, then it’s going to bring a lot of belief that they can (also) play at that level, that they have the tools and the resources to be able to play at that level.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

EDINBURG — Edinburg Vela’s Andrea Molina has been virtually inseparable from the court since the moment she first started dribbling.

Molina worked ball-handling drills in the driveway with her dad as a 5-year-old until her arms got too tired to keep dribbling and occasionally snuck away from class as an up-and-coming player to practice her free-throw shooting.

Vela’s star shooter knew every custodian at her high school and the Edinburg Sports and Wellness Center, where her youth career began, on a first-name basis and they knew to leave the gym lights on and doors unlocked so she could fire away with a few more late-night reps.

Molina’s dedication and extra hours of work paid dividends Wednesday, when the SaberCats senior signed to play basketball at Schreiner University, culminating a long journey to the collegiate level and beginning the next chapter of her hoops saga.

“She would sometimes text me before practice, ‘Coach, can I get there at 6 a.m.?’ and I would say not even custodians get there that early,” Edinburg Vela girls basketball head coach Lottie Zarate said. “She was always in the gym. She’s always been a gym rat and it’s paid off. She has a love and passion for the game, and I know she’s going to do a wonderful job at Shreiner.”

“It feels amazing,” Molina said. “I’ve been dreaming of this day my whole entire life. Now that it’s actually here, I kind of can’t believe it. It’s so surreal.”

Molina’s first goal was ambitious but straightforward: earn a spot on Vela’s varsity squad as a freshman.

That’s precisely what the SaberCats’ guard did, beginning a four-year high school career as one of the top players and most prolific scorers in school history.

From her earliest days with the program, Molina made sure to be the first to arrive and the last to leave while always making extra time to talk basketball and squeeze in a shootaround session.

“Everybody thinks of it as just work, but it’s actually fun for me. If I go to the gym, it’s like going to the movies or going bowling,” she said. “When it comes to the gym, I’m at home. There’s no place I’d rather be.”

Congrats to Edinburg Vela guard @molina131313, who signed to play college basketball Wednesday at Shreiner University

Molina graduates as Vela’s leading scorer and becomes the second SaberCats’ senior to sign a college LOI this season #RGV #RGVHoops #txhsgbb @SchreinerWBB pic.twitter.com/QwLAqagMte

— Andrew McCulloch (@ByAndyMcCulloch) June 2, 2021

Molina boosted her production and efficiency on the court in each of her four seasons competing in a SaberCats uniform, leading the team to four consecutive Class 6A playoff appearances.

She became only the fourth player in school history to score 1,000 career points at Edinburg Vela and now graduates ranked third in all-time scoring for the program with 1,133 points.

As a senior, she guided the SaberCats back to the postseason during a condensed season while posting career-high marks with 14.9 points per game and a 36% shooting clip as one of the RGV’s most consistent offensive playmakers.

“It all came down to working hard as a kid because I would really push myself,” she said. “But great basketball players are great basketball players because they surround themselves with great basketball players. … It’s an honor and it means the world to have been around so many.”

Molina was hard at work again, running through her conditioning routine before heading out for another shootaround, when she got the call she had been waiting for from Schreiner offering her a scholarship.

It was a fitting way for the SaberCats’ standout to check one more goal off her list, ascending to the collegiate level and following in the footsteps of many of her former teammates and role models including Ariel Rodriguez, who committed to Schreiner in 2015 to become Vela’s first girls basketball signee.

“That day I woke up early and said, ‘I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m going.’ … I walked by faith, not by sight,” Molina said. “Faith has played the greatest role in my basketball career and my life. I owe it all to God and I wouldn’t have wanted to end it any other way.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

MISSION — Sydney Bravo hit the ground running with her decorated high school athletic career immediately upon arrival at Sharyland High.

The Sharyland senior was awarded numerous accolades while leading the Rattlers as a four-year letterman in both cross-country and track and field and a two-year stint on the school’s varsity soccer squad.

After developing a reputation as one of the Valley’s most elite distance runners and endurance athletes, Bravo was rewarded with her biggest achievement Friday morning, when she signed to run cross-country and track with the UTSA Roadrunners during a ceremony at Sharyland High.

“I’m excited and really glad that all my hard work and dedication have paid off,” Bravo said. “There’s a lot of great athletes here in the Valley, especially runners, so to be up there just means everything to me. I think it shows that with hard work, you can accomplish anything.”

“They’re going to be gaining an elite runner. We wish we could hold her back just another year,” Sharyland High girls track and field head coach Melissa Dearth said. “She is just getting started and she’s been getting better every year since she started. I think UTSA is going to be very surprised with what she can do.”

As a freshman, she qualified for the University Interscholastic League’s Class 5A State Cross-Country Championships.

Bravo landed on the podium in the third race of her first high school season, taking third at the Rio Grande City Rattlers Invitational.

She continued to thrive with top-100 finishes in both the District 31-5A and Region IV-5A meets to advance to the state championships, where she posted a then-personal record to claim 138th.

“It was a good learning experience,” she said. “There were a lot of really talented girls up there with a lot of them coming from up north, so it’s more difficult but that just pushes you to work harder and run faster.”

Congrats to Sharyland High senior Sydney Bravo, who signed her national letter of intent to run D1 cross country and track collegiately for the UTSA Roadrunners #RGV #RGVTrack #RGVXC pic.twitter.com/Tn7Zs0rR8q

— Andrew McCulloch (@ByAndyMcCulloch) May 28, 2021

Bravo used her experience at the State Cross-Country Championships as a freshman to fuel her rapid ascent in the sport to become one of the top competitors across the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas.

She shaved 61 seconds off her PR set at the state meet as a sophomore, earning All-Valley recognition from the RGV Cross-Country Coaches Association that season.

Bravo upped her performance again as a junior, returning to the State Cross-Country Championships before the remainder of her high school running career was thrown into question by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I had a little bit of doubt and I was scared that we weren’t going to have a season, but I had just had some belief in me that there would be a season and I kept training during the summer,” she said. “Since it was my senior year, I just had to work twice as hard to be where I wanted to be and hit the times I wanted to. … It worked in my favor and we ended up having a great season.”

Bravo’s dedication paid dividends as a senior.

She secured four top-10 finishes during a condensed cross-country season and claimed a top-50 at the Region IV-5A meet. Bravo then moved on to track season, where she shined in the 800 and 1,600-meter runs.

The Sharyland senior qualified for the Region IV-5A track meet in both events and earned top-10 finishes in 90.9% of her races in the 800 and 1,600.

Bravo ends her high school career as a four-time regional qualifier in cross-country, a back-to-back First Team All-Valley selection by the RGVCCCA and a First Team All-District honoree as a senior.

She now heads to San Antonio to join the Roadrunners, who finished third in the Conference-USA indoor and outdoor track seasons this past year, and continue the RGV’s long-standing tradition of collegiate distance runners at the Division I level.

“To represent the Valley is amazing,” Bravo said. “It’s not every day that you get the chance to compete at the DI level, but I was blessed with that opportunity.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

McALLEN — McAllen Memorial senior David Alegria had to overcome more obstacles than most of his peers to realize his dreams on the football field.

Alegria faced considerable adversity when he first picked up the pigskin learning the intricacies of the game as one of the few deaf football players across South Texas.

But nothing, not even injuries or the COVID-19 pandemic, could slow down the Mustangs’ running back from progressing on the gridiron.

Alegria cleared another major hurdle Wednesday, signing to play collegiately at Gallaudet University — a Division III school in Washington D.C. — during a ceremony at McAllen Memorial High School to become the Rio Grande Valley’s first deaf college football signee since Raymondville‘s BJ Flores, who also signed with Gallaudet in 2012.

“I was just super excited and my family was so happy. Everyone was so proud of me. I worked so hard all these years to get here,” Alegria said. “I want to be an inspiration to both deaf and hearing people because I’m the first deaf kid from the Valley to get (to play) at Gallaudet, especially for the deaf.”

“David has brought so much to our program through the years,” McAllen Memorial head coach Bill Littleton said. “We’re very excited and proud of everything he’s accomplished here.”

Alegria, a Donna product, first started learning the ins and outs of the game from his older brothers who played at Donna High.

Efraim Tijerina, a former defensive back at Donna High and one of Alegria’s older siblings, taught his younger brother everything from how to throw and catch a football to how to develop flawless footwork and encouraged him to pursue his passion within the sport.

“I would see him being so successful and getting all these tackles. It would just motivate and get me excited seeing my brother work so hard,” Alegria said. “He would be a beast out there, but one time I was wondering and doubting myself because I was deaf. My brother would say, ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re deaf. You just keep doing it because there’s nothing wrong with it.’”

Throughout middle school and high school, Alegria and Tijerina would spend early mornings and late nights at Solis Park in Donna.

Tijerina accompanied his brother before and after work to teach him the ropes of the sport and refine his technique before hitting the high school level.

“We were always there at the park at night and doing it early in the morning. Then when he would get busy from his job, we would still go out there at night,” Alegria said. “I feel very blessed and thankful for my brother, who’s been with me through all these years and all this time.”

Alegria moved on to McAllen Memorial, which serves as the Regional School for the Deaf for students from Mercedes to Roma, where he helped the Mustangs’ freshman football team capture a district title in 2017 as a first-string running back.

He graduated to Memorial’s junior varsity squad for his sophomore season, where he was the program’s lone hearing-impaired player, and began contributing as a two-way player at both running back and defensive back following in his brother’s footsteps.

Alegria’s high school football journey, however, was thrown into jeopardy when the Mustangs’ back suffered an ACL tear near the end of the regular season. The career-defining injury sidelined him from both football and wrestling for months, making the sophomore eager and antsy to return to action.

“I just wanted it to hurry up and be over with. Everyone was concerned and I would just go to the gym to try to keep doing squats,” he said.

“I felt fine, but Coach (Littleton) kept warning me that I could still play but I was going to have to sit out for a little while. For one year, I missed football. … The (ACL) tear alone was just so shocking and made me so angry too. I wanted to play and it just felt like too much time to wait.”

Alegria finished rehabbing his knee injury nearly a year later during the summer before his junior season. He was cautioned to take it slow while gradually ramping his way back up physically and learned to run more efficiently by watching other running backs in action.

He helped McAllen Memorial capture a share of the District 30-6A championship as a junior and before the pandemic forced him to adapt again in unique ways.

“I was always reading lips perfectly before, but once we started using masks, it became very challenging for me,” he said. “I kind of had to go to the side and look to an interpreter (on the sideline) at the line of scrimmage. The quarterback learned some sign (language) for me too. He couldn’t show it to me super clear, so he would always secretly do these little things that helped me know what play we were going to run.”

Alegria’s position coach put together a highlight tape that was obtained by Gallaudet, which offered the Memorial senior a football scholarship shortly thereafter.

Now after years following in his brothers’ footsteps, Alegria is set to embark on his own path and become a trailblazer for future deaf athletes across the Rio Grande Valley.

“There was one point where I thought I should quit, but my coaches never doubted me and everybody told me I should keep going. They just motivated me,” he said. “I love football so much and I’m so excited and motivated now that I get to keep playing it.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch

MERCEDES — Mercedes senior Angelique Rangel became an impact player immediately upon arrival.

The Tigers’ veteran catcher started each of her four varsity seasons behind the plate, providing a steady offensive presence while catching several college-bound pitchers.

Rangel was limited to 21 games between her junior and senior seasons due to injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic, but she impressed enough during her illustrious high school career to garner an opportunity to continue playing collegiately.

The Mercedes catcher became the Tigers’ fourth active college softball player and joined UT-Dallas-bound teammate Kassidie Rodriguez as the program’s second signee this season, after signing to continue her career at Texas A&M-Kingsville during a ceremony Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m just super happy that this day has finally come,” Rangel said. “I’ve looked forward to this day since I was a little girl. I just hope I can make my family proud.”

“As a coach, you want kids number one to go out and get their degree and commit to a university or college,” Mercedes head coach Kristy Leal said. “But to be able to play the best game on planet Earth, that’s what it’s about.”

Rangel, who also competed for the Tigers’ track and field team and played travel softball for the RGV Heat, dreamed of playing for Mercedes on the softball diamond for years.

She frequently went to watch the Tigers play with her family as a younger player, which instilled in her the dream to carry on Mercedes’ rich softball tradition.

“I remember coming to games when I was little. I thought one day that could be me,” she said. “It feels really good knowing that I’m one of the next athletes to go to college and play. I definitely look forward to making this Mercedes community happy and keep putting in that work.”

During her four-year tenure playing for the Tigers, Rangel caught Rodriguez as well as former Mercedes aces Mika Vento and Dalilah Barrera. All three advanced to the college ranks, as Vento signed with Sam Houston State and Barrera transferred to Texas State from Temple College.

Congrats to Mercedes Tigers senior catcher Angelique Rangel, who signed to play collegiate softball at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Wednesday #RGV #RGVSoftball #TXHSSoftball @TAMUKSB pic.twitter.com/GjF1vuTKHX

— Andrew McCulloch (@ByAndyMcCulloch) May 26, 2021

That fortified Rangel’s confidence and gave her an advantage from having forged multiple close-knit relationships with some of the Valley’s most elite softball pitchers.

“I think those bonds are really important, especially at the next level because you’re meeting new people,” she said. “I think that’s the most important thing when it comes to a team being together and being on the same page.”

Rangel developed into one of the RGV’s top-tier defensive catchers and produced at a high level offensively, too. She tallied a career .475 batting average, 79 runs, 59 RBIs and 42 stolen bases, despite having two seasons derailed as an upperclassman.

Her junior year was wiped out by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic 10 games into the campaign, while her senior season was cut short after sustaining a season-ending knee injury at the District 32-5A Track & Field Meet in early April.

“Things happen for a reason. All I could do is stay positive about it and go out there with the positive mindset that I’ll get through this,” she said. “I had to call some pitches and I really like that part of the game. I just really love being a good teammate and love being able to help in any little way that I can.”

Rangel became an indispensable dugout leader for the Tigers down the stretch, helping the program capture its third district championship in four years and advance to the area round of the 5A playoffs.

Now as Mercedes’ star catcher heads to join the Javelinas, her coaches and teammates say she’s already laid the groundwork to help future Tigers follow in her footsteps.

“We’re going to have a few kids that are playing and when they see a kid like that, they know the expectations now,” Leal said. “They’ll say, ’Hey, I want to be there when I’m a senior,’ and they’ll know what it takes because she set the path and set the tone for them.”

“It feels really good knowing that I’m one of the next athletes to go to college and play. I definitely look forward to making this Mercedes community happy and keep putting in that work,” Rangel said.

“I definitely feel like I shouldn’t take any moment for granted, especially signing to play in college because not that many student-athletes get to play at the next level. It definitely has humbled me and taught me to really have fun every single time I step onto the field.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch