Former McAllen High and current Texas A&M junior swimmer Shaine Casas advanced to the second round, the semifinals, in the 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. Olympics Swimming Time Trials Monday morning in Omaha, Nebraska.

Casas tied for third overall with a time of 53.08 seconds, equaling the time of three-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy.

Leading the quarterfinals was Bryce Medford with a time of 52.99, followed by Justin areas at 53.07.
The semifinals are slated to be shown on TV at approximately 7 p.m. CST on NBC.

Casas and Murphy are projected BT many swimming experts to capture the top two spots in both the 100- and 200-meter backstrokes and advance to the 2021 Tokyo Summer games.

“I don’t care if I win or not,” Casas said about the time trials last week. “I just want to be in the top two.I have to finish in the top two.

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Feet and head perpendicular to the ground 10 or more feet in the air — and propelled by a pole — is probably not something every child did as a first sport in their back yard growing up.

Soccer, baseball or just running around are more than likely the top children activities.

So, what would propel someone to attempt pole vaulting — head pointing straight down — for the first time?

“My freshman year, a really close friend of mine was competing in the pole vault,” McAllen High senior Ollie Tite said. “I thought it was the most interesting event ever. I didn’t even know it was a sport.

“I asked (McAllen High) coach (Luis) Cantu if I could just try it. He asked if I had any experience. I didn’t I just wanted to try it.”

She was immediately hooked.

Now Tite, a senior who has put together a tremendous pole vault season, set both the McHi school record this year at 10 feet, 7 inches and later surpassed the District 31-5A mark with a vault of 10-6. Her goal at today’s area meet in Mercedes — beginning with field events at 10 a.m. — and moving forward, is to progressively clear 11-0, 11-6, 11-8 and, 12-0 at state.

“The goal is to clear as high as I can,” said Tite, whose personal best, not in competition, is 12 feet. “And then medal at state.

Cantu said that most athletes try the pole vault out of curiosity.

“They just want to see if they can do it a first,” Cantu said. “A lot talk about doing it and some go and do it. Once they see if they can do it, then it becomes something fun and they start thinking about the success they can have doing it.”

Tite is second in Region IV-5A with her mark of 10-7 and trails only Boerne Champion junior Kaylee Krank (11-0) in the region. Sophomore Alexandra Herber of McKinney High is the state leader in the event with a vault of 12-6.

Other leading Valley vaulters and their personal bests this season include Class 5A’s Michael Chapa (Rio Grande City, senior, 14-0, fifth in the region), Marco De Los Rios (Donna High, sophomore, 13-3, 10th in the region) and Class 6A’s Alexis Martinez (Donna North, senior, 14-0, fifth in the region) and Nathaniel Martell (Weslaco High, senior, 13-3, 10th in the region).

According to worldathletics.org, “Pole vaulting, originally for distance, dates back to at least the 16th century and there is also evidence it was even (practiced) in Ancient Greece. The origins of modern vaulting can be traced back to Germany in the 1850s, when the sport was adopted by a gymnastic association, and in the Lake District region of England, where contests were held with ash or hickory poles with iron spikes in the end. “

In the 1800s, pole vaulting was done more to clear canals and, therefore, distance was more critical than height.

Tite’s connection, and success, were immediate. She competed on the junior varsity track team as a freshman and won every meet.

“I’m sure they (coaches) didn’t think I would do well and was probably another practice person,” Tite said. “I won the first meet with just three days of practice, and went on from there.”

The pole vault takes several attributes to be successful, physically, mentally and technically. Tite said she feels that strength may be her biggest asset.

“I think being able to bend the pole and knowing what I’m doing wrong as soon as I go up helps,” Tite said. “I need to work more on staying upside down long enough to get higher. Sometimes I may get really excited and I may come up too early. I need to be patient when I’m upside down.”

Cantu said Tite is in a position where things are changing in a positive way. She’s using a longer approach to create more speed, and she’s carrying a longer pole, a 13-foot one, to gain more height.

“We have a good group of pole vaulters jumping at the area meet,” Cantu said. Those vaulters include Tite, Macy Friedlein, Jenai Martinez, Gavin Britton and Mark Wilkins. “The key is speed. You have to have speed down the runway. If you have a lot of speed, it will shoot you up.

“Then, in order for the pole to give back the energy when it recoils, you need to be patient and remain upside down and that’s when good things are going down. The pole has to have enough time to do what it does and it will shoot you up.”

McHi and the Bulldogs have a traditionally strong pole-vault program. Last year, Josiah Martinez cleared 16 feet and now competes at Incarnate Word.

“He was third in the state, 16th in the nation and then COVID happened,” Cantu said.

The top four finishers advance to the regional meet at Hero’s Stadium in San Antonio April 23-24. But, maybe before that, Cantu may have one unplanned vault he will need to clear.

“Coach Cantu taught me the sport, he handed me a pole and gave me everything and he has taught so many people,” Tite said. “He’s really good at it and promised us he would do it before we seniors left.”

“Yeah, that’s a true statement,” Cantu said. “I’m not a great pole vaulter, but I’m athletic and maybe I’ll do 10 feet or so.”

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PHARR — Dylan Villarreal’s tee shot on the par-3 No. 8 hole at Tierra Del Sol barely cleared a sand trip on the left side of the green and landed on the fringe, pin high, about 45 feet from the hole.

He hit a flop shot onto the green and left himself a 3-foot putt for par.

On the finishing No. 10 hole, Villarreal again left his approach about 50 feet short of the pin on the large green, leaving him an uphill putt. He lagged a putt to within 2 feet, sank his par putt and ended his day with a 1-under-par 71 and medalist of the two-day District 31-5A tournament Tuesday.

His victory also led the Mustangs to the District 31-5A title with a two-day team total of 587. Sharyland Pioneer finished second with a 620 and McAllen High took third with a 628.

“I told him on No. 8 that all he had to do was barely hit the fringe because the greens were real fast,” Memorial head coach Celso Gonzales said. “He did just that. He didn’t let anything bother him today. If he bogeyed, he didn’t get mad. He just kept calm and I think that was a factor today.

“He grew up a lot this year. Bad shots used to get to him and we have been working on that all year.”

Senior Kaylee Cruz blistered the course for Sharyland Pioneer, firing a 3-under-par 69 and a two-day 141 total to lead the Diamondbacks to their first district title. Their 647 team total was 12 strokes better than second-place Sharyland High, led by Carolina Tirado’s two day 151 (79-72).

The top two teams for the boys and the girls, and the top two individuals not on those teams will advance to the regional round. McAllen High’s Jordan Gabrielson (79-91—170) and teammate Kayla Vargas (87-89—176) will advance individually for the girls while McHi’s Justin Ochoa (72-75—147) and Ben De La Garza (76-75—151) will move on for the boys.

“I’ve been watching Dylan since he was 5 or 6 and knew he was going to be a good one,” Gonzales said. “This is a breakout for him. He won here in an invitational so he gained a lot of confidence. With my top three, any of them can win a tournament.”

The back-to-back sub-300 rounds are the first for Gonzales in his 32 years at the Mustangs’ helm. He said he couldn’t remember in his time at Memorial if any other freshman had won the district title before Villarreal at the school.

The UIL 5A Region IV tournament will be held at the Hyatt Hill Country Club in San Antonio. The girls will compete April 19-20, while the boys play April 21-22.

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When Amaris Garza stepped up for her final lift of the day, she didn’t know how significant that deadlift was — both for her and the Edinburg IDEA Eagles.

It won her a state title and it clinched the Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association Class 3A state championship for her and the Eagles last Saturday at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, their second crown in the past four years. The Eagles had four individual champions and totaled 28 points, just enough to squeak by Natalia, which finished second with 27 points.

Had Garza, a sophomore, not successfully lifted her personal best 310 in the deadlift, set at regionals two weeks earlier, she would’ve received five points for second instead of seven for first and her team would’ve finished second with 26 points.

Edinburg IDEA was one of three teams to come home with a trophy from the event. Edcouch-Elsa also won the championship in the Class 5A small school division with three individual champions and a dominating performance in the meet. The Yellow Jackets collected 42 points to outdistance second place Sharyland Pioneer, with two individual state champions, with 17 points. Perennial power Los Fresnos capture the 6A title

Points are awarded for the top-five finishes in this manner — 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1. E-E not only had three firsts, but three second places, one third, one fourth and one fifth for their 42 points.

“Amaris put us on top,” head coach Aida Gonzalez said. “We knew it was going to be a nail-biter and a close one with us and Natalia. She was nervous but she’s very tough mentally. It was a pretty smooth and steady lift. She had to fight a little at the end. I tell all the girls there’s one word to remember — focus. Don’t lose focus and you can get it done.

“After that lift, the rest just needed to finish.”

Each lifter goes through three different sets of lifts — the squat, bench press and deadlift. Total weight successfully lifted then determines the winner. Garza finished at 765 total pounds, 10 pounds ahead of the second-place overall finisher.

Garza, who turned 16 the week before the event, said her sister, assistant coach Priscilla Garza, was also a powerlifter and a member on the 2018 state championship squad. The program has been in existence just since 2016.

Junior Isis Sandiford dominated her weight class with a state-record total weight of 980 pounds in the 132-pound division. Her closest competitor totaled 870 pounds. She also set a state mark in her weight division and class with a 245-pound bench press, the nearest competitor clearing 190.

Sandiford and sophomore Mia Rincones, who won the state title with 960 total pounds in the 165 class earned the lifters of the meet award. Sandiford also earned a bench press award.

Senior Samantha Gonzalez was the only lifter in the 181 division to reach the 1,000-pound lift mark with a squat of 405, bench of 205 and a 390 deadlift.

“It all comes down to dedication,” Coach Garza said. “It works. Set your goals, work for them and get it done.”

Anabel Martinez (97 pound division), Deena Flores (123) and Georgina Alaniz (132) all captured state titles in the 5A small school division for Edcouch-Elsa, a regular state championship contender.

Other Valley state champs include: Pioneer’s Daniela Roman (148 pounds, 5A small school), Sharyland High’s Natalia Davila (265, 5A small school), Pioneer’s Crystal Palafox (259, 5A small school), McAllen Memorial’s Kassandra Mendiola (148, 5A large school), Brownsville Lopez’s Marleen Salazar (259, 5A large school), Los Fresnos’ Sindy Aguilera (105, 6A), Mission High’s Erika Guerrero (259, 6A) and the Edinburg Economedes trio of Princess Rios (132, 6A), Ashley Chavez (181, 6A) and Anahi Garcia (220, 6A).

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Audrey Zamora took off like a sprinter once the starter’s gun cracks.

A Dripping Springs hitter had just blasted an attack that a defender deflected and the ball started to fly toward the back of the cavernous gym. Zamora, the McAllen High senior libero, kept her eye on it like an outfielder and, for those watching the livestream, disappeared offscreen.

For what seemed like an eternity in volleyball time, the silence in the gym was deafening. The ball came back into play and Zamora followed shortly after, keeping the point alive and the rally going.

That, however, was just one of many highlights during a year in which Zamora was the epitome of a human highlight film.

For her amazing and awe-inspiring defensive work during the season, Zamora has been named The Monitor’s All-Area Volleyball Libero of the Year.

“I did whatever I needed to do to get the ball, even if I had to throw myself onto the floor,” Zamora said. “It was my senior year and we didn’t have a preseason, so I wanted to make the most of every game, no matter if it was a difficult team or an easy team. I was glad we were able to play and be able to have fun.”

Zamora played an integral part in every game during McHi’s season, all the way to the Bulldogs’ Class 5A Sweet 16 matchup against a much taller and more powerful Dripping Springs squad, and she didn’t make it easy on them.

During another play in that match, Dripping Spring blistered a kill attempt inside the 10-foot line and began celebrating the point, but there was no whistle as Zamora’s outstretched arm and hand slid along the floor and under the ball, popping it up and again keeping a rally improbably alive.

“I remember both of those plays,” McAllen High head coach Paula Dodge said. “She made some amazing defensive saves for us during that game. She was spot on. We had never seen that team before, but she adjusted so well, even when I saw that big hitter go up on that play I was like ‘uh-oh,’ but she popped it up.

“Those are examples of the type of player she is and how she plays with her heart. She loves the game, loves her teammates and loves being a Lady Bulldog. That character is what she applies in everything she does on the court, in the classroom and the community.”

Zamora’s 5.6 digs per set and 20.8 per match were tops in District 30-5A and among the best in all of South Texas. Her 5.0 serve receptions per set also were at the top among South Texas liberos and defensive specialists.

But the biggest separation came at times when the ball looked impossible to reach, whether it meant climbing the walls, jumping over chairs or diving onto the floor, only to try and figure out how that bruise got there at the end of another painful — yet fun — day as a human ball return for the biggest and hardest hitters throughout the season.

Zamora tested positive for COVID-19, and she and her Bulldogs team were put on quarantine for two weeks. She and McHi came back for one of their most grueling matches of the year, a five-set loss to McAllen Memorial, the eventual district champions.

“I think the main thing that drove my intensity was COVID and I was really glad to play again,” Zamora said. “The worst part for me was getting it and having the first game back be against McAllen Memorial. For two weeks I wasn’t able to do anything. I didn’t feel horrible but I didn’t feel 100% either.”

Dodge agreed that the case of coronavirus for Zamora, combined with the Memorial loss, put a new focus throughout the team — a focus that was showcased with Zamora’s rock-solid back row dominance.

“When we came back from the season and after we loss to Memorial, we had to win those games, they knew we had to win those game we had to win those games. Nobody wanted to lose,” Dodge said. “The seniors definitely didn’t want to lose, we didn’t want to lose and they way they played and the way Audrey played in the back row expressed that message to everyone.

“Whether it’s practice or a game, even when she’s playing pepper in warmups, she refuses to let the ball hit the ground.”

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Thursday’s High School Volleyball Results

District 30-5A

Mission Veterans def. Laredo Martin 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 26-24

District 31-5A

McAllen High def. McAllen Rowe 13-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-23

McAllen Memorial def. PSJA Memorial 25-11, 25-13, 25-1

VALLEY HS VOLLEYBALL SUMMARIES

Thursday’s Matches

District 30-5A

MISSION VETERANS DEF. LAREDO MARTIN

25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 26-24

MISSION VETERANS— Rylie Barnett 20 kills, 7 digs, 3 block; Carla Guerrero 5 kills, 1 ace, 8 blocks; Michaela Perez 2 aces, 18 digs; Jackie Nino 8 kills, 3 assists, 2 aces; 14 digs; Chloe Rosillo 35 digs; Evelyn Vela 30 assists, 2 aces, 5 digs.

RYLIE BARNETT— Not reported.

RECORDS — Mission Veterans 8-2 overall, 8-0 in district.

District 31-5A

MCALLEN HIGH DEF. MCALLEN ROWE

13-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-23

McALLEN HIGH — Olivia Tite 20 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces; Madison Helmcamp 2 kills, 52 assists, 6 digs, 1 block; Haidee Moore 14 kills, 1 block; Sharian Ruiz 1 kills; Aleah Saenz 1 kill, 13 digs; Celina Saenz 14 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces; Audrey Zamora 2 assists, 22 digs; Miranda Quintailla 4 kills, 1 dig, 3 blocks.

McALLEN ROWE — Mia Mata 15 kills, 1 assist, 29 digs, 1 block; Anna Honrubia 20 kills, 2 assists, 21 digs, 3 aces; Jillian Pantillano 5 kills, 1 dig, 3 blocks; Sydnee Moreno 2 assists; Vanessa Morales 3 kills, 34 assists, 22 digs; Marina Cortez 1 kill, 4 assists, 14 digs; Alexa Munoz 1 kill, 1 assist, 11 blocks; Ashley Rodriguez 2 kills, 2 digs; 4 blocks, 1 ace; Brianne Moroles 1 kill, 8 digs; Natalia Higareda 1 dig.

RECORDS — McAllen 4-6 in district; McAllen Rowe 5-4 in district.

MCALLEN MEMORIAL DEF. PSJA MEMORIAL

25-11, 25-13, 25-10

McALLEN MEMORIAL— Jocelyn Fernandez 9 kills, 2 aces; Natalie Silva 7 kills; Cori Talamantez 12 digs, 1 ace; Jacky Trevino 15 assists, 3 aces.

PSJA MEMORIAL — Not reported.

RECORDS — McAllen Memorial 13-0 in district.

Mia Guillen advanced to the UIL Cross Country Regional Meet as a freshman, thoughts of qualifying there four straight times — and advancing to the state meet on multiple occasions in the future — swirled in her mind.

The Edinburg High runner, however, didn’t qualify for regionals her sophomore year. She didn’t even run in the district meet, either. In fact, she didn’t participate in any meets.

Cancer will do that to a person.

While all the focus today is on the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer remains prominent in numbers, non-discriminant, lethal and unforgiving at any age. Guillen’s story, however, is one of strength and one of winning the race of life. Tuesday, the now-junior will once again run in the regional meet after finishing third at the District 31-6A meet Oct. 10 at Ebony Golf Course in Edinburg.

Guillen finished third with a season-best time at the recent district meet. The top two teams and top 10 individual runners will compete at 8 a.m. Tuesday in the UIL Region IV-6A at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The boys meet will begin at 8:30 a.m. Today, the Class 5A boys and girls will take to the course.

“I feel way better now,” Guillen said. “It had been hard to do the stuff I could do before. I feel like I could climb Mount Everest now.”

It’s a feeling that had disappeared from the petite 16-year-old, replaced with the fear of what the future could bring ever since her diagnosis of having Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the most advanced form at that stage.

At the time of Guillen’s diagnosis, Erin Sutton coached the Edinburg High girls’ cross-country and track teams. She remembered seeing the standout freshman, who first impressed her as an eighth grader, not quite acting like herself during Guillen’s freshman track season.

“I started noticing that she wasn’t having as great of a track season as cross country,” Sutton said. “She started having random fevers and rashes, she broke out and doctors thought it was an allergic reaction. It wasn’t a great season, but she still advanced to the area round.

“In that summer before her sophomore year, she was there with us every day until about three weeks before the diagnosis. She was sluggish and tired a lot, but still kicking butt.”

It was a year earlier when Guillen first felt something might be wrong.

“I felt a little bump in the back of my neck, but doctors said it was probably allergies,” Guillen said. “The following year I started having symptoms. I went to get it checked out and thought I was just going for a regular appointment where I’d get some medication.”

Unfortunately, that’s not how the story unfolded. She was told that what she was dealing with “could be serious and needs to get checked out,” she said. “My mom took me to the hospital and I was rushed in for a biopsy.

“It was so scary, I had never gone through a surgery and I was crying at that point. It was shocking and very scary. It’s weird but the first thing I thought of was, ‘How am I going to keep caught up in my college classes.”

Chemotherapy followed, six treatments that took nearly two weeks per treatment to complete, counting the six-hour drive back and forth to Houston. She overcame an allergic reaction to one of her medications during her first treatment.

She remembers a frightening scene where her whole body was itching and she couldn’t breathe for “a good solid minute,” she said. “Then they switched medications.” She said she still has some visible dark spots on her body where she couldn’t stop itching, a visual reminder of her fight.

Her hair fell out after the first treatment. Overcoming that was a battle by itself.

“Losing my hair was really hard. A lot of people express themselves with their hair and I really broke down after that happened,” Guillen said. “But I never wanted to show anyone my feelings. It was already hard enough for me, for my family and for my team.”

With concerns for her family and loved ones, additional worries about school and athletics, her team and friends, the nights were especially difficult.

“The nights, they were hard and my mind was wandering many times. I would be there crying,” she said. “But as the rounds continued that stopped happening and I would try to feel better and be more motivated.”

Her sophomore year was spent between the hospital and home. She worked to remain on top of her school, slept a lot due to the effects of the chemo, and watched Netflix — a lot of Netflix.

“There were times when I would watch 10 different series – and they were long series,” she said.

Sutton offered to help home-school Guillen and arrived four days a week to help with homework, assignments and other questions the girl might have.

“I re-learned chemistry during that time,” said Sutton, who was also an English teacher. “Sometimes it would take longer to help with homework, like two hours sometimes for math. You could tell the days when she couldn’t do as much as others depending on the treatment. But every day would start with, ‘How are the girls? What’s your predictions?

“At first, she didn’t think she would ever run again but I would tell her now isn’t the time to take that off the table. Even after she was cleared and started training she didn’t know if she could do it again, it changed her completely.”

She was told after her third treatment that the cancer was gone, but she still needed to complete the remaining treatments. She had her final treatment Oct. 22, 2019, just more than a year ago. In January she was back running with her Bobcats track team, preparing for the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.

Getting on the track was another major feat, and victory, for Guillen.

“Her first track meet back I had placed her on the JV team and she ran like a 6:40 mile,” Ramirez said. “To have a kid going from a blood transfusion to that type of time was unbelievable. She was upset with her time but I told her this is something to celebrate.”

There’s a special bond created between teammates. There was little doubt that it was shared among the Bobcats’ cross country runners. Her teammates would visit her, text her and even decorated her hospital room.

“I was unmotivated at first. It didn’t feel good to not be very conditioned,” Guillen said. “I kept practicing and the girls were so great. They kept pushing me and that made me push myself and wanted to do better.”

This year, facing a pandemic and an extremely short cross country season, Guillen or her current coach Alicia Ramirez didn’t know what to expect.

“She’s a happy girl who’s always out there joking and randomly dancing, making others laugh,” Ramirez said. “Athletes, people, like being around her. She’s a fun kid but is totally serious when it’s time for a workout or to compete. She is serious then and gets it done.

“I didn’t know what to expect from her and her times were not good, 10-minute miles. I told her to listen to her body. What she has been through is so hard but she just gets better and better. She just needs more time.”

As the regionals approach, Guillen and Ramirez are setting the goal to run a time of less than 20 minutes. At the pace she has been going, it’s without question within reach. She clocked in at 22 minutes, 45 second at her first meet this year, followed it with a 21:04 and then a 20:37 to advance to Tuesday’s regional meet, a one-time improbable journey for her.

“Nobody was expecting Mia to do what she did this year,” Ramirez said. “But then she placed in the top 10 in all three meets culminating with a third in district. She’s trying to get her feet wet again and she can do more. She’s already been through cancer and now a pandemic. We expect 19 at regionals and as a senior expecting her to let it go all out.

“She looked small. Now she’s coming out of her shell again. She’s getting to where she wants to, athletically and in spirit. She’s seeing she didn’t lose what she had, it was just delayed a little bit.”

Now she’s back on the path, with her education and her athletics. She hopes to continue running in college.

“Physically I’m feeling good, stronger than I was even before chemo,” Guillen said. “Mentally when I look back, I was mentally drained. Now I’m going to work and get better and keep improving.

“I’m cancer free and it feels good. Sometimes there are days when I forget I even had cancer.”

Edinburg Economedes cross-country head coach Brenda Lozano was hoping that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, her girls team would be “just competitive” this year.

Led by junior Dianett Garcia’s first-place finish, the Jaguars won their second straight District 31-6A championship and fourth in the seven years with Lozano at the helm.

Economedes placed five runners in the top 10 to finish with 47 points Thursday at Ebony Hills Golf Course in Edinburg, beating out second-place Edinburg North, which finished second with 66 points. The two teams, along with the top 10, will advance to the regional meet Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.

Economedes made it a clean sweep as the boys also won its district title, placing three runners in the top 10 and five in the top 15 en route to collecting 48 points and outdistancing Edinburg Vela with 57 points. Economedes, Vela and the top 10 individual finishers will advance to the Nov. 9 regional meet.

As expected, Mission High’s Rogelio Aguirre and PSJA North’s Hector Solis finished first and second for the boys. Aguirre completed the course in 15 minutes, 54.60 seconds, while Solis came in at 16:02.40.

Lozano said that Garcia’s performance was especially impressive considering how little time Rio Grande Valley teams had to prepare for the fast-approaching postseason.

“We had only three-and-a-half weeks to practice,” Lozano said. “We didn’t really get a chance to train this week either, so I’m pretty pleased with the girls.”

Despite an obstacle-filled and late-starting season, Garcia was only a second off her personal-best time, setting that mark just a week ago in Rio Grande City.

“She just took it and ran on her own,” Lozano said. “She would go run with the boys at the park and try to stay around the kids who were running. These kids faced adversity, they stayed at home and some couldn’t even go outside. Then, suddenly, it was an eye-opener that we were still going to have a season.”

Six girls from different schools finished in the top eight. Only Economedes with Garcia and sophomore Francesca Alvarado, and Edinburg North with sophomores Maddison Surita and San Juanita Leal, had multiple finisher in the top eight. Lozano said that showed how competitive the meet was.

“We had five girls in the top 10 (in times) going this year but girls from the other teams showed how hungry they were as well,” Lozano said. “Our girls knew they were ranked first, but they still had to clinch it.”

When Roman Morin took over the boys cross country program at Economedes, the Jaguars — a freshman-heavy squad — finished last in the district meet at the end of that season. Morin said that was the day they decided they didn’t want to be in the spot again.

“They made a goal that day and they wanted to succeed,” Morin said. “They knew they were talented and they didn’t have a great outing that day, but they have been committed and dedicated since then and two years later found some success.”

Junior Esteban Avila paced the Jaguars in 16:49.60 to finish fourth overall. The next four runners —freshman Jesus H. Rodriguez and juniors Joel Garcia, Jorge Laredo and Heriberto Gonzalez finished ninth, 11th, 14th and 16th, respectively.

“Last year, we didn’t do well either — in sixth (place) — due to injuries and just the performance wasn’t there,” Morin said. “But we knew we had the talent and this year we had the right pieces. They are all extremely excited.”

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Mayda Garcia’s impact on younger girls wanting to emulate the former McAllen Rowe standout on the volleyball court is something Warriors coach Magda Canales still sees.

“I have girls now on the varsity team that looked up to her six years ago or more. For years they’ve idolized her and all wanted to wear her No. 5,” Canales said. “Mayda just had this presence on the court. She knew what she wanted to do and she would do it.”

Garcia has a similar impact during her four years at Division I Fairfield University in Connecticut and was recently named to the school’s All-Decade squad.

“The past four years have been pretty amazing,” Garcia said. “I enjoyed every moment and the only reason I was able to make that (All-Decade) team was because of the girls that came ahead of me and the tradition that Fairfield has. Many of the girls I played with taught me so much.”

The Stags, who play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, consisting of 11 schools in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, have a long tradition of winning. Fairfield has won the MAAC regular season conference championship 18 times since 1996 and has captured the conference tournament title 11 times since 1997. They advanced to the NCAA tournament six times during the 2010s, including three times during Garcia’s four years as an outside/right side hitter.

In those NCAA tournaments, the Stags fell to Michigan St. in 2016, Texas in 2017 and Minnesota in 2019. Against Michigan State, the 5-foot-9 Garcia played middle blocker, a position she had no idea she would be in as a freshman, being recruited for an outside spot.

“Those NCAA tournaments were crazy,” Garcia said. “As a freshman I knew I wouldn’t see much time right away and then two of our middles went down with ACLs and coach asked me to play middle. At first I thought, ‘how hard could it be?’ But that was a different story. I was struggling against those 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4 hitters.

“My teammates where there to help me, telling me to get up as high as you can. You learn to just do your job, even if you weren’t hired for that.”

Canales said it doesn’t surprise her that not only was Garcia asked to play that position, but that she accepted the challenge.

“She was never concerned with what she could do to look good. It was always about what the needs were for the team right now against this opponent,” Canales said. “She played that spot a few times for us and even set for us sometimes. It was always, ‘Ok coach.’ Obviously she was outside and right side for us but she was all over the place and she adjusted at the Division I college level with what seemed like no hesitation.”

Garcia completed her collegiate career with 801 kills and an average of 2.55 kills per set. She had a career high 29 kills against the University of Niagara as a junior and tallied 21 kills in the MAAC tournament semifinals last season.

Garcia had multiple options after graduating from McAllen Rowe, leading the team to two Sweet 16 appearances in the state volleyball tournament. She wanted to get our of Texas, saying that she was eager to see something different. Fairfield, just short of 60 miles from New York City, provided exactly that – from extreme changes in weather to big-city living and all the surrounding attractions.

“I wanted to get out and when I went to Fairfield it was like a home away from home, from down south in Texas to the New York area,” said Garcia, who was named RGVsports.com’s All-Valley Volleyball Player of the Year twice, in 2014 and 2016 as well as the 2016 All-Valley Class 6A Female Athlete of the Year. “I met the girls and coaches and felt I fit in well. They were all so welcoming and that’s something I especially wanted, being so far away from home.”

Garcia graduated with a BA in communications and minors in education and sociology. She is also pursuing a master’s in secondary education and landed a spot as a graduate assistant at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.

“That assertiveness she has since she was young has a lot to do with her success,” Canales said. “I’ll bet they felt her positive vibes, her motivation and her drive right away in college. A lot of us in the Valley followed her through college. To see her and the respect she’s earned from high school to college and beyond is terrific.

“I’m not surprised though. That’s just Mayda.”

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Gerardo “GJ” Reyna never really expected to continue running cross-country or track after high school. They were just sports to pass time. His sophomore year, however, everything changed and his priorities aligned.

The Mission Veterans alumni runs for a Division I school with the University of Houston. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science in spring 2019, when he was redshirted his senior year of college, allowing him to run his fifth year in 2020.

He plans to pursue his master’s degree this fall in sports and fitness administration,and finish his final run with cross-country and track if the season is allowed to start.

Before attending the University of Houston, Reyna was a four-year varsity cross country and track runner in high school.

“I started taking running seriously when I was a sophomore,” Reyna said. “That was when I knew I could do big things and make something out of myself.”

His prime year started his junior year at Mission Veterans High school. Reyna advanced to state in cross-country and competed in Round Rock, Texas where he placed 18th with a time of 16 minutes, 15 seconds. He also advanced to state his senior year in cross-country.

In track, he advanced to state in the 3,200-meter run and competed in Austin, where he placed seventh his junior year. During his senior year, Reyna set a personal record with a time of 9:17 during regionals in San Antonio in the 3,200 meter-run. Reyna advanced to state in the same race and placed fourth with a time of 9:29.

Reyna was recognized and awarded with the Rio Grande Valley Cross-Country Coaches Association (RGVCCCA) Most Valuable Athlete, including a scholarship his senior year.

“Both my cross-country and track coaches really motivated me to become better,” Reyna said. “Coach William Proctor from cross- country and Coach Eli Blanco from track were really awesome coaches.”

Reyna is waiting for the news on whether or not season will begin this fall.

“I had one more year to go since I took a redshirt season, which is why I was competing in outdoor track in the 2020 season before it got canceled during spring break,” Reyna said.

Even though Reyna graduated in the spring of 2019, he was still eligible to continue to participate and compete with his team in the 2020 outdoor track season.

“When it got canceled, a few weeks later we were told that we will be given our season back next year, which is this upcoming fall for me,” Reyna said. “Which is cool because I get to be studying to get my master’s degree and run at the same time. Although, I do not think if financial aid will cover this time, I guess it is just a confusing time for me and for everyone with this pandemic going on.”

Reyna is hoping that he can redeem himself this upcoming season from the injuries he encountered.

“I had several injuries during college,” Reyna said. “It was mainly my hip. I think it had to do with a hip alignment, and it just messed me up in general. I am hoping this season I can become better and stronger. It is just a waiting game at this point.”

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