Valley-girls area round playoff schedule

Friday, Feb. 20

Class 6A Area round

Brownsville Veterans vs. Laredo Alexander, at C.C. Carroll, 7:30 p.m.

Harlingen vs. Laredo United South, at C.C. Ray High, 7 p.m.

PSJA North vs. Laredo United, at Alice High, 8 p.m.

Weslaco vs. Del Rio, at South San Antonio High, 7 p.m.

Class 5A Area round

Edinburg Vela vs. Tuloso-Midway, at Falfurrias, 7 p.m.

Mission Veterans vs. Victoria East, at C.C. Miller High, 6 p.m.

Roma vs. Victoria West, at C.C. Tuloso-Miday, 7 p.m.

Sharyland High vs. Flour Bluff, at Texas A&M Kingsville, 7 p.m.

Class 4A Area round

La Feria vs. Boerne, at King High, 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A Area round

Lyford vs. Odem, at Bishop High, 7:30 p.m.

Class 2A Area round

San Perlita vs. Brackettville at Laredo Alexander, 7 p.m.

Jon LaFollette of RGVSports.com sits down with PSJA North’s Belle Palacios during practice to talk about her current hot streak, a contract with her coach and the team’s upcoming area round game against Laredo United.

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BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER

PHARR — It started with a piece of paper.

Sour from a 53-32 bi-district loss to Brownsville Veterans during last year’s girls basketball playoffs, Isabell Palacios of the PSJA North Lady Raiders made a deal with coach Randy Bocanegra.

“I was like, ‘Coach, no one is going to beat us next year,” Palacios, who goes by the nickname Belle, said. “We’re going to win (district).”

Bocanegra, unconvinced by the enthusiasm, preached of the hard work and off-season training required to achieve such a feat. Looking to up the stakes, Palacios persuaded her coach to dye his goatee pink should the team pull through on its promise.

“I wrote a contract,” Palacios said. “I put the little ‘X’ and the little line.”

Bocanegra scribbled his signature, but Palacios refused to let him forget the matter and taped the paper to his desk in his classroom.

Palacios and the rest of the Lady Raiders followed through on their part, winning a share of the District 31-6A title, the first in the team’s history. Bocanegra, a man of his word, received his makeover after a practice session last week at PSJA High.

“My wife hates it,” he said.

It is fitting that Palacios initially proposed the trade-off, as it is her recent stretch of play which is in part responsible for the team’s success. During the past six games, the junior small forward has averaged 19.8 points — 7 points higher than her season average — and has made 48 percent of her shot attempts, including 52 percent from behind the arc. She’s also collecting 2.7 blocks and 3.3 steals.

“I didn’t really think I’d be doing as well as I am right now,” Palacios said of her individual expectations this season. “Because of my size, a lot of teams come after me.”

During the same span of games, Palacios is also grabbing 12 rebounds despite measuring a paltry 5-foot-4.

“I call her our muscle,” Boganegra said.

The catalyst for her sudden offensive tear came on Jan. 20 during a game against the Weslaco High Lady Panthers at PSJA High. With the outright district crown at stake, the Lady Raiders faced a 29-18 halftime deficit before Palacios scored 14 of her 22 points in the third quarter, single-handedly keeping her team in contention. Though Weslaco would get the 61-44 win, Palacios took away a lesson of her own.

“That was a confidence booster,” she said. “I was like, ‘Ya know, If I could play this good with my team, and we’re all playing together, I need to keep playing like this.’”

In the ensuing games, Palacios has routinely led the team in scoring, including a season-high 25 points against Edinburg Economedes.

“She’s playing a lot more aggressive,” senior shooting guard Cynthia Martinez said. “She has a lot more moves this year. She does some up-and-unders now, and she has a little spin move that she didn’t use to do last year.”

The Lady Raiders travel to Alice today to play Laredo United in an area round game. Tip off is 7 p.m. PSJA North won the previous matchup 53-44 on Nov. 20 during the second round of the Border Bash Tournament at McAllen High. Palacios scored 9 points in that game.

“I remember playing them and I remember being really tired,” Palacios said. “Watching them on film, they’re big and I know they play man a lot, which is a lot better because I like it when teams play man. It gives me a better chance one-on-one to get to the basket more.”

Bocanegra is more simple in his description of Palacios’ game of late.

“She just gets it and goes.”

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BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER

McALLEN — As Brian Holmes travels to Austin today to compete in this weekend’s state swimming and diving championships at the Texas Swim Center at the University of Texas, the McAllen Memorial senior will mark the beginning of the end of his high school career in the pool.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Holmes said. “I don’t think it will until it’s over.”

This year is Holmes’ fourth trip to state. He will compete in the boys 100-yard backstroke as well as a member of the boys 200 medley relay, where he will swim backstroke as the team’s first leg.
Holmes’ final year for the Mustangs has been a record-breaking affair.

“He set some lofty goals for himself this year,” Memorial coach Roxanne Balducci said. “He wants to break records at every pool he goes to.”

Holmes did just that during regional competition in Brownsville earlier this month. There, he set a new personal best and pool record with a time of 52.66 seconds in the boys 100 backstroke, beating his previous best time by nine-hundredths of a second.

“At the end of the race, you just turn around and hope (the scoreboard) is something good,” Holmes said.
For all his accomplishments this season, Holmes still has one goal to ascertain — advance from Friday’s preliminaries to Saturday’s finals for the first time. To qualify for the finals, a swimmer must finish in the top eight during the preliminary events.

“We’ve talked about what his goals are,” Balducci said. “And we talked about whether we were going to go for it at prelims or hold back a little bit. I think he needs to go for it.”

For all his achievements and success, Holmes entered the pool only as a last resort.

“Swimming was the last sport I tried,” he said. “I was terrible at everything else. I was uncoordinated. I could not hit or catch a ball.”

Holmes began swimming at the age of 10 when he and older brother William joined the McAllen Swim Club at the urging of then-neighbor and current teammate Marco Benavides. Benavides will also compete at state in the boys 200 freestyle.

Though Holmes qualified for state as an alternate his freshman year, he did not enjoy himself.
“I thought I’d be a lot faster without having to try hard,” Holmes said. “After the year finished, I thought, ‘Well, that kind of sucked,’ I was still dropping times, but compared to everyone else, I wasn’t that good. I wanted to get first.”

Beginning his sophomore year, Holmes doubled-down on his training and attended every morning practice, something he failed to do the year prior. His times dropped as his confidence rose.

Though Holmes seems shy at times and speaks softly, he is a competitor at his core. So much so, his desire to be the best has backfired. The swimmer missed six weeks of pool time after inflaming both of his shoulders, the by-product of overuse during practices and meets.

“It’s awful,” Holmes said. “It’s like starting over. It’s not a fun experience.”

Despite the setback, Holmes is on the precipice of state once more and will be cheered on once more by the coach he’s so fond of.

“I’ve known Coach for so long,” Holmes said. “She’s like a second mom to me. She’s taught me everything from hard work, to determination, having a positive mentality and leadership.”

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BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER

The Mission Veterans Lady Patriots advanced to the area round Tuesday night with a 42-32 win over Brownsville Pace at Mission Veterans Memorial High School.

The team will have familiar company, however, as all four playoff qualifiers from District 31-5A (Mission Vets, Edinburg Vela, Roma and Sharyland High) won their respective bi-district matchups.

The Lady Patriots will play Victoria East at 6 p.m. on Friday at Roy Miller High School in Corpus Christi.
“We had a good practice today,” Mission Veterans coach Rafael Cantu said. “It was short, but intense.”
Cantu, who has scouted East, says the Lady Patriots’ opponent employs a man-to-man defense, a style often used by Mission Vets.

“We’ve played against man this season, and obviously knowing how to play man yourself prepares you to face it,” Cantu said. “We just have to be smart. We can’t make mistakes. We have to handle the ball and handle it well. (East) depends on steals to set up their offense.”

Ball handling duties will primarily rest on guard Ashley Smith, who scored 13 points on Tuesday to lead the Lady Patriots. In that game, Smith returned from a knee injury suffered during practice last month. Though Smith did not start against Pace, she played what Cantu describes as “significant minutes” in the second half.

“(Smith) will have a much more prominent role,” Cantu said of the point guard’s area round prospects.

RESILIENT ROMA

While the rest of their 31-5A peers strolled into the area round with double-digit bi-dstrict wins, the Roma Lady Gladiators clawed their way to a comeback during Tuesday’s Class 5A bi-district game against the Donna High Bravettes at McAllen High School, eeking out a 43-42 win.

“It was a heck of a game,” Roma coach Romeo Rios said. “It was physical.”

The Lady Gladiators faced a 31-25 deficit during the third quarter and struggled to score against Donna’s relentless full-court press defense.

“Sometimes our players are on and sometimes they’re off,” Rios said of his team’s play against the press. “Sometimes we break a press and the teams back off immediately. We struggled for a while against Donna in the second half, but we regrouped and made the push.”

Roma was led in scoring by senior post Luz Gonzalez with 17 points. Teammate, and fellow senior, Kassy Rocha scored 16, including six of the team’s final seven points during the fourth quarter, including the game-winning free throw.

“Our top two scorers took it upon themselves to be aggressive,” Rios said. “I have confidence in our players.”

With the win, the Lady Gladiators advance to the area round for the first time during Rios’ five-year coaching tenure at Roma, and play Victoria West at 7 p.m. on Friday at Tuloso-Midway High School in Corpus Christi.

SNAKES AND CATS

The Sharyland High Lady Rattlers defeated the Mercedes Lady Tigers 50-32 on Tuesday night at Sharyland High School and will face Flour Bluff at 7 p.m. on Friday at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

The Edinburg Vela Lady SaberCats advanced to the area round Tuesday after a 70-29 win over PSJA High Lady Bears 70-29 at PSJA High. Vela will play Tuloso-Midway at 7 p.m. on Friday at Falfurrias High School.

Valley-girls Bi-district playoff scores:

Monday, Feb. 16
Class 6A Bi-district
Brownsville Veterans 55, Edinburg High 33
Laredo Alexander 46, McAllen High 41
Laredo United 44, McAllen Rowe 39
PSJA North 63, Harlingen South 54
Weslaco 61, Los Fresnos 34

Class 5A Bi-district
Mission Veterans 43, Brownsville Pace 32

Class 4A Bi-district
Beevile 53, Zapata 46

Class 3A Bi-district
Banquete 59, Browsnville Frontier 22
San Diego 50, Edinburg IDEA 37
Bishop 56, Santa Rosa 29
Lyford 66, Falfurrias 47

Class 2A Bi-district
Refugio 32, Riviera-Kaufer 29

Tuesday, Feb. 17
Class 6A Bi-district
Del Rio 51, La Joya Palmview 41
Harlingen High 56, Weslaco East 25

Class 5A Bi-district
Edinburg Vela 70, PSJA High 29
Sharyland 50, Mercedes 32
Roma 43, Donna 42

Class 4A Bi-district
La Feria 49, Rockport-Fullerton 40
Sinton 37, Rio Hondo 34
West Oso 47, Port Isabel 36

Class 2A Bi-district
London 60, Santa Maria 32

BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER

MISSION — As Sharyland High’s Anna Marshall barreled down the hardwood during a fast break in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s Class 5A bi-district game at Sharyland High School, she was trailed by Mere Guevara of the Mercedes Lady Tigers, who caught up with Marshall and blocked a would-be layup.

Marshall, unphased, looked to her teammates on the bench, shrugged and smiled. It was the only time the Lady Tigers stopped her all evening.

Marshall, a sophomore, was close to automatic during the Lady Rattlers’ 50-32 win.

The 6-foot-1 post scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting. She also grabbed 8 rebounds and shot 4-of-6 from the foul line.

“It feels great right now,” Marshall said of her performance. “I’m in the clouds.”

Sharyland’s win sets up an area-round game against Flour Bluff at Texas A&M Kingsville on Friday. The starting time will be determined today.

Despite the lopsided victory, the teams played to a draw in the first half with a score of 21.

“It was like we couldn’t get the ball to go into the basket,” Sharyland coach Dale Whitaker said. “Getting the ball down the court in the second half made all the difference.”

After the break, the Lady Rattlers became cherry-pickers. While Mercedes overloaded the paint to fight for offensive rebounds they seldom collected, Marshall and teammate Maddie Garza outran the size of the Lady Tigers to wide-open layups on the other end.

In the second half, Sharyland outscored Mercedes 29-11.

“(Mercedes) did a great job of attacking us on rebounds (in the first half). But I told the girls that if we could just attack the ball and go down the court, we can score,” Whitaker said.

Tuesday’s game marked the return of the Lady Rattlers to the playoffs after missing the postseason for only the second time during Whitaker’s 18-year tenure as head coach a season ago. Not letting history repeat itself was a motivating factor for Garza.

“I told the girls with about five minutes to go that we were already in (Mercedes’) head,” she said while grasping a celebratory piece of the net. “I said that five minutes is a lot of time. We couldn’t let up. I wanted this game, we all wanted this game. We have to go get it.”

Garza scored 13 points and hauled in 8 boards. During the second half, Marshall and Garza accounted for all but one of Sharyland’s points.

With the win, Sharyland sweeps Mercedes on the season 2-0, with the previous victory occurring on Dec. 12 by a score of 38-29. Marshall and Garza did not start together in that game, as Marshall has steadily developed her game as the season progressed.

“During practice, Coach plays us a together a lot more now,” Marshall said. “Some people call us the Twin Towers. We just work well together, and we know that we work well together.”

For Mercedes, the loss ends a season that saw the Lady Tigers split the District 32-5A championship.
“I told the girls to keep their heads up,” Mercedes coach Marisa Gutierrez said. “They accomplished a lot this season, it just didn’t fall our way tonight, especially with as many shots as we took. We weren’t hitting anything.”

The Lady Tigers were led in scoring by Jacklynn Flores with 10 points.

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Results from the Steve Stark Relays at Sharyland High School (2.13.15)

Women 100 Yard Dash Finals
1, Mancha, Valeria, Pharr-San Ju, 12.79. 2, Garcia, Jayda, Sharyland Pi,
12.88. 3, Killian, Sarah, McAllen, 13.03. 4, Cano, Olivia, Mission, 13.22. 5,
Magee, Melody, McAllen, 13.39. 6, Garza, Marcela, Mission Shar, 13.40.
Garza, Miranda, Pharr-San Ju,
Women 200 Yard Dash
1, Martinez, Rebeca, Sharyland Pi, 26.21. 2, Hinojosa, Mia, La Joya Palm,
26.37. 3, Mancha, Valeria, Pharr-San Ju, 26.53. 4, Gonzalez, Mariah, Donna,
27.32. 5, Sanchez, Azeneth, Donna, 28.00. 6, Young, Patricia, Edinburg Vel,
28.36.
Women 400 Yard Dash
1, Deleon, Katherine, McAllen Memo, 1:01.04. 2, Montoya, Julissa, La Joya,
1:01.95. 3, Raad, Mallory, McAllen, 1:02.00. 4, Mendoza, Isabel, Sharyland Pi,
1:02.25. 5, Sanchez, Yvonne, Donna, 1:02.91. 6, Carbajal, Fabiola, Mission
Vete, 1:04.55.
Women 800 Yard Run
1, Sanchez, Yvonne, Donna, 2:25.66. 2, Montoya, Julissa, La Joya, 2:31.29. 3,
Carbajal, Fabiola, Mission Vete, 2:31.77. 4, Richie, Jazlynn, Pharr-San Ju,
2:32.78. 5, Gonzalez, Maria, Mission Vete, 2:35.02. 6, Flores, Paloma,
Edinburg Vel, 2:37.05.
Women 1600 Yard Run
1, Cruz, Alexandria, Edinburg, 4:57.32. 2, Robles, Brianna, La Joya Palm,
5:32.74. 3, Sanchez, Anna, Pharr-San Ju, 5:45.15. 4, Gonzalez, Natali, La Joya
Palm, 5:49.81. 5, Garcia, Brianna, Sharyland Pi, 5:49.87. 6, Richie, Jazlynn,
Pharr-San Ju, 5:51.77.
Women 3200 Yard Run
1, Chapa, Lizette, Sharyland Pi, 11:58.66. 2, Bautista, Ana, Rio Grande C,
12:23.22. 3, Trevino, Marlette, Rio Grande C, 12:23.38. 4, Sanchez, Anna,
Pharr-San Ju, 12:26.59. 5, Ngo, Hope, Brownsville Pa, 12:44.25. 6, Alanis,
Christina, La Joya, 12:48.78.
Women 100 Yard Hurdles
1, Pena, Jennifer, Mission Shar, 16.31. 2, Garcia, Olivia, Edinburg Vel,
16.33. 3, Gonzales, Yasmin, McAllen Memo, 16.69. 4, Vela, Nyla, Mission Vete,
16.82. 5, Torres, Kassandra, Sharyland Pi, 17.26. 6, Guzman, Clair, Edinburg
Vel, 17.30.
Women 300 Yard Hurdles
1, Garza, Thanya, McAllen Memo, 47.81. 2, Vela, Nyla, Mission Vete, 48.75. 3,
Torres, Kassandra, Sharyland Pi, 49.93. 4, Gonzales, Yasmin, McAllen Memo,
J49.93. 5, Hernandez, Skylar, McAllen, 49.97. 6, Pena, Jennifer, Mission Shar,
50.46.
Women 4×100 Yard Relay
1, La Joya Palmview ‘A’ (Tamez, Mirna , Hinojosa, Mia , Garza, Alyssa ,
Tostado, Ana ), 51.05. 2, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Garcia, Mariana , Deleon,
Katherine , Marburger, Taylor , Garza, Thanya ), 51.44. 3, Sharyland Pioneer
High ‘A’ (Garcia, Jayda , Monie, Nora , Martinez, Rebeca , Gonzalez, Ashley ),
51.66. 3, Mission Veterans Memorial ‘A’ (Espinoza, Arantza , Jimenez, Alex ,
Milam, Haley , Gonzalez, Mariah ), 51.66. 5, Mission Sharyland ‘A’
(Castellanos, Ana , Garza, Marcela , Holman, Shelby , Hausenfluck, Caleigh ),
52.91. 6, Edinburg ‘A’ (Valdez, Yesenia , Cruz, Adriana , Marmolejo, Desiree ,
Martinez, Natalie ), 53.36.
Women 4×200 Yard Relay
1, Sharyland Pioneer High ‘A’ (Garcia, Jayda , Garza, Deandra , Martinez,
Rebeca , Gonzalez, Ashley ), 1:48.35. 2, Mission Veterans Memorial ‘A’
(Espinoza, Arantza , Jimenez, Alex , Milam, Haley , Gonzalez, Mariah ),
1:50.30. 3, La Joya Palmview ‘A’ (Tamez, Mirna , Hinojosa, Mia , Tostado, Ana
, Garza, Alyssa ), 1:50.77. 4, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Garcia, Mariana ,
Ramirez, Valerie , Garcia, AnaSofia , Marburger, Taylor ), 1:51.85. 5,
Edinburg ‘A’ (Valdez, Yesenia , Cruz, Adriana , Chavez, Evelyn , Martinez,
Natalie ), 1:52.60. 6, McAllen ‘A’ (Killian, Sarah , Bejarano, Bianca , Magee,
Melody , Raad, Mallory ), 1:54.23.
Women 4×400 Yard Relay
1, Sharyland Pioneer High ‘A’ (Chapa, Lizette , Garza, Deandra , Gonzalez,
Ashley , Mendoza, Isabel ), 4:12.52. 2, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Gonzales, Yasmin
, Deleon, Katherine , Ramirez, Valerie , Garza, Thanya ), 4:13.67. 3, Mission
Veterans Memorial ‘A’ (Carbajal, Fabiola , Jimenez, Alex , Vela, Nyla ,
Gonzalez, Maria ), 4:19.37. 4, Edinburg ‘A’ (Valdez, Yesenia , Alfaro, Karina
, Cruz, Adriana , Martinez, Natalie ), 4:19.99. 5, Rio Grande City ‘A’
(Bautista, Ana , Rios, Nadine , Salinas, Victoria , Cruz, Adriana ), 4:23.62.
6, McAllen ‘A’ (Hernandez, Skylar , Raad, Mallory , Bejarano, Bianca ,
Hoppenstedt, Kelsey ), 4:24.86.
Women Distance Medley
1, Sharyland Pioneer High ‘A’ (Mendoza, Isabel , Garza, Deandra , Garcia,
Brianna , Chapa, Lizette ), 13:02.82. 2, Edinburg ‘A’ (Medina, Alexis ,
Marmolejo, Desiree , Gonzalez, Alexis , Cruz, Alexandria ), 13:09.60. 3, Rio
Grande City ‘A’ (Bautista, Ana , Alaniz, Yarely , Cruz, Adriana , Trevino,
Marlette ), 13:17.22. 4, Mission Sharyland ‘A’ (Garcia, Sasha , Medina, Selene
, Valdez, Blanca , Hernandez, Cynthia ), 13:44.56. 5, La Joya Palmview ‘A’
(Robles, Brianna , Flores, Naila , Flores, Priscilla , Gonzalez, Natali ),
13:59.44. 6, Edinburg Vela ‘A’ (Alanis, Joanna , Ruiz, Reagan , Cruz, Melanie
, Ponce, Jailene ), 14:22.82. 7, Mission ‘A’ (Nevarez, Natalia , Barrera,
Briseyda , Martinez, Sandy , Flores, Valerie ), 14:29.85.
Women High Jump
1, Hollingshead, Amber, Mission Shar, 4-10. 3, Killian, Sarah, McAllen, J4-08.
4, Pena, Jennifer, Mission Shar, J4-08. 5, Landavazo, Brianna, Sharyland Pi,
J4-08. 6, Martinez, Brenda, La Joya Palm, J4-06. 6, Lerma, Gabriela, Mission
Vete, J4-06. 6, Young, Patricia, Edinburg Vel, J4-06.
Women Pole Vault
1, Martinez, Aaryn, Mission Vete, 9-00. 2, Carrillo, Carolina, Psja North,
8-06. 3, Negrete, Girehlin, Psja North, 8-00. 4, Chandler, Chelsea, Sharyland
Pi, J8-00. 5, Summers, Sarah, McAllen Memo, J8-00. 6, St. Clair, Elizabeth,
McAllen Memo, J8-00.
Women Long Jump
1, Garza, Deandra, Sharyland Pi, 15-08. 2, Hausenfluck, Caleigh, Mission Shar,
15-04. 3, Gonzalez, Ashley, Sharyland Pi, 15-03.50. 4, Gonzalez, Mariah,
Mission Vete, 15-03. 5, Vela, Nyla, Mission Vete, 15-00.50. 6, Garza, Thanya,
McAllen Memo, J15-00.50.
Women Triple Jump
1, Vela, Nyla, Mission Vete, 33-06.50. 2, Monie, Nora, Sharyland Pi, 33-02. 3,
Martinez, Brenda, La Joya Palm, 33-00.50. 4, Hausenfluck, Caleigh, Mission
Shar, 31-10. 5, Gonzalez, Mariah, Mission Vete, 31-09.75. 5, Lozano, Amanda,
Mission Vete, 31-09.75.
Women Shot Put
1, Monie, Nora, Sharyland Pi, 45-03.50. 2, De Leon, Sarah, Donna, 36-07. 3,
Vasquez, Alexis, Mission Vete, 33-04.50. 4, Garza, Amanda, Rio Grande C,
32-11. 5, Cortez, Jazmin, Psja North, 32-03.50. 6, Reyna, Daisy, Mission Vete,
31-08.
Women Discus Throw
1, Monie, Nora, Sharyland Pi, 140-10.50. 2, Pistokache, Malaya, Sharyland Pi,
111-07. 3, Ruiz-Balli, Gertudis, Brownsville Pa, 111-05. 4, Zamora, Emily,
Edinburg Vel, 109-03. 5, Sandoval, Cynthia, Roma, 102-05.50. 6, Cortez,
Jazmin, Psja North, 100-00.

Men 100 Yard Dash
1, Cole, James, Mission Shar, 10.84. 2, Trevor, Speights, McAllen Memo, 10.87.
3, Landez, Sean, Mission Shar, 11.01. 4, Guzman, Ricardo, Edinburg, 11.09. 5,
Longoria, Christian, Rio Grande C, 11.13. 6, Cantu, Michael, Edinburg Nor,
11.36.
Men 200 Yard Dash
1, Cole, James, Mission Shar, 22.57. 2, Murillo, Sergio, Weslaco, 22.59. 3,
Guerrero, Matthew, Mission Vete, 22.98. 4, Vega, Rodrigo, Donna, 23.40. 5,
Casas, Brandon, Sharyland Pi, 23.47. 6, Quintanilla, Alfredo, La Joya Palm,
23.65.
Men 400 Yard Dash
1, Landez, Sean, Mission Shar, 50.77. 2, Cavazos, Michael, Edinburg Vel,
51.04. 3, Benavidez, Benny, Rio Grande C, 52.59. 4, Rojas, Robert, Weslaco,
52.87. 5, Castillo, Victor, McAllen Memo, 52.95. 6, Zuniga, Juan, Mission
Shar, 53.52.
Men 800 Yard Run
1, Mata, Jesus, Mission Vete, 1:57.39. 2, Arevalo, Isaac, Edinburg Vel,
1:58.39. 3, Guajardo, Marcus, Edinburg Vel, 2:01.14. 4, Garcia, Martin,
Mission Vete, 2:01.18. 5, Montero, Ryan, Edinburg Nor, 2:01.82. 6, Cantu,
Rafael, Pharr-San Ju, 2:03.33.
Men 1600 Yard Run
1, Herrera, Adam, Edinburg Vel, 4:30.90. 2, Pena, Tristan, Edinburg Nor,
4:31.10. 3, Rodriguez, Eliseo, La Joya Palm, 4:32.67. 4, Aleman, Jose,
Sharyland Pi, 4:33.56. 5, Nava, Aldo, Edinburg Nor, 4:35.06. 6, Montanez,
Angel, Pharr-San Ju, 4:38.75.
Men 3200 Yard Run
1, Reyna, GJ, Mission Vete, 9:46.25. 2, Montanez, Angel, Pharr-San Ju,
9:51.74. 3, Ramon, Rolando, Edinburg, 9:55.28. 4, Guillen, Rene, Mission Shar,
10:00.30. 5, Garza, Jacinto, Edinburg Vel, 10:07.78. 6, Garcia, Fabian,
Mission Vete, 10:08.63.
Men 110 Yard Hurdles
1, Castillo, Vince, Donna, 14.49. 2, Pena, Marcus, Mission Shar, 15.07. 3,
Martinez, Allan, Mission, 15.74. 4, Garcia, Tristan, Mission Shar, 15.81. 5,
Pecina, Rene, La Joya Palm, 16.41. 6, Guerra, Justin, Edinburg Nor, 16.86.
Men 300 Yard Hurdles
1, Castillo, Vince, Donna, 38.40. 2, Pecina, Rene, La Joya Palm, 41.14. 3,
Pena, Marcus, Mission Shar, 41.48. 4, Diaz, Angel, Edinburg, 42.04. 5, Guerra,
Justin, Edinburg Nor, 42.30. 6, Garcia, Marc, Mission, 42.94.
Men 4×100 Yard Relay
1, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Trevor, Speights , Castillo, Victor , Gonzalez, Noe ,
Michael, Boltie ), 43.35. 2, Donna ‘A’ (Guerra, Paul , Vega, Rodrigo ,
Alvarado, Edson , Castillo, Vince ), 43.85. 3, Rio Grande City ‘A’ (Longoria,
Christian , Lopez, Alex , Molina, Celestino , Garza, Michael ), 44.04. 4,
Mission ‘A’ (Segovia, Joseph , Veliz, Robert , Rosales, Eugenio , Garcia,
Gabriel ), 44.30. 5, Weslaco ‘A’ (Coronado, Justin , Murillo, Sergio ,
Enriquez, Alex , Gonzalez, Erick ), 44.41. 6, Edinburg ‘A’ (Diaz, Angel ,
Velez, Nicolas , Cellar, Daniel , Guzman, Ricardo ), 44.42.
Men 4×200 Yard Relay
1, Mission Sharyland ‘A’ (Andrade, Carlos , Martinez, Mauricio , Schweitzer,
Issac , Mendoza, Frank ), 1:31.98. 2, Weslaco ‘A’ (Murillo, Sergio , Enriquez,
Alex , Gonzalez, Erick , Coronado, Justin ), 1:32.94. 3, Edinburg ‘A’
(Almedia, William , Velez, Nicolas , Cellar, Daniel , Guzman, Ricardo ),
1:34.00. 4, Sharyland Pioneer High ‘A’ (Lopez, JR , Mangseth, Brady , Casas,
Brandon , Romero, Justin ), 1:35.04. 5, McAllen Rowe ‘A’ (Rios, Ino , Adames,
Victor , Ramirez, Ramiro , Bosque, Hector ), 1:35.27. 6, Edinburg Vela ‘A’
(Jackson, Gabriel , Luna, Eddie , Flores, Tristan , Guerra, Robert ), 1:35.85.
Men 4×400 Yard Relay
1, Edinburg Vela ‘A’ (Jackson, Gabriel , Rey, Eric , Cavazos, Michael ,
Olguin, Reagan ), 3:26.16. 2, Edinburg North ‘A’ (Arnold, Jacob , Cantu,
Michael , Guerra, Justin , Montero, Ryan ), 3:33.16. 3, La Joya Palmview ‘A’
(Lopez, Adrian , Ortiz, Samuel , Pecina, Rene , Nanez, Jose ), 3:35.13. 4,
McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Gonzalez, Noe , Castillo, Victor , Morales, Ted , Ociel,
Salazar ), 3:36.81. 5, Sharyland Pioneer High ‘A’ (Romero, Justin , Lopez, JR
, Syer, Mike , Cavazos, Adrian ), 3:36.82. 6, McAllen Rowe ‘A’ (Alfaro,
Arsenio , Adames, Victor , Hinojosa, Jonathan , Hinojosa, Joseph ), 3:37.78.
Men Distance Medley
1, Edinburg Vela ‘A’ (Arevalo, Isaac , Olguin, Reagan , Guajardo, Marcus ,
Herrera, Adam ), 10:28.22. 2, Sharyland Pioneer High ‘A’ (Aleman, Jose ,
Delgado, Daniel , Garcia, Alec , Cavazos, Adrian ), 10:50.06. 3, Edinburg
North ‘A’ (Quintanilla, Jose , Reyes, Nathan , Nava, Aldo , Pena, Tristan ),
10:52.19. 4, La Joya Palmview ‘A’ (Robles, Tristen , Ortiz, Samuel , Boca,
Victor , Rodriguez, Eliseo ), 11:02.47. 5, Mission Veterans Memorial ‘A’
(Garcia, Martin , Mata, Jesus , Mendez, Alvaro , Garcia, Fabian ), 11:09.79.
6, McAllen Rowe ‘A’ (Franco, Vicente , Hinojosa, Jonathan , Alfaro, Arsenio ,
Ramirez, Brandon ), 11:31.69.
Men High Jump
1, Rivera, Brendon, Edinburg Vel, 6-08. 2, Martinez, Diego, Mission Shar,
6-02. 3, Garza, Anthony, Weslaco, 6-00. 4, Marroquin, Kris, Weslaco, J6-00. 5,
Boca, Victor, La Joya Palm, 5-10. 6, Garza, Ephraim, Sharyland Pi, 5-06.
Men Pole Vault
1, Michael, Boltie, McAllen Memo, 14-06. 2, Carter, Seth, Mission Shar, 13-06.
3, Zapata, Jon, Weslaco, 13-00. 4, Villeda, Ishmael, Weslaco, 12-06. 5,
Trujillo, Luis, Mission Vete, J12-06. 6, Pena, Victor, Rio Grande C, 10-00.
Men Long Jump
1, Landez, Sean, Mission Shar, 21-09.75. 2, Michael, Boltie, McAllen Memo,
20-07.50. 3, Trevor, Speights, McAllen Memo, 20-05.25. 4, Sifuentes, Nathan,
Pharr-San Ju, 20-05. 5, Cantu, Michael, Edinburg Nor, 19-08.75. 6, Guerra,
Justin, Rio Grande C, 19-06.50.
Men Triple Jump
1, Bosque, Hector, McAllen Rowe, 41-04.75. 2, Cruz, Adrian, Edinburg Vel,
40-11.25. 3, De la Cruz, Matt, Edinburg Vel, 40-02.75. 4, Escamilla, Isaac,
Pharr-San Ju, 38-05.25. 5, Martinez, Johnny, Mission Vete, 36-07. 6, Varela,
Ulises, McAllen Memo, 36-05.50.
Men Shot Put
1, Edward, Pequeno, McAllen Memo, 49-01. 2, Anthony, Esparza, McAllen Memo,
47-10. 3, Howell, Johnny, Sharyland Pi, 47-08. 4, Cardenas, Brandon, Donna,
47-00.75. 5, Espinoza, Ricardo, La Joya Palm, 46-10. 6, De Leon, Jordan,
Mission Vete, 44-05.
Men Discus Throw
1, Lucas, Rios, McAllen Memo, 147-04. 2, Edward, Pequeno, McAllen Memo,
146-08.50. 3, De Leon, Jordan, Mission Vete, 132-09. 4, Perez, John, McAllen
Rowe, 130-11. 5, Anthony, Esparza, McAllen Memo, 126-09. 6, Perez, Rene,
Weslaco, 126-02.50.

Team Totals Girls
1, Sharyland Pioneer, 172. 2, Mission Veterans, 96. 3, McAllen Memorial, 74. 4,
La Joya Palmview, 63. 5, Sharyland, 52. 6, Edinburg, 40.
Team Totals Boys
1, Sharyland, 105. 2, McAllen Memorial, 101. 3, Edinburg Vela, 100. 4, Weslaco,
53. 5, Edinburg North, 46. 6, Mission Veterans, 46.

BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER

The La Joya Palmview Lady Lobos look like they mean business. Often outfitted in charcoal black uniforms accentuated by blood-red embroidery, the minimalist color scheme comes across as menacing — as if they’re dressed for a funeral.

“Maybe not our funeral, but the opponents’,” assistant coach Ciro Gonzalez said with a laugh.

Despite the humor, such a comment cuts to the heart of what has occurred during the past two seasons at Palmview. A team bereft of confidence now knows it can hold its own. Players once mocked are now respected. A program seemingly relegated as a doormat is playoff-bound for the first time in its history.

“Coach said our goal was the make the playoffs,” junior Samantha Gutierrez said. “At first, I didn’t think we could do it. We’re Palmview. No one expects anything from us.”

The coach in question, and the catalyst for the team’s reinvention, is Anisa Reyna, a La Joya native who has coached at all three La Joya ISD schools. She was an assistant at La Joya High — where she also played guard — before becoming head coach at Juarez-Lincoln in 2008. There, she took an upstart program to the playoffs in three years’ time. She moved to Palmview in 2013.

“My staff and I knew coming (to Palmview) that there was potential, and it hadn’t even been looked at,” Reyna said. “We just looked at (the team) and thought there was a lot to be done here.”

Gutierrez, a southpaw point guard who is as shy off the court as she is potent during game time, was hesitant about the new coach.

“Honestly, I didn’t like the idea of her coming here because I didn’t know her and I’d gotten used to my old coach,” Gutierrez said. “And now, I look back and I regret saying that, because she made a big difference in our program. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t be where we’re at today.”

The first task on Reyna’s agenda was conditioning players to a new offense. Where the prior regime employed a methodical half-court set, Reyna and her staff wanted a high-speed transition game to push the pace. It was a change few Lady Lobos were physically ready for.

“There was a lot of huffing and puffing,” guard Monica Noyola said.

Noyola, who attends Jimmy Carter Early College High School, is one of three seniors on the team and has played varsity ball since her freshman year. She says some of the biggest changes since Reyna’s hiring have been highly specialized practices aimed at improving basketball IQ. More important than hoops know-how, however, has been Reyna’s unwavering belief in her kids.

“She makes us think we’re better than what we assume we are,” Noyola said. “They always push us to do better and to do more than we think we can.”

Confidence was an intangible Noyola’s game lacked a season ago. Every member of Palmview’s coaching staff describes her junior campaign as one marred by inconsistencies and scattershot playing time.

“(Monica) took a backseat role last year,” assistant coach Victor Aguilar said. “It hurt us. It hurt our chances last year. We called her out. I was like, ‘I’m you’re biggest supporter. I know you have it, you just have to bring it.’”

But where Noyola was once timid, she’s now a crucial part to the Lady Lobos offense. She averages 12 points per game, the second highest on the team, and can often be seen sprinting down the court alongside her teammates.

“I told myself, ‘You’re going to be a senior, you’re going to be a leader for these girls,’” Noyola said. “Because I’m going to be the oldest one, I have to put the team before myself. Mentally checking out is not going to help anyone.”

Another surprise has been the exponential improvement of Gutierrez, who averages 15.9 points and is among the Valley’s most prolific scorers.

“It came out of nowhere,” Aguilar said. “No one expected it.”

But to pigeonhole Palmview as a two-person team would be a false representation. The Lady Lobos have one of the most even rosters in the Valley. Along with the perimeter play of Gutierrez and Noyola, the team possesses interior size in freshman Cyndar Magallon and junior Martha Bocanegra, who combine to average 17 rebounds per game. Palmview will take that balanced attack into the bi-district round as they play Del Rio on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Martin High School in Laredo.

“This week’s practice has been a little more quiet and focused,” Reyna said. “We weren’t doing that towards the end of the season. I don’t think they understood the magnitude of their accomplishment.”

That accomplishment has been one of earned respect and legitimization. Opponents are now aware of Lady Lobos basketball, but so are once-jaded La Joya students.

“My freshman year, all the kids at school would ask if we won,” Noyola said. “And they’d be like, ‘Oh, of course not. You’re from Palmview.’ This year they’d ask if we won and I’d say, ‘Yes. We beat McAllen High. We beat (McAllen) Memorial.’ People are surprised when we lose now. We put our school on the map.”

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BY JON LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER

The Sharyland High Rattlers track & field team begins its season at the Steve Stark Relays today at Sharyland High School. Sixteen boys and girls teams will compete in the meet.

As the marathon march to district competition begins, Rattlers coach Marcelino de la Fuentes views the relays as a measuring stick in the early part of the schedule.

“I’ll use it as a gage to see where we’re at,” de la Fuentes said. “We’ve got a strong senior class, and we look to have a good showing.”

One senior is James Cole, who placed fifth in the 200-meter dash at the state meet in Austin a year ago. Cole signed with the University of North Texas during the fall of last year.

“I told the seniors to finish the legacy (they) started,” de la Fuentes said. “Go out and enjoy it. Have fun.”

With so much veteran experience, the senior Rattlers know what to expect during their final season and operate as de-facto coaches for the team’s underclassmen.

“The great thing about this senior class is that most of them are great leaders,” de la Fuentes said. “They don’t need me to give them a Ra-Ra speech.”

With the seniors taking care of their own, it allows de la Fuentes, whose coaching staff is undermanned due to basketball season, to focus his attention elsewhere.

“We don’t have any (discus) throwers,” he said. “We’re still trying to get our younger guys going there.”

But where his field events are lacking, de la Fuentes still sees opportunity among his younger runners, including sophomore Juan Zuniga.

“(Juan) is a quarter-miler. He has what it takes,” de la Fuentes said. “But, with all these seniors, its hard at times to get some kids in there and get some experience. (Today) should be a good day to do so.”

FAST FRESHMAN
While Sharyland will look to rely on its seniors, the Mission Veterans Lady Patriots track team has already found a budding talent in freshman Nyla Vela.

Vela, who will compete at today’s Stark Relays, won gold in the triple jump during last week’s Winter Relays in Pharr with a distance of 34 feet and three-quarter inches — a mark nearly 18 inches better than second place.

Vela also won bronze in the girls 300 hurdles with a time of 50.03 seconds and placed fifth in the girls 100 hurdles (17.50).

“We’re very pleased to have her,” Mission Veterans girls coach Kathy Howell said. “She’s a strong athlete. She’s going to be one heck of an addition for us. We lost two seniors that were good for 35 points combined. She’s come in and taken some of the pressure off.”

Howell says Vela is “not like other freshman,” in regards to her workout routine. While other middle schoolers may give up track at seasons end, Vela continued her conditioning into her freshman year.

“She’s the kind of kid that accepts the challenge,” Howell said. “She’s very easy to coach and she’s a team player. She’s get a true shot at doing something special.”

BUILD IT UP
Edinburg North Cougars track coach Stephanie Wagner will travel with her team to San Benito today to compete in the Bobby Marrow Relays at San Benito High School. The meet will be the team’s second of the season, as they partook in last week’s Winter Relays in Pharr.

Though the Lady Cougars placed second in Pharr, Wagner is still looking for improvement from her team.
“We’re still trying to build up our base and get these girls to bring up their speed a little more,” Wagner said. “Hopefully we’ll get there at some point.”

The Lady Cougars took gold in the distance medley at Pharr with a time of 13:21.15. Wagner anticipates healthy competition from Brownsville-area schools other distance events.

“I know Brownsville has a pretty good distance group,” she said. “They’ve always had a strong group there. We’ll have a run for our money.”

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