BY MARIO AGUIRRE | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

Even after winning three of its four meets so far this season, Edinburg Economedes girls cross-country head coach Brenda Lozano feels the team still has room to grow.

Their latest win — at the Edinburg North RGV Classic on Saturday — featured the Jaguars boasting the top four runners at the event.

Maddison Surita (19:35.1), Francesa Alvarado (19:50.9), Dianette Garcia (20:21.1) and Marbella Marques (20:30.1) claimed the top four slots, as the Jaguars tallied 27 points. They far outpaced Harlingen High (90 points), the second-place finishers, led by Ayianna Olivas (20.43.4), who finished fifth overall at the race.

“When we’re doing our practice runs, we’re focused on pack running, trying to keep everyone together as close as possible,” Lozano said. “We’re still lacking in some things. But I’m excited to see where these kids are headed.”

After winning meets in Mission and Edinburg, Economedes is gearing up for the McAllen Memorial Stampede on Saturday — one of five meets in the Valley that day.

The Brownsville Invitational, the Mercedes Invitational, Sharyland Pioneer Invitational and Port Isabel Invitational also take place this weekend.

As it stands, Economedes is on the outside looking from a regional perspective, where it ranks fourth. The top three in the region advance to state, which is why Lozano isn’t allowing her team to get complacent despite the early success.

“We have to step our game up,” Lozano said. “We can’t be too satisfied. We have to keep our eye on the prize, which is regionals.”

Behind Economedes (27 points) this past Saturday at the Edinburg North RGV Classic was Edinburg High (85), Harlingen High (90), Weslaco High (92) and Mission Veterans (100).

On the boys side, Harlingen High (34) also won by a wide margin. Edinburg Vela (64) was the runner-up, followed by Sharyland Pioneer (68), Mission Veterans (79) and Weslaco High (83).

PSJA North’s Hector Solis (16:10.1) won in the boys division. Edinburg North’s Alexis Rodriguez (16:19.0), Brownsville St. Joseph’s Pedro Cardenas (16:30.0), Harlingen High’s Geovany Cisneros (16:35.0) and Dominic Luna (16:42.0) rounded the top five.

In the Mercedes Invitational on Saturday, Donna North’s boys and Harlingen South’s girls hoisted their respective crowns.

Mission High’s Rogelio Aguirre (15:37.9) finished first in the boys division, followed by Donna High’s Kevin Hernandez (16:17.0), Donna North’s Ricardo Rubio (16:39.2), La Feria’s Julian Dominguez (16:48.8) and Donna North’s Jose Torres (16:54.7).

Edcouch-Elsa’s Rebecca Davila (19:35.5) was the top girls winner at the Mercedes Invitational. Harlingen South’s Alexis Fonseca (19:39.7) and teammate Arianna Rodriguez (20:12.8) finished second and fourth, respectively. Brownsville Veterans’ Naia Garcia (19:47.6) came in third, and Edcouch-Elsa’s Miranda Guerrero (20:18.1) finished fifth.

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By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER

PHARR — No matter which team it takes on each week, Edinburg Economedes senior Bony Rios said his group generally regards itself as underdogs.

Though their record and standing in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll at the start of the year wouldn’t lend credence to that stance, the Jaguars have had sufficient reasons this season for a bumpy road, considering they lost their starting quarterback and top running back, among others, due to injury.

Economedes has remained in the playoff hunt, nonetheless, beating PSJA North 17-7 on Friday in The Monitor’s Game of the Week at PSJA Stadium.

The Jaguars (7-2 overall, 4-2 in district), who were overwhelmingly picked to lose in The Monitor’s Pick-It Line, complicated what appeared to be a predictable top order of the District 31-6A standings by handing PSJA North (7-2, 4-2) its second straight loss.

That put Economedes in a two-way tie for third place in district, along with PSJA North, and Edinburg North (3-6, 3-3) picking up ground in fifth place.

“Everyone counts us out,” Rios said. “So we always have to come out and prove not to sleep on us.”

The Jaguars won for the fourth time in the last five outings with one of their better defensive efforts of the season, holding the Raiders to a season-low in yards (152) and points.

Outside of a 28-yard run by Arturo Beltran that helped set up his 11-yard score in the third quarter, PSJA North was starved for offensive highlights. Beltran alone rushed for 103 of the Raiders’ 125 yards, after the team saw four linemen come away hurt.

It was yet another obstacle for an offense that opened the year averaging 395.5 yards per game through the first four outings, before Bo Adams, their top rusher, was ruled out for the regular season after undergoing surgery to repair a broken collarbone.

“They just hit us in the mouth repeatedly, over and over again, and we didn’t hit back,” PSJA North coach Marcus Kaufmann said.

With defensive lineman Noah Ruiz (dislocated elbow) carted off the field and center Diego Lopez checking out with what was believed to be a torn ACL (the third for the team this season), the Raiders averaged just 2.8 yards per carry compared to Econ’s 3.7.

Though their numbers weren’t too dissimilar from PSJA North’s, the Jaguars capitalized on their opportunities, taking a 14-0 lead into halftime after Allen Arredondo scored on a 3-yard run and quarterback Roger Barrientos totted it 1 yard into the end zone.

They helped pace a rushing attack that used seven ball carriers on Friday. With Mike Medellin slowly recovering from injury the past couple of games, Economedes has used as many as 10 running backs in a single game this season. But with the senior beginning to take form he rushed for a team-high 54 yards on 10 attempts.

Barrientos, who missed three games nursing an injury, completed 2 of 8 passes for 7 yards in his return.

Their insurance score came with 6:14 left to play on a 25-yard field goal by Robert Gonzalez.

Entering the week, Economedes faced an uphill battle in its quest to capture its fourth playoff berth in six years, having to take on two teams ranked in the top 10 of the RGVSports.com poll. In passing the first of those challenges Friday, the Jaguars look ahead next week to Edinburg Vela (8-1, 6-0), the only team in district to have already clinched a playoff berth.

“It’s been sweet,” Econ coach Gabe Peña said. “This is a credit to the coaching staff and the kids because we’ve asked the kids to play out of position the last month and a half with the injuries that we’ve had. Our coaches were creative and I’m proud of them.

“We didn’t give up. We kept fighting the fight. It’s just motivation to keep it going.”

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VALLEY-VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

Saturday, Oct. 22

District 30-6A

McAllen High def. La Joya Palmview 25-4, 25-8, 25-16

McAllen Rowe def. La Joya High 25-15, 25-13, 25-10

McAllen Memorial at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, not reported

District 31-6A

Edinburg High def. PSJA Southwest 25-17, 25-7, 25-12

PSJA North def. Edinburg Economedes 25-19, 25-21, 25-9

PSJA Memorial def. Edinburg North

Edinburg Vela def. PSJA High

District 32-6A

Harlingen High def. Brownsville Hanna

Harlingen South def. Weslaco East

Los Fresnos def. Brownsville Rivera

San Benito def. Weslaco High

District 31-5A

Laredo Cigarroa def. Roma 25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23

Sharyland Pioneer def. Laredo Martin 25-9, 25-6, 25-14

Mission Veterans Memorial def. Sharyland High

Valley View at Laredo Nixon, not reported

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa def. Brownsville Lopez 19-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-18

Brownsville Veterans Memorial def. Donna North 25-21, 12-25, 25-17, 25-14

Donna High def. Brownsville Pace 25-14, 25-19, 25-19

Mercedes at Brownsville Porter, not reported

By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER

EDINBURG — As a freshman last year, PSJA Memorial’s Cruz Gomez placed second at the District 31-6A cross country meet at Ebony Golf Course.

What he learned from that experience, falling 5.2 seconds shy of first place, was to break through the pack much sooner than he did. So in his second attempt at the same course, the sophomore darted past Edinburg North’s Aldo Nava with 1,000 meters to go, beating the runner-up finisher by 26.2 seconds Friday.

“It feels great,” Gomez said. “I trained myself to get that first place, to stay out in front and come out ahead.”

Though Gomez was crowned first, his team finished in sixth place (out of eight teams) at district, and will be the Wolverines’ only representative at the Region IV-6A meet Oct. 29 at Texas A&M Kingsville.

Nava, who clocked in at 16:16.3, helped his team finished in first place with 39 points, ahead of PSJA High (67) and Edinburg High (88). The senior improved on his 2015 time by 14.8 seconds, coming in fifth place. He was one of four Cougars runners on Friday to finish in the top 10, along with Juan Santana-Charriez (16:19.2, fourth), Joshua Doria (16:30.4, seventh) and Tristan Peña (16:47.9, 10th).

Edinburg High’s Matthew Perez (16:18.6), who came in third, was the only boys runner from his program to finish in the top 10. The team will, nonetheless, advance to regionals, as well. Perez topped improved last year’s time by 40.3 seconds.

Gomez said he wasn’t expecting the type of winds that brushed through the meet Friday, but was able to overcome it by “going harder” than he typically does. Last year he finished sixth at regionals and 13th at state, and was encouraged he would do better following Friday’s outcome.

Despite a gash in his leg that forced him to sit out two meets this season, Gomez was still able to compete in five, winning three of those (Falfurrias, Tri-City, Zapata).

In the girls division, Edinburg North’s Beth Ramos (18:12.7) won for a second straight year. The senior came finished 1 minute, 10 seconds ahead of Edinburg High’s Vianney Sanchez (19:31.7), the second-place finisher. PSJA High’s Anna Sanchez (19:38.7) came in third.

Ramos fell nine seconds short of her personal-best time this year, and 17 seconds behind her career-best finish. Ramos has been slowed by a nagging hip injury dating back to freshman year, limiting her to just four meets all season prior to Friday. She won three of those meets and came in 14th at the McNeil Invitational.

“It’s still bothering me,” Ramos said of her hip. “I just have to work with it. I have to run differently. It frustrates me because I want to get the speed in. For me, myself, I’m a distance runner. I have a slow twitch, so I have to work on my speed even more. But I can’t do that because every time I do, it gets really bad and I have to take days off. So we just do distance. That’s as much as we could go right now.

“Last year it was tougher. I was coming off injuries, so it hurt more. This year it’s been better. Not where I want it to be, but better.”

Ramos’ Edinburg North team finished fifth with 123 points. Edinburg High (57), PSJA Memorial (67) and PSJA North (78) rounded out the top three.

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EDINBURG — In just about every match this year, Edinburg High has had to make some type of lineup change.

The lack of stability has been a result of injuries, reducing the Lady Bobcats’ roster to eight players, even after promoting two from their junior varsity squad. But Edinburg High has hardly let it reflect in its performance on the court this season.

After beating Edinburg North 25-8, 25-22, 25-10 on Tuesday, the Lady Bobcats assured themselves second place in the District 31-6A standings with only two matches remaining — a noteworthy accomplishment, despite their district title aspirations, given their journey this year.

“This whole season we’ve faced a lot of adversity, and we’ve just been rolling with it,” Edinburg High coach Deanna Dominguez said. “That’s just the way life is. Sometimes, unfortunately, things happen. But we’ve had people stepping up and filling roles.

“I’m just so proud that we’ve been able to be successful, despite who’s in there.”

At 31-8 overall and 10-2 in district, the Lady Bobcats now will wait to see how seeding pans out in District 32-6A to learn their first-round opponent. They’ve won four straight matches, even with outside hitter Maria Reyes (knee) out. Edinburg has called upon players like Vianney Treviño, who started the year on JV, to help fill the void.

Treviño recorded nine digs Tuesday. Tianna Howard notched 24 kills, five blocks, six digs and one assist. Dezi Marmolejo contributed eight kills, three aces, 30 assists and 26 digs. And Marissa Arce had four kills, two assists and 18 digs.

“It’s been tough (with injuries this year),” said Elizabeth Olivarez, who posted one kill, three aces, 33 digs and one assist. “But I think people we put in positions to fill in are owning it and feeling really comfortable. … I think it proves we’re really committed and determined to do our best.

“We’re a great group of girls, and we’re playing for each other.”

Outside of their two losses to Edinburg Vela, the Lady Bobcats have been unbeaten in district this year. They entered the week ranked No. 5 by latest RGVSports.com, behind McAllen Memorial, McAllen High, Edinburg Vela and Mission Veterans Memorial.

Also sorting through injuries this year has been Edinburg North (10-23, 6-6), which entered the year with only player who had previous varsity experience. The Lady Cougars graduated 10 seniors in 2015 and find themselves a fringe playoff team.

After a blowout loss in Game 1, Edinburg North was much more competitive, jumping ahead 5-3 and forging ties at 9 and 17 before giving up two straight points to Edinburg High. Following a timeout, Marmolejo found Howard for a kill twice before pulling away.

“Things have changed a bit,” said Edinburg North coach Adrian Cavazos, whose team finished 32-12 overall, 11-1 in district, in 2015 en route to the second round of the playoffs. “We just don’t have the offense that we’ve had in the past. The defense has played well but we just couldn’t convert those to points.”

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VALLEY-VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Oct. 18

District 30-6A

McAllen High def. McAllen Rowe 25-13, 25-14, 25-13

Mission High def. La Joya Palmview 25-13, 25-11, 25-14

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at La Joya High, not reported

District 31-6A

Edinburg High def. Edinburg North 25-8, 25-22, 25-10

Edinburg Economedes def. PSJA Southwest 25-23, 25-17, 9-25, 25-23

Edinburg Vela def. PSJA North 25-13, 25-16, 25-12

PSJA Memorial def. PSJA High 25-13, 25-16, 25-12

District 32-6A

Los Fresnos def. Harlingen High

San Benito def. Brownsville Hanna

Weslaco High def. Harlingen South

Brownsville Rivera def. Weslaco East

District 31-5A

Sharyland Pioneer def. Valley View 25-16, 25-10, 25-15

Mission Veterans Memorial def. Rio Grande City 25-11, 25-7, 25-11

Sharyland High def. Laredo Nixon 19-25, 25-23, 25-27, 25-19, 16-14

District 32-5A

Donna High def. Donna North 25-21, 13-25, 23-25, 25-13, 15-4

Edcouch-Elsa def. Brownsville Pace 25-21, 25-23, 25-14

Brownsville Veterans def. Brownsville Porter

Brownsville Lopez at Mercedes, not reported

District 32-4A

Progreso def. Grulla 22-25, 25-17, 25-10, 25-21

La Feria def. Rio Hondo 25-17, 25-21, 25-19

Hidalgo def. Raymondville

Port Isabel def. Zapata

By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER

PROGRESO — A week before practice was set to get under way, Progreso’s coach resigned.

Jacquie Gonzalez, who went on to take over the program, sensed her players were feeling down on themselves. A non-district matchup against a Class 6A program in La Joya High, two classifications higher than Progreso, did not help improve for the Lady Red Ants’ spirit.

Gonzalez, however, saw it as an opportunity to empower her 4A team.

“Because of what happened, they felt they had a bad hand,” Gonzalez said of her players. “They were so used to being at the bottom that when they saw La Joya on the schedule, they were like, ‘Aw, we’re playing a 6A school.’ And I said, ‘No, get that out of your head. You’re able to compete with a 6A.’”

Even though it was one of several non-district matches for Progreso, Gonzalez regarded it as the single-most important moment this year for the Lady Red Ants, who have clinched a playoff berth for the first time in 10 years.

“It boosted their confidence to the max,” Gonzalez said. “It was that game that turned it all around. It showed them that they could stick with whoever, whether it’s 5As or 6As.”

At 9-3 in district with only two matches remaining, the Lady Red Ants are looking ahead to playoff seeding. Its last two games, against La Feria and Raymondville, resulted in losses, dropping Progreso from first place to third. Now, it can only hope for a split of the district title, at best, considering it beat those programs in the first round of its 32-4A schedule.

Still, players are encouraged by their 28-7 overall record, including 17-3 before starting district. They point to their five-set win at La Joya High as the reason why the team has remained upbeat, despite some setbacks this year. It marks a significant step in the program, which had seen some dropoff in participation recently.

Discouraged by the mood surrounding the program, Samantha Vela, a senior middle blocker, quit last year before rejoining the team after Gonzalez was promoted from the JV squad to take over as the head varsity coach.

“I think we’re all connecting a lot better,” said Vela, the team’s leader in blocks. “Last year I played but I got out because the attitude was different. … And this year I decided to join again because it was more positive. We’re all communicating on and off the court, and Coach is really motivating us.”

Vela’s return has helped lift a team that lost some key players at outside hitter and libero, after sustaining injuries that have kept them off the court for the majority of the season. Senior Ari Jalomo has done her part to keep the team’s spirits high. The four-year letterman is not only the team’s captain, but also its leader in kills, assists and digs.

Jalomo, who has played the sport since age 5, also leads the team in hitting percentage. When she’s not playing as an outside hitter, Jalomo serves as a setter in the Lady Red Ants’ 5-2 rotation.

“She’s really good,” Vela said. “She’s not only a great hitter, but she plays smart. She knows where to place the ball. She knows the other team’s weaknesses. I honestly think she’s what keeps us together, because she’s a great leader and motivator.”

Jalomo’s drive stems from many things — from wanting to change the perception of the team this year to leaving a lasting legacy. For as long as she has been at Progreso, the volleyball team has been viewed as something of a doormat. This year, that’s changed.

“When the teams would see us, it was, ‘Oh, it’s Progreso.’ People expected us to lose,” Jalomo said. “But our attitudes are super positive.”

Competing in summer leagues the past couple of years has helped exposed Progreso to teams it normally wouldn’t face throughout the course of the season, Gonzalez said. It gave the Lady Red Ants a glimpse into different styles of attack, with stronger hitters, while also allowing the newcomers to get acclimated with their varsity teammates.

“Playing in the summer really helped with chemistry,” Jalomo said. “You’re working on communication — ‘mine,’ ‘yours,’ ‘tip,’ ‘hit’ — and that’s the main key. Every year we’ve been improving so much. So hopefully after we graduate, we’re able to leave some steps behind where the girls could say, ‘Last year we made the playoffs, and we have to do the same this year.’

“We want people to say, ‘Oh, that’s Progreso. They have a spot in the playoffs already.’ We want to leave behind that winning mentality.”

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VALLEY-VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

Saturday, Oct. 15

District 30-6A

McAllen High def. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 25-6, 25-6, 25-7

McAllen Memorial def. La Joya High 25-6, 25-15, 25-9

McAllen Rowe def. Mission High 25-15, 25-10, 26-24

District 31-6A

Edinburg High def. PSJA High 25-14, 25-7, 25-14

Edinburg Vela def. PSJA Memorial 25-19, 25-17, 25-20

PSJA North def. PSJA Southwest 25-19, 25-22, 25-12

Edinburg North def. Edinburg Economedes

District 32-6A

Brownsville Rivera def. Weslaco High

San Benito def. Harlingen South

Los Fresnos def. Brownsville Hanna

Weslaco East at Harlingen High, not reported

District 31-5A

Sharyland Pioneer def. Sharyland High 26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 25-14

Laredo Nixon def. Rio Grande City

Valley View def. Laredo Cigarroa

Roma def. Laredo Martin

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa def. Mercedes 25-14, 25-12, 25-12

Donna North def. Brownsville Pace 25-20, 25-22, 25-16

Dona High def. Brownsville Porter

Brownsville Veterans vs. Brownsville Lopez, not reported

District 32-4A

Raymondville def. Grulla 25-12, 25-12, 17-25, 25-17

La Feria def. Zapata 25-21, 25-10, 25-20

Hidalgo def. Rio Hondo

Progreso def. Port Isabel

Non-District

La Joya Palmview def. Mission Juan Diego 25-21, 16-25, 25-18, 25-17