PETER RASMUSSEN | SPORTS EDITOR

SAN JUAN — Sometimes frustrations work in your favor.

Edinburg Vela junior setter Julissa Cuellar was upset with her play during the third set of a Class 5A bi-district match Tuesday against PSJA High.

With the set slipping away from Vela, Cuellar channeled her anger into an impressive service game to help the Lady SaberCats sweep the Lady Bears 25-17, 25-18, 27-25 at PSJA High to advance to the area round of the playoffs against Flour Bluff. Specifics of the second round playoff match will be determined later. Vela has never advanced past the second round.

On Tuesday, Cuellar and the Lady SaberCats (34-12) needed to make sure they were going to get out of the first round. A determined Cuellar wanted to make up for her mistakes — and the Lady SaberCats needed it. After winning the first two sets comfortably, Vela trailed by 9 points twice in the third and was down 16-8 when Cuellar took the ball to serve.

She served the Lady SaberCats to 6 consecutive points. During that span, Cuellar recorded two aces, Bianca Cortez and Nicole Avelar each recorded a kill, and Vela only trailed 16-14.

Cuellar called Tuesday her best service game of the year. She also served out the third set to help secure the victory.

“I had to be confident in myself and with my team to put it all together,” Cuellar said. “I had to be confident to serve (the ball) to the other side and for the (Lady Bears) to bring it over and our team putting it down.”

Vela coach Araceli Ortega praised Cuellar for coming through when the team needed it the most.

“She was mad at herself,” Ortega said. “She was able to shake it off and held her own. When she gets into her own world, that’s her thing.”

The Lady SaberCats also received 4 crucial points in the third set from Karina Castillo. During her service game, Vela took the lead for the first time in the third set after another Avelar kill. The rest of the set went back and forth until Jaida Muhammad’s kill gave the Lady SaberCats a 26-25 lead. An unforced Lady Bears error closed out the match.

PSJA High (19-9) rushed out to a 12-3 lead in the third set and led 16-7 after a Jackie Alanis kill. Cortez’s tip kill made it 16-8 and set up Cuellar’s service game.

“You can’t give the other teams opportunities like that,” Ortega said. “I’m proud of my girls for pulling through in that last game and finding a way to win.”

Avelar led Vela with 11 kills, followed by Muhammad with 9. Cortez led the team with 7 blocks and Mariely Rebollar topped the Lady SaberCats with 11 assists.

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RGVSPORTS.COM

For the third consecutive year, RGVSports.com and the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame are teaming up to hold an awards ceremony that honors the best performances of the 2014-15 season in Rio Grande Valley high school athletics.

The eighth-annual RGVSports.com & Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame All-Star Sports Awards, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, returns this year to Col. Philip J. Yeckel Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Marine Military Academy in Harlingen.

The ceremony will be free of charge.

At the awards ceremony, Valley athletes, coaches, teams and programs along with the more memorable moments of the past season again will be honored. There will be Class 6A and sub-6A award winners in five different categories. They include:

Boys Team of the Year

Girls Team of the Year

Boys Athlete of the Year

Girls Athlete of the Year

Program of the Year

There will also be an award for boys team coach of the year and girls team coach of the year.

Additionally, an award will be handed out for the moment of the year, highlighting a key play, event or game from the past season. And, the Robert Vela Lifetime Achievement Award — named for the late Edinburg High and Edcouch-Elsa football coach — will be awarded to a notable figure in Valley athletics.

The sports staffs at The Monitor, the Mid-Valley Town-Crier, the Valley Morning Star and The Brownsville Herald selected nominees for the awards. Each paper’s sports editor, with input from their staffs, and the Hall of Fame will select the winners for each category, and those winners will be announced June 9 at Yeckel Auditorium.

In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, the names of the nominees and that of the Vela award winner will be released.

RGVSports.com is the varsity sports website of The Brownsville Herald, the Valley Morning Star, The Monitor and the Mid-Valley Town-Crier. All four papers are owned by AIM Media Texas.

The Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame honors local athletes, coaches and administrators who have brought honor and recognition to the Rio Grande Valley through their participation in sport, coaching, refereeing and media.

By Peter Rasmussen | Staff Writer

The two days Lizette Chapa spent on a recruiting trip earlier this month in College Station only reinforced her dream to attend Texas A&M.

On Wednesday, Chapa, a Sharyland Pioneer senior, signed her National Letter of Intent to compete for the Aggies in cross country and track and field.

“It had always been a goal,” Chapa said. “After I spent a couple of days up there, it just made me fall in love with it all over again. It came down to where I was going to able to run. I was welcomed with open arms there. It was definitely a yes.”

Chapa was also looking at UTSA, UTPA, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas and Texas Tech. Chapa said A&M stood out.

“They are national champions in track,” Chapa said of the Aggies. “Their cross country team is amazing, too. You definitely want to be a part of something big, something amazing.”

Chapa began running when we has in the sixth grade competing at her elementary school’s track. While attending John H. Shary elementary, runners were given 15 minutes to run as many laps around the track as they can. Every 25 laps, the student would receive a chain.

“It made me fall in love with it, something as simple as that,” Chapa said.

This past season was Chapa’s best. The Lady Diamondbacks runner finished second at the District 31-5A meet, fifth at regionals and 29th at state. She last competed at the state meet in 2012 when the Sharyland High girls cross country team advanced as a team (Sharyland Pioneer opened this year). In that race, Chapa finished 85th.

Even with her final season of high school track still to go, signing her NLI on Wednesday was a signal that her prep career is nearing an end.

“It is definitely sad that what has been a part of me for so long is coming to an end, but is also the beginning of, hopefully, bigger and better things for me,” Chapa said. “It’s sad but exciting at the same time.”

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BY PETER RASMUSSEN
STAFF WRITER

DONNA — Edinburg Vela libero Maranda Washington was confident her team would beat Donna High in their Class 5A bi-district volleyball playoff Monday in Donna.

But is straight sets?

“I thought it would go at least four,” Washington said.

Well, Washington and the rest of the Lady SaberCats closed out the Bravettes 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 to advance to the area round, where they will face Calallen. Specifics of Vela’s next match have not been determined.

Part of Washington’s surprise is that Vela, a No. 4 seed out of District 31-5A, swept District 32-5A’s top seed in Donna. The Bravettes also defeated the Lady SaberCats during non-district play. Donna entered the match with a 34-9 record and a co-district champion. Vela was 22-16 overall and 6-6 in district.

The expectations that a No. 1 seed is the favorite had Vela playing as if it had nothing to lose, Washington said.

“We came here calm, but we came here thinking we had to do what we had to do,” she added.

Vela coach Araceli Ortega called the win an upset.

“We lost early in the season to them,” Ortega said. “We knew we were going to have to battle and try to get the win this time around.”

The Lady SaberCats, though, were the more experienced team on paper. They won a playoff match last season and have eight seniors on their roster.

During the match Vela played like a playoff-tested squad, some of which has to do with the district they compete in. District 31-5A also houses RGVSports.com’s top-ranked Mission Veterans Memorial, and four different teams from the league have been ranked in the Top 10 this season.

Donna, on the other hand, was playing in its first playoff game since 2005 and only has three seniors on its team.

“I’m disappointed in not being able to finish,” Donna coach Cindy Viesca said. “All of these girls have no playoff experience. The atmosphere … I thought being at home would be to our advantage.”

The home crowd did nothing to rattle the Lady SabreCats who continued to come through late in sets.

In the third set, Vela trailed 20-17. After a Donna service error that made it 20-18, Vela won the next five points.

During that span, Julissa Cuellar picked up two service points, Donna committed two unforced errors and Jaida Muhammad gave Vela a 23-20 lead with a kill.

After consecutive Donna points, Muhammad’s 16th kill of the match put Vela up 24-22. Donna couldn’t handle the serve on match point, and Vela is advancing to the next round.

The first two sets played out in similar fashion. The teams were tied at 15 in both sets. Each time, Vela won five straight points and then held off Donna.

“We are at a point where we know that we got to take care of each other,” Ortega said about taking control of sets late. “Don’t give up. Throughout the season, those were the type of things we worked on.”

Vela was led by Washington with 10 digs and two aces. Anna Garza had 15 assists while Mariely Rebollar recorded eight. Nicole Avelar had nine kills.

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Playoff Schedule
Monday, Nov. 3
Class 6A Bi-district
McAllen Rowe def. Laredo Alexander 24-26. 25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 16-14.

Class 5A Bi-district
Edinburg Vela def. Donna High 25-19, 25-22, 25-22

Class 3A Bi-district
Bishop def. Edinburg IDEA Quest 25-19, 25-21, 25-22

Class 2A Bi-district
Ben Bolt def. La Villa 25-19, 12-25, 25-15, 25-22=

Tuesday, Nov. 4
Class 6A Bi-district
McAllen High vs. Eagle Pass at Laredo Martin, 6 p.m.
Edinburg High at Brownsville Hanna, 6:30 p.m.
Edinburg North at Harlingen High, 7 p.m.
McAllen Memorial vs. Del Rio at Laredo Nixon, 7 p.m.
Mission High vs. Laredo United at Roma, 7 p.m.
Brownsville Veterans at Weslaco East, 7 p.m.
Weslaco High at Los Fresnos, 7 p.m.

Class 5A Bi-district
Mission Veterans at Mercedes, 7 p.m.
Sharyland Pioneer at PSJA High, 7 p.m.
Edcouch-Elsa vs. Roma at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 7 p.m.

Class 4A Bi-district
Grulla vs. Rockport-Fulton at San Diego, 7 p.m.
La Feria vs. Sinton at Bishop,7 p.m.
Port Isabel vs. Beeville at Monte Alto, 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A Bi-district
Lyford at Falfurrias, 6:30 p.m.
Santa Rosa vs. Santa Gertrudis at Kingsville, 7 p.m.
Monte Alto vs. Banquete at Hebbronville, 7 p.m.

Class 2A Bi-district
Santa Maria vs. Riviera at Lasara, 7:30 p.m.

RGVSports.com

McAllen Rowe’s quest of making a return trip to the regional tournament got off a dramatic start Monday when it rallied to beat Laredo Alexander 24-26, 25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 16-14 in the opening round of the Class 6A playoffs at Roma.

It marked the second time this season that the Lady Warriors (36-5) beat Alexander.

“Everyone obviously is very excited, the fact that we were able to come together as a team,” Rowe coach Magda Canales said. “Our defense was there. Our blocks — even though we couldn’t get a stuffed block on their No. 10 — we were able to get a hand on it.
As long as we did that, we were able to slow them down a little. Our defense gave an opportunity for our offense to develop.”

Mayda Garcia led the way with 31 kills, 52 digs, three blocks and one assist. Vanessa Lopez notched 38 assists, 26 digs and one block. And Deanna Spear had 25 assists, 1 kill, 1 ace, 41 digs, and 1 block.

“It’s very difficult to single out anyone because it was tremendous team effort,” Canales said. “When some of the kids were bruised up, another kid would take over. They would just take turns, getting each other’s back. It was a tremendous team effort.”

Having faced Alexander before in the final non-district match of the season, Rowe knew more or less what to expect: a young, determined bunch. It showed in the way Alexander came out, taking a 2-1 advantage with persistent hitting at the net.

Up next for Rowe, the No. 2 seed from District 30-6A, is the winner of tonight’s Edinburg North-Harlingen High match.

BISHOP 3, EDINBURG IDEA QUEST 0: At Raymondville, Edinburg IDEA Quest’s first postseason appearance ended with a 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 loss to Bishop in Class 3A bi-district action.

“It was rewarding, all the hard work we put in to get into the playoffs,” IDEA Quest coach Robynn Olivarez said. “The girls left the gym with their heads held up high because they know they played their hearts out.”

In its sixth year as a UIL school, the Lady Trailblazers (12-8) became the school’s first program to earn a postseason berth. Its bid to advance further fell short Monday going up against a formidable Bishop squad.

BEN BOLT 3, LA VILLA 1: At Corpus Christi, the Lady Cardinals’ fifth straight playoff appearance ended Monday with a 25-19, 12-25, 25-15, 25-22 Class 3A loss to Ben Bolt at Calallen.

La Villa, which finished seconds in District 32-2A with a 6-2 record, closes out the season at 13-7.

RGVSports.com

For the first time since RGVSports.com’s preseason poll, Weslaco High is ranked inside the top 10.

The ninth-ranked Panthers (5-4) have been on a roll as of late and have positioned themselves for a shot at the District 31-6A title.

Weslaco High, which has won five of its last six games, takes on rival Weslaco East (8-1) on Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium. Both teams are 4-1 in district, and the winner will be crowned champion.

The Wildcats are tied for sixth in this week’s poll with Mission Veterans Memorial. The Patriots (7-2) defeated Rio Grande City in Week 10 and travel to take on Edinburg Vela on Thursday at Cats Stadium in Edinburg. The game will be a battle for second place in District 31-5A. It is also a game between two Top 10 teams. Vela (8-1) is tied with Mercedes at No. 3 in this week’s poll. Vela’s only loss this season was to Sharyland High.

The No. 3 ranking is the highest Mercedes has been this season. The Tigers (8-1) have won eight in a row since a Week 1 loss to Calallen.

With a win over PSJA High in Week 10, the Tigers have clinched at least a share of the District 32-5A title.

McHi (6-3), which was idle last week, is now No. 5. The Bulldogs close out the regular season against No. 10 La Joya Palmview (6-2-1) on Thursday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.

As has been the case for most of the season, Sharyland High (8-1) and McAllen Memorial (8-1) are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Sharyland can win the outright District 31-5A title with a win over Rio Grande City this week. A loss would open the door for a shared league title for the winner of the Vela-Veterans game.

Memorial closes out the season vs. Mission High on Thursday.

The only team to drop out was Port Isabel, which lost 33-7 to Orange Grove in Week 10.

Record Pts Pvs
1, Sharyland (5) 8-1 59 1
2, McAllen Memorial (1) 8-1 54 2
3(t), Edinburg Vela 8-1 40 5
3(t), Mercedes 8-1 40 5
5, McAllen High 6-3 39 3
6(t), Mission Veterans 7-2 30 8
6(t), Weslaco East 8-1 30 6
8, San Benito 6-3 10 7
9, Weslaco High 5-4 8 NR
10, La Joya Palmview 6-2-1 7 9

Others receiving votes: Harlingen High 6; Rio Hondo 5; Brownsville Rivera 2; Los Fresnos 1

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Here is The Associated Press high school poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records, points based on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, and the team’s ranking in last week’s poll:

Class 6A
School Total Points Prv
1. Allen (24) (3-0) 249 1
2. DeSoto (1) (3-0) 223 4
3. Euless Trinity (3-0) 163 5
4. Cibolo Steele (3-0) 151 6
5. Southlake Carroll (3-0) 136 7
6. Pearland (3-0) 96 8
7. Manvel (3-0) 84 9
8. Dallas Skyline (3-0) 74 NR
9. Denton Guyer (2-1) 50 10
10. Katy (2-1) 48 2
Others receiving votes: 11, Cedar Hill 38. 12, SA Northside Brennan 35. 13, Hewitt Midway 11. 14, The Woodlands 5. 15, Abilene 4. 16, Lake Travis 3. 17, Austin Westlake 2. 18, Dallas Highland Park 1. 18, Cypress Fairbanks 1. 18, Amarillo 1.

Class 5A
School Total Points Prv
1. Aledo (13) (2-1) 229 4
2. Cedar Park (3) (2-1) 189 5
3. Lufkin (2) (2-1) 147 2
4. Georgetown (3) (3-0) 138 8
5. Fort Bend Elkins (2) (3-0) 127 9
6. Temple (1-1) 107 7
7. Tyler (2-1) 91 1
8. Mansfield Timberview (1) (2-1) 75 3
9. Lancaster (2-1) 50 6
10. West Mesquite (1) (3-0) 41 NR
Others receiving votes: 11, Rockwall-Heath 40. 12, Austin Vandegrift 33. 13, Richmond Foster 20. 14, Richmond George Ranch 18. 15, Ennis 17. 16, CC Flour Bluff 15. 17, Whitehouse 11. 18, Fort Bend Ridge Point 9. 19, Canyon 4. 19, Canyon Randall 4. 21, Longview 3. 21, Houston King 3. 21, Georgetown East View 3. 24, Crosby 1.

Class 4A
School Total Points Prv
1. Stephenville (19) (3-0) 243 1
2. Navasota (3) (3-0) 216 2
3. Argyle (1) (3-0) 187 3
4. Graham (1) (3-0) 165 4
5. Gilmer (1) (3-0) 160 5
6. West Orange-Stark (3-0) 131 6
7. Kennedale (3-0) 83 10
8. La Grange (3-0) 58 NR
9. Celina (2-1) 45 7
10. La Marque (2-1) 30 NR
Others receiving votes: 11, Fairfield 15. 12, Big Spring 8. 13, La Vernia 7. 13, Van 7. 15, Tatum 5. 15, El Campo 5. 17, Atlanta 3. 17, Port Isabel 3. 19, Gladewater 2. 20, Carthage 1. 20, Liberty Hill 1.

Class 3A
School Total Points Prv
1. Cisco (23) (3-0) 248 1
2. Franklin (2) (2-0) 220 2
3. Rockdale (3-0) 182 3
4. Wall (2-1) 162 4
5. Corrigan-Camden (3-0) 143 5
6. Kirbyville (3-0) 106 7
7. Teague (3-0) 84 9
8. Waskom (2-1) 77 8
9. Malakoff (3-0) 61 10
10. White Oak (3-0) 23 NR
Others receiving votes: 11, Grandview 18. 12, Cameron Yoe 11. 13, Arp 8. 14, Blanco 5. 14, Gunter 5. 14, New Boston 5. 17, Eastland 4. 17, Denver City 4. 19, Shallowater 3. 20, Lago Vista 2. 20, East Bernard 2. 22, Sonora 1. 22, Spearman 1.

Class 2A
School Total Points Prv
1. Refugio (15) (2-0) 238 1
2. Mart (8) (3-0) 232 2
3. Tenaha (2) (3-0) 188 3
4. Canadian (3-0) 163 4
5. Bremond (3-0) 128 5
6. Albany (3-0) 115 6
7. Shiner (3-0) 103 7
8. Mason (3-0) 84 8
9. Crawford (3-0) 45 9
10. Centerville (2-1) 21 10
Others receiving votes: 11, Stratford 15. 12, Iraan 9. 12, Abernathy 9. 14, Seagraves 8. 15, Muenster 5. 15, Falls City 5. 17, Alto 4. 18, Hamlin 3.

PETER RASMUSSEN | STAFF WRITER

MERCEDES – Cross country courses aren’t always friendly to runners.

On Saturday, rain turned the 17th annual Mid-Valley Track Club meet’s race route into a muddy mess. Puddles of standing water were difficult to avoid and a canal of ankle-deep water was a challenge for some runners. If a runner’s foot sank in the mud, the canal’s water was calf deep.

Some of the competitors misjudged the depth of the canal at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Showgrounds and fell.

The canal always has water with or without rain, and there are always lifeguards on hand at the race for precautionary reasons. Three were there Saturday.

The individual boys winner, Hidalgo junior Moises Campos, took the less-than-ideal conditions in stride, even welcoming a course that provides obstacles.

“It actually pumped me up,” Campos said about the course. “It made me feel good. This is what cross country is about, racing in the mud or whatever conditions there are. I really like the mud. It gets me pumped to run in the rain.”

As for the canal, Campos called it “pretty cool.”

“We don’t get too much things in the Valley like this,” he added.

Whatever extra adrenaline the conditions gave Campos, he needed. He edged out Brownsville Rivera’s Christian Machuca.

Machuca took the lead from Campos late in the race. Campos needed to sprint the final 50 yards to make sure he won his first race of the season.

Campos, who was a state qualifier in 2013, said he was taken by surprise when Machuca passed him.

“(Machuca) had the speed and the endurance to stay up there,” Campos said. “I told myself, ‘No, this is my race’ and I just took off.”

Edcouch-Elsa’s Krysta Martinez won the girls individual title by a wide margin, winning the race in 18 minutes, 53 seconds. Donna IDEA’s Valery Tobias (19:57) finished second.

Martinez, who ran in the meet last season, knew what to expect of the course and adjusted to meet her goals. She expected her time might be a little slower Saturday because of the conditions.

“I’m really proud of myself,” Martinez said. “I was able to hit the time I wanted.”

Martinez’s best time this season is 18:42.55 at the Harlingen Invitational two weeks ago in Harlingen.

With three runners (Machuca, Anthony Garza, Jonathan Herrera) finishing in the top 10 and four (Manny Guerrero) in the top 20, Brownsville Rivera won the boys team title. Edcouch-Elsa won the girls team title with four runners (Martinez, Leslie Alvarado, Kelly Aguinaga, Dominique Ibarra) finishing in the top 20.

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RESULTS

MERCEDES – The following are the results of the Mid-Valley Track Club’s 17th annual cross country meet held Saturday at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Showgrounds.

Girls Team results – 1, Edcouch-Elsa 40; 2, Brownsville Hanna 47; 3, Harlingen High 66; 4, Donna North 77; 5, Hidalgo 105

Individual results – 1, Krysta Martinez, Edcouch-Elsa, 18:53; 2, Valery Tobias, Donna IDEA, 19:57; 3, Mariana Sanchez, Brownsville Hanna, 20:16; 4, Namoi Lucio, Brownsville Hanna, 20:23; 5, Crystal Lopez, Harlingen High, 20:41; 6, Leslie Alvarado, Edcouch-Elsa, 21:02; 7, Chelsea Rodriguez, Harlingen High, 21:18; 8, Kelly Aguinaga, Edcouch-Elsa, 21:29; 9, Monica Izaguirre, Mercedes, 21:40; 10, Brandy Endsley, Brownsville Rivera, 21:45; 11, Leslie Estrella, Brownsville Lopez, 21:48; 12, Estefania Mora, Donna North, 21:57; 13, Maddy Maltais, Tuloso Midway, 22;06; 14, Griselda Juarez, Donna North, 22:15; 15, Alice Garcia, Harlingen High, 22:17.21; 16, Imelda Garcia, Brownsville Lopez, 22:17.91; 17, Dominique Ibarra, Edcouch-Elsa, 22:19; 18, Carolina Moreno, Brownsville Hanna, 22:22; 19, Scarlet Salazar, Brownsville Hanna, 22:23; 20, Daisy Acunas, Donna North, 22:27.

Boys Team results – 1, Brownsville Rivera 49; 2, Mercedes 62; 3, PSJA Memorial 121; 4, Harlingen High 125; 5, Tuloso Midway 132.

Individual results – 1, Moises Campos, Hidalgo; 2, Christian Machuca, Brownsville Rivera; 3, Ace Castillo, Tuloso Midway; 4, Orser Rodriguez, Harlingen High; 5, Anthony Garza, Brownsville Rivera; 6, Jonathan Herrera, Brownsville Rivera; 7, Joshua Perez, Donna North; 8, David De Hoyos, Edcouch-Elsa; 9, Victor Gonzalez, Mercedes; 10, Victor Munoz, PSJA Memorial; 11, Jonathan Reyes, Mercedes; 12, Manny Guerrero, Brownsville Rivera; 13, Dominic Cavazos, Mercedes; 14, Matthew Peynado, Mercedes; 15, Manuel Gonzalez, Mercedes; 16, Angel Quisino, PSJA Memorial; 17, Rick Arellano, Donna North; 18, Victor Rodriguez, Brownsville Hanna; 19, Alo Acosta, Edcouch-Elsa; 20, Lorenzo Castaneda, Harlingen High.

Peter Rasmussen | Staff Writer

The Edinburg Economedes girls cross country team has not missed a beat with new coach Brenda Lozano, who moved over from Valley View during the summer to take over for the retired Selena Brown.

In recent years, Brown helped turn Economedes into a competitive program. If the first two meets of the season are of any indication, Lozano has picked up where Brown left off. The Lady Jaguars have won both races they have competed in, winning the Harlingen Invitational this past weekend.

Lozano said she knew she had “big shoes to fill” when she arrived at Economedes.

“Coach Brown is a really great coach,” Lozano said. “I had to come in a really be motivated and gets these girls to work hard. I told these girls that whatever we work for is going to happen at the end. These girls have pretty much been working hard all summer.”

The hard work has paid off with back-to-back wins to start the season. The Lady Jags have notched the wins without their full varsity squad. Two weeks ago one of their runners was injured and this past weekend one of their runners could not make the meet.

“Battling the injuries, these girls are really tough,” Lozano said about her team. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls. These girls really believe in the system, and that is all I can ask for.”

The Lady Jags are led by seniors Emily Suarez and Ana Ochoa. They were the team’s top finishers at the Harlingen Invitational, finishing third and fourth, respectively.

Suarez has been one of the team’s top runners since her freshman season.

“She’s my leader,” Lozano said of Suarez. “She really motivates the team and gets them to understand with the purpose of all of this is.”

Team Effort
The Mercedes boys cross country team had an impressive showing at the Harlingen Invitational last weekend, placing five players in the top 13, all of which finished within 31 seconds of each other.

Victor Gonzales was the Tigers’ top finisher at No. 5 in 16 minutes, 25.15 seconds. Dominic Cavazos finished No. 13 in 16:56.66.

If the Tigers can consistently accomplish what they did Saturday, they will be tough to beat.

“To maintain that injury free, that would be great,” Tigers coach Pete Martinez said.

Another positive sign for Mercedes is that this happened in the first meet of the season. As is usually the case in cross country, teams build up to the district, regional and state meets. On Saturday, the Tigers looked like they were in mid-season form, knowing their times should get even better.

“The guys really put in a lot of work over the summer,” Martinez said. “This was their first real race that they had and they ran pretty well.”

Although none of his runners took home the top individual prize, Martinez wouldn’t be surprised if any of his runners finished first at any given meet. Besides Gonzales and Cavazos, the Tigers also have strong runners in Matthew Peynado, Manuel Gonzales and Jonathan Reyes.

THIS WEEK
Mercedes is hosting an invitational on Saturday at its high school. Martinez expects approximately 26 teams to compete. Edinburg North is hosting the Rio Grande Valley Cross Country Classic at Monte Cristo Golf Course in Edinburg.

In a rare evening meet, Donna North is hosting a meet that starts at 6 p.m. Thursday at Donna North. The varsity races will be 2.5 miles.

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THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

September 4

Donna North Invitational

September 6

RGV XC Classic at Edinburg North

Falfurrias Invitational

Mercedes Invitational