RGVSports.com

The six nominees for Boys Swimmer of the Year and Girls Swimmer of the Year combined for 17 state berths, but only two will be able to claim the Valley’s top swimming honors.

The winners will be announced at the 2018 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet on June 19 at Mario’s Banquet & Conference Center in Mission.

Sean Elliott, a former NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs who now works with the team as a broadcaster, will be the keynote speaker at the event.

The nominees for Boys Swimmer of the Year:

>>Shaine Casas, McAllen High: Casas completed his senior season with more hardware and a Division I commitment to swim at Texas A&M in the fall. He repeated as a double individual champion at the district and regional swim meets. At his third state meet, he earned a bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly with a 47.59, a silver medal in the 100 backstroke with a 47.12 and led his team to a sixth-place finish in the 200 medley relay.

>>Luciano Farias-Ramirez, Sharyland High: The Sharyland senior left his mark on the Rattlers program and Valley swimming. He made his third trip to state his best, earning a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly with a swim of 50.34. Farias-Ramirez also took seventh place in the 100 backstroke at state with a 51.36.

>> Adrian Fierro, Brownsville Veterans Memorial: Fierro helped his team win the District 32-5A meet by winning the 50 and 100 freestyle races. He was also a part of two winning relay squads. He set a Brownsville ISD record with his time of 21.58 seconds in the 50. Then, he set a personal-best and BISD-record time at the regional meet by winning the 100 freestyle in 46.88 seconds. He finished second in the 50 freestyle and qualified for state in both events.

The nominees for Girls Swimmer of the Year:

>>Stacia Benitez, McAllen Memorial: Benitez remained one of the best swimmers on a strong McAllen Memorial team. As a junior, she earned double individual gold at regionals in the butterfly (1:01.44) and backstroke (59.90). She was also on two regional championship, state-qualifying relays — the 200 medley and 400 freestyle.

>>Avia Guerra, McAllen Memorial: Guerra had a strong senior year in the pool again for the district and regional champion Mustangs. She was a double gold medalist at both the district and regional meets in the 100 and 200 freestyle races. She also competed as part of the Mustangs’ state-qualifying 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.

>> Sarah Villarreal, Los Fresnos: She helped her team win the District 32-6A meet by winning the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle. She won both events again at the Region VIII-6A meet to qualify for state in each race.

The banquet, hosted by RGVSports.com and AIM Media Texas in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame, will see 33 awards presented to athletes, coaches and teams across all 12 UIL sports. The prestigious Tom Landry Award of Excellence will honor a student-athlete for outstanding achievements on and off the field.

The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, The Brownsville Herald, Mid-Valley Town Crier and RGV Sports Hall of Fame will vote to determine the winners in the sports categories. While The Monitor, the Star and the Herald have previously named their All-Area teams in certain sports, the All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet will recognize the very best across all three coverage areas.

The banquet, which will run approximately 6 to 8 p.m., returns to Mario’s for a second consecutive year. The venue has a seating capacity of more than 500 people. Tickets will be on sale soon at a cost of $40 per person. For sponsorship opportunities, call Marcia Kitten at 956-683-4463 or email [email protected].

RGVSports.com

State qualifiers and top scorers highlight the six nominees for Girls Soccer Player of the Year and Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

The winners will be announced at the 2018 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet on June 19 at Mario’s Banquet & Conference Center in Mission.

Sean Elliott, a former NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs who now works with the team as a broadcaster, will be the keynote speaker at the event.

The nominees for Girls Soccer Player of the Year:

>> Westyn Henderson, McAllen High: As a sophomore, Henderson did it all for the Bulldogs, playing sound defense and showcasing strong dribbling and shooting. The midfielder propelled her team to become the first girls team from the Valley to qualify for state. At the regional tournament, she moved to forward and scored the game-winner in McHi’s semifinal against San Antonio Johnson and assisted on the winning goal against Austin Lake Travis. She was named to the state all-tournament team.

>> Kryssie Rivera, Brownsville Pace: The MVP of District 32-5A this season as a senior, Rivera led the Vikings to the district title with a 14-0 record and to the third round of the 5A playoffs, finishing with 28-2-1 overall mark. She scored 56 goals this season and finished with 127 for her four-year varsity career

>> Kaitie Watson, Sharyland High: During her senior season, Watson put in 51 goals and assisted on another 21. Even as a key target for many teams, she shook off defenders to lead Sharyland to another district championship. She carried much of the offensive responsibility, including a dramatic free-kick goal to force overtime in her team’s second meeting against Sharyland Pioneer. The Rattlers won the game to secure the district title.

The nominees for Boys Soccer Player of the Year:

>> Mario De Los Santos, Valley View: De Los Santos scored 70 goals in 2018 to help Valley View reach its first state tournament since 2014. He led the Tigers to an undefeated (18-0) season in District 31-5A. He recorded 10 hat tricks on the season, including back-to-back hat tricks against Marble Falls and Brownsville Veterans in the regional tournament.

>> Jose “Chevy” Echevarria, Brownsville Lopez: The MVP of District 32-5A as a senior this season led the Lobos to the district title and to the third round of the 5A playoffs. He was also a standout in football and track, although soccer was his top sport. A four-year starter and last year’s All-Valley MVP, Echevarria finished this season with 32 goals and 25 assists.

>> Gerardo Reyes, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln: After a run to the state tournament in 2017, Gerardo Reyes gained a lot of extra attention from defenders. It didn’t matter. The Huskies were the best 6A team in the RGV and won another District 30-6A title behind Reyes’s 29 goals. The Huskies qualified for the regional tournament, falling to state runners-up San Antonio Reagan.

The banquet, hosted by RGVSports.com and AIM Media Texas in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame, will see 33 awards presented to athletes, coaches and teams across all 12 UIL sports. The prestigious Tom Landry Award of Excellence will honor a student-athlete for outstanding achievements on and off the field.

The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, The Brownsville Herald, Mid-Valley Town Crier and RGV Sports Hall of Fame will vote to determine the winners in the sports categories. While The Monitor, the Star and the Herald have previously named their All-Area teams in certain sports, the All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet will recognize the very best across all three coverage areas.

The banquet, which will run approximately 6 to 8 p.m., returns to Mario’s for a second consecutive year. The venue has a seating capacity of more than 500 people. Tickets will be on sale soon at a cost of $40 per person. For sponsorship opportunities, call Marcia Kitten at 956-683-4463 or email [email protected].

RGVSports.com

After a year of battling each other on courses across the state, the Valley’s best distance runners are again going head-to-head in the races to be named Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

The winners will be announced at the 2018 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet on June 10 at Mario’s Banquet & Conference Center in Mission.

Sean Elliott, a former NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs who now works with the team as a broadcaster, will be the keynote speaker at the event.

The nominees for Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year:

>>Cruz Gomez, PSJA Memorial: Cruz Gomez followed up a stellar sophomore season with another strong year on the course. The Wolverines runner finished second at the District 31-6A meet but grew quicker as time went on. His best run of the season came at the UIL state meet, which he finished with a personal record time of 15 minutes, 13.6 seconds to earn fifth place. Gomez went on to run the Nike Cross South regional and qualified for the national race last December in Oregon.

>>Brandon Gracia, Rio Grande City: Gracia repeated as District 31-5A champion, running his personal best of 15:16.10 in Laredo. He kept the strong season going to state, earning seventh place running a 15:32.3. He also signed to run for the Longhorns at the University of Texas.

>>Tristan Peña, Edinburg North: Peña knew he’d need to be quick to stave off a talented runner in his own district. The Cougars senior edged out PSJA Memorial’s Gomez for first place at the District 31-6A meet with a time off 15:54.6 to win his second district gold in three seasons. Peña will move on to college running at The University of the Incarnate Word.

The nominees for Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year:

>> Kristen Aleman, Santa Maria: This talented sophomore followed up a phenomenal freshman season by winning the District 32-2A meet to qualify for the Region IV-2A meet, where she placed fifth with a time of 12:30.40 to advance to the UIL Class 2A state meet for the second year in a row. At state, Aleman was rock solid and took home the bronze medal with a time of 12:11.43, just seconds behind second-place finisher Sidney Tucker of Seymour.

>>Beth Ramos, Edinburg North: Ramos was slowed by injury but didn’t let lingering pains stop her. She didn’t run a race until the Meet of Champions but won that race, the District 31-6A meet and the Region IV championship. Ramos saved her best time of the year for state. She finished 11th with a run of 18:03.2

>>Lizbett Rivera, Progreso: Lizbett Rivera finished ninth in the elite division at the RGVCCCA Meet of Champions. She was the top 4A finisher in a competitive race. The Progreso senior earned a bronze medal at UIL State with a time of 11:41.23 in the 3,200-meter race.

>>Brianna Robles, La Joya Palmview: In her senior year, Brianna Robles won the District 30-6A championship for the third year in a row, running a season best time of 18.22.6. She qualified for her third consecutive UIL state competition, where she earned 32nd place. Robles committed and signed in November to run at Adams State University in Colorado.

The banquet, hosted by RGVSports.com and AIM Media Texas in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame, will see 33 awards presented to athletes, coaches and teams across all 12 UIL sports. The prestigious Tom Landry Award of Excellence will honor a student-athlete for outstanding achievements on and off the field.

The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, The Brownsville Herald, Mid-Valley Town Crier and RGV Sports Hall of Fame will vote to determine the winners in the sports categories. While The Monitor, the Star and the Herald have previously named their All-Area teams in certain sports, the All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet will recognize the very best across all three coverage areas.

The banquet, which will run approximately 6 to 8 p.m., returns to Mario’s for a second consecutive year. The venue has a seating capacity of more than 500 people. Tickets will be on sale soon at a cost of $40 per person. For sponsorship opportunities, call Marcia Kitten at 956-683-4463 or email [email protected].

RGVSports.com

Sean Elliott, a former NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs who now works with the team as a broadcaster, will be the keynote speaker as the best players, coaches and teams from the year in Rio Grande Valley athletics are honored at the 2018 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet on June 10 at Mario’s Banquet & Conference Center in Mission.

A small forward, Elliott played for the Spurs from 1989-93 and 1994-2001, earning All-Star recognition in 1993 and 1996 and helping San Antonio to an NBA title in 1999. He also had a standout career at the University of Arizona, winning the John R. Wooden and AP Player of the Year awards as a senior in 1989 after leading the team to the 1988 Final Four. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, and both Arizona and the Spurs have retired his No. 32 jersey.

After finishing his playing career, Elliott began working as a basketball analyst for NBC, ABC and ESPN. He moved to Fox in 2013, calling college basketball. This season, Elliott was an analyst for Spurs games on Fox Sports Southwest.

The banquet, hosted by RGVSports.com and AIM Media Texas in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame, will see 33 awards presented to athletes, coaches and teams across all 12 UIL sports. The prestigious Tom Landry Award of Excellence will honor a student-athlete for outstanding achievements on and off the field.

The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, The Brownsville Herald, Mid-Valley Town Crier and RGV Sports Hall of Fame will vote to determine the winners in the sports categories. While The Monitor, the Star and the Herald have previously named their All-Area teams in certain sports, the All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet will recognize the very best across all three coverage areas.

The banquet, which will run approximately 6 to 8 p.m., returns to Mario’s for a second consecutive year. The venue has a seating capacity of more than 500 people. Tickets will be on sale soon at a cost of $40 per person. For sponsorship opportunities, call Marcia Kitten at 956-683-4463 or email [email protected].