By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The Metro Area playoff party in soccer is a little crowded this year.

Still, no one is complaining.

After Monday’s final round of conference games in Districts 32-6A and 32-5A, it turns out 13 of 14 Brownsville boys and girls teams are advancing to the UIL postseason along with the boys and girls squads from Los Fresnos and Port Isabel.

That number includes both the boys and girls teams from Rivera, Hanna, Porter, Pace, Lopez and Brownsville Veterans Memorial, believed to be a first for Brownsville ISD.

In all, it’s 17 of 18 area teams, which is a record for Brownsville-area schools going to the playoffs in a particular sport in the same season. Only the IDEA Frontier girls didn’t reach the postseason in District 31-4A this year, although the IDEA Frontier boys did.

“The fact that all Brownsville schools (from the larger classifications) made it, I think that is absolutely history in the making,” said Pace girls coach Jesus O. Villarreal, whose Lady Vikings are advancing to the playoffs as the fourth-place qualifier from 32-5A. “This means Brownsville is a powerhouse in soccer. And that is a plus from now on.”

Villarreal said it’s been anything but an easy road this season for Brownsville teams — his own included.
Despite a 3-1 loss to Lopez earlier in the day, the Lady Vikings received help Monday from the Porter Cowgirls, who defeated Edcouch-Elsa 3-2, thereby creating a tie between Pace and E-E for fourth place in 32-5A with 24 points apiece. The Lady Vikings held the tiebreaker edge over the Lady Yellowjackets and ended up as the ones advancing to the postseason.

“First of all, our district is very, very tough for the boys and girls teams,” Villarreal said. “Even though our Brownsville schools made it to the playoffs, there were still some great teams that did not make it. For example, in the girls, Edcouch-Elsa and Donna North (were strong teams). For the boys, Donna High and Donna North (were strong as well but didn’t make it, either).

“Man, those teams (in 32-5A) were really tough,” he added. “They could easily compete in any other district and still make it to the playoffs with more points. That’s how good our district was for both boys and girls.”

Of all the local soccer teams headed to the postseason, there are five district champions included among them.

In 32-6A, the champions are the Los Fresnos girls plus the Hanna and Rivera boys (co-champions), and in 32-5A, they are the Lopez girls and Brownsville Veterans boys.

Teams across the Valley, and actually around the state, are enjoying Spring Break this week while preparing for the bi-district playoffs, which start March 23.

For Brownsville-area soccer, it’s the best time of the year.

“Thank you to all our players and fans,” said Lopez boys coach Amadeo Escandon, whose Lobos are advancing to the playoffs as the No. 3 seed from 32-5A after going to the UIL state tournament in Class 6A a season ago. “We accomplished our mission, which is always to first make the playoffs. Now we’re going to see what happens. We’re going to do the best job we possibly can out there.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Drama in the District 32-6A boys soccer race figures to go right down to the wire in the final round of conference games on Monday.

Rivera’s 3-1 win over Los Fresnos on Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium made sure of that.

Coupled with Hanna’s 2-1 victory over Harlingen High, the Raiders and Golden Eagles now are tied for the 32-6A lead with 10-3 records and 30 points apiece. Los Fresnos, which went into Friday’s action as the district leader, now is 9-4 with 29 points.

The Raiders finished the game without their full squad as two starters went out with injuries in the first half, joining another injured starter who was already out plus one that sat out Friday due to cards.

“Tonight, our bench went in, did well and contributed,” Rivera coach Salvador Garcia said. “The only thing we can do is just keep playing regardless of who is on the field. We have a squad of teammates who are willing to do what it takes to help the team win.

“It’s sad and I feel sorry for the ones who are out because they really want to play, but that’s just how it is,” Garcia added. “We hope to get at least a couple of them back in the coming weeks.”

The final date for 32-6A competition is Monday as Rivera plays at Harlingen South, Los Fresnos is at Weslaco High and Hanna takes on Weslaco East at Brownsville Sports Park. All games will be played during late morning or early afternoon due to Spring Break. The Class 6A playoffs start March 23.

The Raiders, Eagles and Falcons already have each qualified for the playoffs, but just which team or teams among them wind up with the district championship will have to wait until Monday to be determined.

On Friday, Rivera went up 1-0 with 11 minutes left in the opening half when a throw-in from the left side came to an unguarded Christian de los Santos and he scored from five yards out.

“I was surprised he was so open and I’m sure Christian was too,” Garcia said.

It became 2-0 for Rivera barely four and a half minutes into the second half when the Raiders’ Adrian Mireles advanced the ball down the right side and his strong, medium-range shot made it just inside the right post. The score triggered a jubilant celebration among the Rivera players as they realized a two-goal edge would be an almost insurmountable advantage.

A header from close range by the Falcons with just under eight minutes left made it a much tighter game at 2-1.

When Rivera scored on a direct kick from 20 yards by Roberto Melendez with a minute and a half to go to provide some breathing room again and account for the final score of 3-1. On the play, the ball slipped out of the Los Fresnos goalkeeper’s grasp and rolled into the net near the right post.

“This was an amazing win,” said Melendez, a junior center back. “As a team we put all our hearts into this game. We had faith in each other.”

Still, it was a costly match for the Raiders as two of their players were carted off with injuries in the first half and did not return.

When Los Fresnos played Rivera in the first round of district on Feb. 14 at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium, the Falcons won 1-0.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

PORT ISABEL — The Port Isabel Lady Tarpons picked a good time to shine Thursday on Parents Night.

The Lady Tarpons scored three goals during each half to earn a 6-0 District 31-4A soccer victory against Raymondville at Tarpon Stadium.

Highlighting the win for Port Isabel was Estella Castillo, who finished with a hat trick by scoring her team’s first, fifth and sixth goals. Also for the Lady Tarpons, Ava Gomez scored two goals and Jenny Martinez tallied one.

“It was definitely a good game for us,” said Martinez, a junior midfielder. “Our fans came out and we showed them that we can win. We showed it on the field — 6-0. All our hard work in practice is paying off.

“I’m just very excited that we’re going back to the playoffs,” Martinez added. “I think we’re up to the challenge.”

The Lady Tarpons completed their district schedule with an 8-2 record in 31-4A, which was good enough for second place behind conference champion La Feria (9-1).

The Port Isabel girls next will have a warmup game before the Class 4A bi-district playoffs start March 23.

They are in their fourth season of playing UIL soccer and have qualified for the playoffs every year. They won their first postseason match a year ago and wound up advancing three rounds.

“I’m very proud of the girls and the season we’re having,” Lady Tarpons coach Jesus Cardenas said. “The girls are working hard. I know we didn’t accomplish our goal (of winning district for the first time), but as long as we’re in the playoffs, anything can happen. If we peak at the right time, hopefully we can make some magic happen and make Port Isabel proud.”

Castillo got things going for Port Isabel during the 24th minute when she dribbled in close near to the right post and sent a crossing shot past the goalkeeper and into the left corner of the net. Martinez made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute when a long pass from the right side came to her and she scored from the left side about eight yards out.

The Raymondville goalkeeper couldn’t secure the ball in the 39th minute and Gomez was there to punch it in from close range to make it 3-0 at halftime.

Dribbling in, getting the goalkeeper to commit and then scoring from close range was the way the Lady Tarpons scored all three of their goals in the second half — one by Gomez and the final two by Castillo during the 44th, 46th and 50th minutes.

“I really liked the communication we had between each other tonight,” said the Lady Tarpons’ Celia Garza, a sophomore midfielder. “I think we’ve improved from last year. We’re talking to each other more, especially on defense, and we have more passing, too. We’re also pushing the ball to the sides (to advance it), and I like that improvement that we’re doing as well.

“I feel our potential is about the same as last year (to do well in the playoffs), and maybe it’s even a little stronger this time,” Garza added. “If we keep practicing hard and playing well, I think we can do better. My team has improved, so hopefully we can go farther (in the postseason).”

BOYS GAME:
PI 2, RAYMONDVILLE 1 (PKs)

In the nightcap of Thursday’s District 31-4A doubleheader at Tarpon Stadium, the Port Isabel boys prevailed over Raymondville.

It was the final regular-season district game for both teams.

After a scoreless first half, the Tarpons went up 1-0 on a penalty kick in the 57th minute. The Bearkats tied it 1-1 on a medium-range goal in the 63rd minute.

After the match completed 100 minutes of regulation and overtime play with the score still deadlocked 1-1, the two teams went to penalty kicks.

Raymondville went first and came up without a goal on its first two PK tries. Meanwhile, the Tarpons converted their first three PK attempts and won when their goalkeeper stopped the fourth penalty shot try by the Bearkats.

The Tarpons won the PKs 3-1 and the official result was a 2-1 victory for Port Isabel.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Play on it and the Porter Nation will come.

After a slight delay of a week, the Porter Cowboys made a successful debut on their new artificial turf soccer field Tuesday, much to the delight of their fans who filled the stands and stood along the fence line.

In the first varsity match to be played on the new field, the Cowboys triumphed over Donna North 2-1 in District 32-5A action.

Porter’s Alexis Armendariz scored twice during the sixth minute as the Cowboys dominated play throughout the match, although Donna North tallied a goal with a minute and a half remaining to make the final score look closer than it seemed.

“For any soccer player it’s a great feeling when you score two times early like that,” Armendariz said. “I thank God for the opportunity to score those goals. It was a beautiful thing.”

The Cowboys were scheduled to host a pair of 32-5A games on the new field last week, but because the seating was not yet quite adequate for playing against a Brownsville opponent and the fencing surrounding the playing surface was not completed, the matches were played at Brownsville Sports Park instead. Porter won both against Lopez (3-1) and Pace (3-0).

The seating at Porter is still a work in progress and there is more fencing to be installed, but the Cowboys couldn’t wait any longer after playing all their first-round 32-5A games on the road and their first two second-round matches at BSP.

Junior varsity games already have been played on the new field, but Tuesday marked the first time for a varsity match there, and the Cowboys made the most of their opportunity to shine at home before the Porter Nation.

Porter improved to 8-2 with 24 points to stay close behind 32-5A leader Brownsville Veterans Memorial (9-1, 27 points), a 6-0 winner at home Tuesday against Edcouch-Elsa.

Donna North is now 4-6 with 12 points.

“We were excited about the fact that we were finally getting a chance to play at home,” Porter coach Jose Espitia said. “We took advantage of two (scoring) chances early in the game. Donna North made some adjustments in its midfield and was countering us very efficiently in the second half.

“It was one of those games that was exactly like we expected — very close,” Espitia added. “We had heard they played a very close game (in losing 3-2 last week) against Lopez. We just want to continue to adjust to playing on our new field and to keep adding points (with wins).”

With barely six minutes gone in the match, Armendariz dribbled in close, got the Donna North goalkeeper to commit to going one direction and then nudged the ball away from him and into the net from close range. Just 47 seconds later, Armendariz fired a shot into the goal from about 15 yards out on the left side to make it 2-0 for the Cowboys.

About the only thing missing from the second half for Porter was another goal that would have signaled a decisive advantage in the match. The Cowboys controlled play throughout and had at least five solid chances in the second half to add their third goal and go up 3-0, but it didn’t happen.

Instead, Donna North’s Christopher Flores tallied from close range with a minute and 30 seconds left to account for the final score of 2-1.

GIRLS GAME

PORTER 4, DONNA NORTH 2

Also making a successful debut on their new home field Tuesday were the Cowgirls, who scored four first-half goals and came away with a 4-2 victory.

Priscila Cortinas scored three of the Cowgirls’ goals and Quetzali Cortez added the other one.

“We’ve missed playing at home, that was the main thing,” Porter coach Abraham Gracia said. “Our girls are playing well. Compared to before, it’s like seeing a different team. They did what we practiced tonight.

“We’re without four starters right now (due to injuries and other matters),” Gracia added. “We have four freshmen playing in the lineup now and they’re stepping it up.”

Coming off two losses, Porter improved to 5-5 with 17 points in 32-5A.

Donna North lost its third in a row and slipped to 3-7 with nine points in the district.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Santiago Garcia’s golf season is gaining momentum as he attempts to qualify for the UIL state tournament in May for the first time.

The Hanna junior is coming off last Saturday’s first-place medalist performance at the Border Olympics tournament in Laredo.

Garcia finished with a two-day tournament-best score of 138 (73-65), which was 6 under par. His 7-under-par 65 on Saturday was the best tournament round he’s ever shot. He’s matched that score several times in practice.

The past weekend marked Garcia’s fourth tournament victory so far this school year to go with one third-place showing and a fifth-place finish in six tournaments.

“I feel I’m playing well,” Garcia said. “I’m happy with all my tournaments except the very first round of my first tournament (this school year) when I shot an 83 at Palmview (Golf Course in McAllen). I came back and shot a 72 the next day.

“My putting has been solid. That’s what has made me do so well.”

Garcia won the District 32-6A Tournament as a freshman and repeated that feat as a sophomore. He barely missed out on qualifying for state last year at the Region IV-6A Tournament.

This time around, he’s determined to go farther.

“My goals are to win district again, win the regional tournament and to have a good place at state,” Garcia said. “Of course, (coming close last year and not getting to go to state) is a motivation. Whenever I’m at the Republic (Golf Club in San Antonio, site of the regional tournament), there’s always a little extra motivation in the back of my mind.”

Adrian Garcia, Santiago’s father, is his coach at Hanna. Adrian Garcia is in his 19th school year as Hanna’s golf coach.

“We work all season for district and regionals, and our goal is to make it to state,” Adrian Garcia said. “Santiago feels that he is on track.”

The Hanna golfer returns to play at Republic Golf Club March 31-April 1. The 32-6A Tournament is scheduled April 10-11 at Tony Butler Municipal Golf Course in Harlingen. The Region IV-6A Tournament at Republic is April 26-27. The 6A state tournament is May 15-16 at Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown.

“I feel good about my game and I’m feeling confident (about my chances),” the Hanna golfer said.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Brownsville Sports Park always seems to be a good home away from home for the Porter Cowboys in soccer.

That trend continued Friday for the Cowboys at BSP as they captured a 3-0 victory against a short-handed Pace squad in District 32-5A action.

Porter played its two 32-5A games this week at BSP because the seating is limited right now at its new, on-campus artificial turf field, which was christened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week.

The new field at Porter is ready and already has been used for junior varsity games, but the seating is not quite adequate just yet. Also not yet complete is the fencing surrounding the field.

The Cowboys (7-2, 21 points) defeated Lopez 3-1 on Tuesday at BSP and followed it up with Friday’s 3-0 triumph at the same site over the Vikings (3-6, nine points). Trailing 1-0, Pace drew a red card 16 minutes into the second half and finished the match with only 10 players.

“These are championship (type) games (against our Brownsville rivals) that we have to win,” said Marco Don Juan, a senior midfielder for the Cowboys. “Little by little, we’re progressing. We’re more together and more united, so we’re stronger now than we were in the first round of district.

“I see us getting better and better game by game,” Don Juan added.

Porter led 1-0 at halftime Friday and added two more tallies late in the second half to make it a decisive win, even though the Cowboys missed a penalty kick and had a shot go off the crossbar.

Midway through the opening half, Porter’s Alexis Armendariz broke out of a cluster of Pace defenders and beat the goalkeeper one-on-one with a shot from about 10 yards away to make it 1-0.

Pace suffered its red card in the 56th minute on a hard foul.

Porter missed its penalty kick wide to the right with about 13 minutes remaining. With eight minutes left, Porter had a shot go off the crossbar, and a minute after that, Pace had an apparent goal negated on an offsides call.

Porter’s Agustin Pizano, a sophomore reserve off the bench, scored on medium-range shots from the left side during the 76th and 78th minutes to increase the lead to 3-0.

“We’re playing better soccer as the season goes on,” said Anthony Cuellar, a senior central defender for the Cowboys. “We want to stay focused on our goal of winning back-to-back state championships. These two wins (against Lopez and Pace) help us get ready for the teams we have coming up.”

Porter is expected to play its games next Tuesday and Friday on its new artificial field on its campus.

GIRLS GAME

PACE 1, PORTER 0

In the second game of Friday’s 32-5A doubleheader at BSP, Kryssie Rivera scored for Pace barely six minutes into the match and her goal stood up the rest of the way to give the Lady Vikings a much-needed victory.

“It’s a key win for us, and unfortunately, it came against Porter, but we have to win when we can regardless of who it might be against in this tough district,” Lady Vikings coach Jesus O. Villarreal said. “It was good for us and not so good for them.

“The district is very tight,” Villarreal added. “We’re just taking it game by game and picking up points here and there where we can.”

The Pace girls improved to 6-3 with 15 points in 32-5A. Porter slipped to 4-5 with 13 points. Lopez went into Friday’s action leading the district at 7-1 with 20 points.

Rivera’s goal on a crossing shot from the left side early in the game was all it took. It was the ninth goal in district for the junior forward who has started since she was a freshman.

“This game was something we had to really consider (winning) after we had just lost (2-1 in overtime Tuesday) to (Brownsville) Veterans,” Rivera said. “A win like this is something that’s going to motivate us to keep pushing as we try to make it to the playoffs. It feels good to get this win.”

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

ROMA — More than ever, the No. 22 state-ranked Laredo United Longhorns are determined to return to the Class 6A regional basketball tournament for the second straight year.

“We have a lot of confidence on our side,” said Marlon Williams, a 6-foot-1 senior wing for the Longhorns. “Our motivation is to get back to regionals and try to go even farther.”

United’s high aspirations for the postseason turned out to be bad news for the Los Fresnos Falcons in their area-round playoff game against the Longhorns Friday night in Roma.

District 32-6A co-champion Los Fresnos (26-7) led early by as many as 11 points, 13-2, but the Falcons couldn’t sustain their solid play of the opening quarter and wound up losing 69-54 to the District 29-6A runner-up Longhorns (25-9).

United, ranked No. 22 among 6A teams in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, now advances to next week’s 6A regional quarterfinals to face McAllen High, a 70-43 winner against Harlingen South, also on Friday.

A victory over the Bulldogs would send the Longhorns to the regional tournament for the second straight year.

Los Fresnos led 23-18 after one quarter, but trailed 37-31 at intermission and 46-41 entering the final period. The Falcons were forced to foul late in the fourth quarter and United made its free throws (12 of 14) over the final 3:24 to win by double digits and end Los Fresnos’ postseason in the second round for the third consecutive season.

“I thought it was two good teams going at it,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “United made the fewest mistakes and that’s what hurt us tonight. We had some turnovers, several missed layups and several missed free throws. If we could have just made our free throws and layups, we would have been fine and the game could have gone the other way.

“United is a (past) regional team for a reason,” Hinojosa added. “We’re trying to figure out how to get there (too). We just have to do a few little things better. We will and we’ll be back again. Next time, we don’t want to stop in the second round (like this).”

The Falcons ran into a team that was somewhat a mirror image of the way they prefer to play — hustle on the defensive end to create turnovers to go with an uptempo offense that isn’t shy about putting up 3-pointers. United just did a better job than the Falcons of playing that way Friday in Roma.

David Sanchez led United with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Teammates Juan Chapa, Andrey Pompa and Williams added 15, 12 and 12 points, respectively, with Chapa and Pompa each netting a 3-pointer.

For Los Fresnos, Andrew Carrizales led the way with 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Also for the Falcons, Gabe Martinez and Alex Garcia contributed 11 and nine points, respectively, each with a 3-pointer.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The basketball season slipped away at the free-throw line on Tuesday for the Brownsville First Baptist Crusaders.

After he was fouled on a play as both teams battled for a loose rebound under the basket during the closing seconds, San Antonio Castle Hills’ Nathan Mumme sank two free throws with 3.8 seconds showing to lift his team over First Baptist 70-69 in a TAPPS Class 3A area-round playoff game at the Oliveira Park gym.

First Baptist attempted a half-court shot that missed the mark as time expired.

The Crusaders led virtually the entire game, but careless passes that resulted in turnovers and not converting free throws near the end cost them the game. They led by as many as 14 points, 47-33, when Brandon Diaz scored from underneath at the 6:51 mark of the third quarter.

The Crusaders, who were in the Top 10 of the TAPPS 3A state rankings earlier this season, ended the year at 16-10.

“This is a tough loss for our team,” First Baptist coach George Solis said. “I feel bad for our senior Jorge Barrios. Jorge and George Solis (my son) did a good job of leading us. Phillip Crumley and Brandon Diaz did an outstanding job for us (scoring and rebounding) in this game.

“I’m very proud of this team,” the coach added.

The Crusaders led 19-14 after one period and took a 42-33 advantage into intermission. They went into the final quarter leading 61-53 .

But the Eagles from San Antonio just wouldn’t be denied.

When First Baptist missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation while leading 69-68 with 19.5 seconds left, it opened the door for the visitors. And with only 3.8 seconds to go, when Mumme received an opportunity to put his team back in the lead for the first time since late in the opening quarter, he came through by swishing both free throws to make it a disappointing ending for the Crusaders.

Diaz, Barrios and Crumley led First Baptist with 20, 19 and 15 points, respectively. Barrios hit three 3-pointers.

Andrew Anderson led Castle Hills with 23 points. Teammates Mumme, Alex Anaya and Victor Farias added 13, 13 and 11 points, respectively. Anaya hit three 3-pointers and Mumme made one.

STAFF REPORTS

CLASS 5A Bi-District
Laredo Martin 67, Pace 50

In Class 5A bi-district playoff action Tuesday, the Pace High School Vikings were unable to get past Laredo Martin in a double-digit loss in Falfurrias.

Pace head coach Jose Ramirez said his team went into an uncharacteristic shooting slump in the first quarter as the Tigers built a 16-9 lead. The Vikings recovered over the course of the second frame, outscoring Martin 16-15 to end the first half.

“We started cold, (Martin) started hot,” Ramirez said of Pace’s shooting woes. “We had a lot of in-and-outs. Even on free throws. It was unreal. We were missing shots we usually make.”

The Tigers began creating space with a 17-15 scoring advantage in the third period before running away with the win with a 19-10 showing in the fourth. Nineteen of Martin’s points came from the free-throw line.

“They did a good job keeping us at bay,” Ramiez said of the Tigers. “Kudos to them. They earned the win.”

Pace junior Randy Aguilar led the Vikings with 17 points, and senior Andres Salgado added 14. Martin’s Luis Ortegon scored a game-high 26.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The field is ready but the bleachers are not.

As the second round of District 32-5A soccer action begins, Porter’s teams were scheduled to play their first varsity games on their new on-campus artificial turf field today at 5:30 p.m. for the boys and 7:30 p.m. for the girls. But since the bleachers at the new field are not quite ready, the boys-girls 32-5A doubleheader against “Battle of Southmost” rival Lopez has been moved to Brownsville Sports Park with the matches starting at the same times.

The new field was officially christened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week and sub-varsity games already have been played on it. The main concern now is seating availability for the much anticipated rivalry matchups between the Southmost neighboring schools.

Porter’s boys and girls are to play host to Pace on Friday. It will be determined later this week if those games will be played at Porter or elsewhere.

Knowing their home field would not be completed in time, the Cowboys and Cowgirls arranged to play all their first-round district matches on the road. Through the course of those games, they went 5-2 (15 points) and 4-3 (13 points), respectively.

Now the Porter teams want to play their second-round district games at home as soon as possible.

Also in 32-5A today, other boys-girls doubleheaders starting at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to begin the second round of district have Pace at Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Mercedes at Donna High and Edcouch-Elsa at Donna North.

The second round also begins today in District 32-6A and almost all the games start at 7 p.m.

For the 32-6A boys, it’s Hanna-Rivera at Sams Memorial Stadium, Los Fresnos at San Benito and Weslaco East at Weslaco High, all at 7 p.m. In another 32-6A boys match, Harlingen High plays Harlingen South at 5:30 p.m. at Boggus Stadium.

For the 32-6A girls, it’s Rivera at Hanna, San Benito at Los Fresnos and Weslaco High at Weslaco East, all at 7 p.m. The Harlingen High-Harlingen South girls game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Boggus Stadium.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Strong performances by local athletes made it a good day for Brownsville at Saturday’s 62nd annual Sams Relays at Sams Memorial Stadium.

The Rivera boys won a team championship, while St. Joseph Academy hurdler Gaby Garza and Pace thrower Gertrudis Ruiz-Balli were among the double-winners.

“It feels great to be with my teammates,” said Rivera’s Aron Gutierrez, who took second in the 100 meters and ran on two high-placing relays. “Winning this with them is amazing. Running with them is fun. We’ve been practicing hard to be where we are now, so this feels pretty good.”

It’s the second straight weekend for the Raiders to win a team championship. They finished with the most points at the Bobby Morrow Relays on Feb. 10.

“For the past three years Rivera has been considered the underdog (in track),” said Jonathan Herrera, who finished third in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters for the Raiders. “All of sudden we’ve come out and won a team championship twice, and now people are thinking about us (as contenders). We’re just going to be working hard every week and trying to represent Rivera and Brownsville to see how far we can go.”

Rivera won with 77 points to edge runner-up Corpus Christi Carroll with 77.5. Weslaco East was third with 73. San Benito and Edinburg North finished fourth and fifth with 67.5 and 65 points, respectively.

Sparked by Briana Robles, who won the 800 meters (2 minutes. 21.33 seconds), 1,600 meters (5:11.19) and 3,200 meters (11:20.87), La Joya Palmview captured the girls team championship with 131 points. Weslaco High was second with 105 points and followed by Edinburg Vela (67), Hanna (52) and Los Fresnos (44).

Meanwhile, Garza won both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles in 14.70 seconds and 45.37 seconds, respectively. She already held the Sams Relays record for the girls 100 hurdles (set a year ago), and Saturday she eclipsed the 300 hurdles meet record of 45.66 that was set in 2013 by Edinburg Economedes’ Leigha Brown.

She ran the hurdles at meets on back-to-back days in San Benito and Pharr last weekend so now has won her events at three outings.

“It feels great to have won three meets already, but I know I can do so much better,” Garza said. “I’ve been practicing really hard, so I know I can shave off a second or two in both events. I’m just ready to keep going and keep pushing. I’m still motivated to run, so I’m just excited for what is ahead.”

Ruiz-Balli, a recent Texas A&M-Kingsville signee for the shot put and discus, won her events last weekend and repeated the feat at the Sams Relays.

On Saturday, the Pace standout won the discus with a throw of 131 feet, 11 inches and placed first in the shot put with a toss of 34-6 1/2.

“I’m working hard everyday and I feel my mentality is better,” Ruiz-Balli said. “I feel comfortable with my workouts and everything. I’m glad because I’m making progress toward my goals. I think I can improve (and qualifying for the state meet).

“I’m glad, but I’m not satisfied (with my distances),” Ruiz-Balli added. “I just want to improve more and more.”

Weslaco High’s Eleanor Arndt was named the meet’s female top scorer with 42 points, which included wins in the 200 meters (26.53) and 400 meters (59.72) along with capturing first in the long jump (17-10 3/4) and taking second in the high jump (5-2).

Lopez’s Jose Echavarria was named the meet’s top point producer for the boys. He had 22.5 points while winning the long jump (21-6 1/2) and taking second place in the triple jump (41-1).

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

62nd Annual Sams Relays
Sams Stadium
Brownsville – 2/18/2017
Girls High Jump Finals
1, Solis, Jovanni, Rowe, 5-02. 2, Arndt, Eleanor, Weslaco, J5-02. 3, Guerrero,
Juliana, Harlingen, 5-00. 4, Flores, Alyssa, Weslaco East, 4-10. 5, Ramirez,
Sophia, Ed Vela, J4-10. 6, Leyva, Amber, Harlingen, J4-10.
Girls Pole Vault
1, Salinas, Sydney, Weslaco, 9-00. 2, Prazelini, Tanya, Los Fresnos, 8-06. 3,
Villarreal, Abriana, Palmview, 8-00. 3, Quintana, Aissa, Ed Vela, 8-00. 5,
Sanchez, Paulina, Rowe, 7-06. 6, Perez, Ava, Weslaco, J7-06.
Girls Long Jump
1, Arndt, Eleanor, Weslaco, 17-10.75. 2, Tamez, Mirna, Palmview, 17-09.50. 3,
Solis, Jovanni, Rowe, 16-04.25. 4, Lopez, Carla, Lopez, 15-09.50. 5, Mora,
Jacqueline, Hanna, 15-08.50. 6, Calvillo, Kristyn, Ed Vela, 15-03.
Girls Triple Jump
1, Solis, Jovanni, Rowe, 34-06.50. 2, Lopez, Carla, Lopez, 34-01.25. 3,
Guerrero, Juliana, Harlingen, 33-09.25. 4, Tamez, Mirna, Palmview, 33-06.50.
5, Schlatter, Rebekah, Hanna, 33-03.50. 6, Ibarra, Crystal, San Benito,
J33-03.50.
Girls Shot Put
1, Ruiz-Balli, Gertrudis, Pace, 37-06. 2, Granados, Valeria, Los Fresnos,
35-03. 3, Zamora, Emily, Ed Vela, 33-09.50. 4, Zamorano, Estrella, Ed Vela,
32-10.50. 5, Martinez, Karina, Raymondville, 30-06. 6, Munoz, Landry, Weslaco
East, 30-05.50.
Girls Discus Throw
1, Ruiz-Balli, Gertrudis, Pace, 131-11. 2, Gonzalez, Ciera, Weslaco, 118-04.
3, Granados, Valeria, Los Fresnos, 114-05.50. 4, Zamora, Emily, Ed Vela,
107-09. 5, Mendoza, Jackie, Rowe, 102-01. 6, Cavazos, Victoria, Ed Vela,
101-04.
Boys High Jump
1, Rosas, Devin, Harlingen, 6-00. 2, Limon, Stephen, Sharyland, 5-10. 3,
Mercado, Carlos, Los Fresnos, 5-08. 4, Losoya, Oscar, Rivera, J5-08. 5,
Larsen, Spencer, Ed Vela, J5-08. 6, Molina, George, Ed North, J5-08.
Boys Pole Vault
1, Olguin, Ryland, Ed Vela, 12-06. 2, McNabb, Luke, Harlingen, 12-00. 3,
Solis, Adrian, Sharyland, 11-06. 3, Esquivel, Gary, Harlingen, 11-06. 5,
Esquivel, Jimmy, Sharyland, J11-06. 5, Larsen, Nicholas, Ed Vela, J11-06.
Boys Long Jump
1, Eschavaria, Jose, Lopez, 21-06.25. 2, Harper, Tyrone, San Benito, 21-02. 3,
Estrada, Carlos, San Benito, J21-02. 4, Martinez, Damian, Monte Alto,
21-01.75. 5, Martinez, Abel, Veterans, 20-08.50. 6, Gutierrez, Aron, Rivera,
20-07.
Boys Triple Jump
1, Gutierrez III, Daniel, Raymondville, 41-02. 2, Eschavaria, Jose, Lopez,
41-01. 3, Joseph, Elijah, CC Carroll, 40-11.75. 4, Martinez, Damian, Monte
Alto, 40-10. 5, Carmona, Max, Veterans, 40-06.25. 6, Cruz, Adrian, Ed Vela,
40-04.50.
Boys Shot Put
1, Cortina, Gaston, Ed North, 54-06.50. 2, Clemons, Zac, Sharyland, 47-04.50.
3, Castillo, Adriel, Los Fresnos, 46-02.25. 4, Davis, Darvin, CC Carroll,
45-00. 5, Bulos, Sebastian, Ed North, 44-04. 6, Arevalo, Edgar, Edinburg,
43-03.
Boys Discus Throw
1, Bodden, Andres, Veterans, 149-08. 2, Trevino, Jesse, Weslaco East, 141-02.
3, Cortina, Gaston, Ed North, 139-00.50. 4, Bulos, Sebastian, Ed North,
136-00.50. 5, Mendez, Juan, Pace, 128-02. 6, Luna, Jessie, Lopez, 127-03.50.

62nd Annual Sams Relays
Sams Stadium
Brownsville – 2/18/2017
Girls 100 Meter Dash Finals
1, Mora, Jacqueline, Hanna, 12.44. 2, Guzman, Bryssa, Weslaco East, 12.83. 3,
Garcia, Marina, Hanna, 12.87. 4, Tamez, Mirna, Palmview, 12.92. 5, Martinez,
Yazmine, Harlingen, 12.93. 6, Trevino, Stephanie, Monte Alto, 13.06.
Girls 200 Meter Dash
1, Arndt, Eleanor, Weslaco, 26.53. 2, Bernal, Alejandra, San Benito, 26.98. 3,
Guzman, Bryssa, Weslaco East, 27.17. 4, Prazelini, Tanya, Los Fresnos, 27.37.
5, Ramirez, Sophia, Ed Vela, 27.94. 6, Juarez, Sara, Weslaco East, 28.28.
Girls 400 Meter Dash
1, Arndt, Eleanor, Weslaco, 59.72. 2, Cruz, Adriana, Edinburg, 1:03.32. 3,
Diaz, Marielena, Weslaco East, 1:04.02. 4, Vilano, Avery, Hanna, 1:04.17. 5,
Marroquin, Melohdee, Edinburg, 1:04.90. 6, Valle, Angie, San Benito, 1:06.00.
Girls 800 Meter Run
1, Robles, Brianna, Palmview, 2:21.33. 2, Villalon, Bailey, Palmview, 2:23.91.
3, Sifuentes, Nadia, Hanna, 2:25.41. 4, Garza, Aaliyah, Weslaco, 2:25.74. 5,
Perez, Lilliana, Ed Vela, 2:26.47. 6, Arce, Marissa, Edinburg, 2:26.94.
Girls 1600 Meter Run
1, Robles, Brianna, Palmview, 5:11.19. 2, Villalon, Bailey, Palmview, 5:30.53.
3, Diaz, Valeria, Sharyland, 5:30.86. 4, Sanchez, Vianney, Edinburg, 5:33.95.
5, Sifuentes, Nadia, Hanna, 5:34.72. 6, Rodriguez, Lauren, San Benito,
5:39.19.
Girls 100 Meter Hurdles
1, Garza, Gaby, St. Joseph A, 14.70. 2, Solis, Gabriella, Ed Vela, 16.22. 3,
Garcia, Renee, Ed Vela, 16.84. 4, Alex, Brianna, Los Fresnos, 16.94. 5,
Taylor, Angel, Ed North, 17.45. 6, Castillo, Devany, San Benito, 17.57.
Girls 300 Meter Hurdles
1, Garza, Gaby, St. Joseph A, 45.37. 2, Cano, Brittany, Palmview, 49.44. 3,
Camarillo, Lorna, Los Fresnos, 50.17. 4, Sanchez, Desiree, Harlingen, 50.18.
5, Larsen, Hannah, Ed Vela, 50.83. 6, Ruiz, Valeria, Veterans, 50.88.
Girls 4×100 Meter Relay
1, Palmview 50.99. 2, Weslaco 51.64. 3, Rowe 51.90. 4, Ed Vela 52.21. 5, Los
Fresnos 52.64. 6, Edinburg 53.04.
Girls 4×200 Meter Relay
1, Hanna 1:47.24. 2, Palmview 1:47.51. 3, Weslaco 1:49.97. 4, Ed Vela 1:50.29.
5, San Benito 1:50.39. 6, Los Fresnos 1:50.72.
Girls 4×400 Meter Relay
1, Palmview (Cano, Brittany , Sanchez, Oma , Gomez, Yoko , Villalon, Bailey ),
4:06.65. 2, Weslaco (Perez, Ava , Garza, Aaliyah , Sanchez, Lisamarie , Arndt,
Eleanor ), 4:15.40. 3, Harlingen (Kattan, Kirsten , Munivez, Julissa ,
Martinez, Yazmine , Guerrero, Juliana ), 4:16.10. 4, Ed Vela (Garcia, Soledad
, Perez, Lilliana , Rivera, Thalia , Muhammad, Jaida ), 4:18.66. 5, Sharyland
(Pina, Kassandra , Guevara, Sofia , Jimenez, Renata , Meza, Ana ), 4:21.69. 6,
Los Fresnos (Cisneros, Vannessa , Prazelini, Tanya , Korab, Janna , Castaneda,
Nori ), 4:22.50.
Boys 100 Meter Dash
1, Thompson, Darian, CC Carroll, 10.98. 2, Gutierrez, Aron, Rivera, 11.29. 3,
Smith, Quintae, Rivera, 11.37. 4, Lopez, Alex, Edinburg, 11.50. 5, Cardenas,
Christopher, Hanna, 11.59. 6, Capetillo, Marcus A, Raymondville, 11.70.
Boys 200 Meter Dash
1, DeLeon, Romeo, Sharyland, 23.24. 2, Alcorta, Sergio, CC Carroll, 23.46. 3,
Vaughn, Dominique, CC Carroll, 23.53. 4, Ortegon, Tomas, Porter, 23.55. 5,
Lopez, Marc, San Benito, 23.83. 5, Joseph, Elijah, CC Carroll, 23.83.
Boys 400 Meter Dash
1, Pope, Issac, San Benito, 51.42. 2, Ybarra, Derick, Weslaco East, 51.45. 3,
Garza, Angel, Sharyland, 53.46. 4, Ureno, Jerry, Rivera, 53.89. 5, Sanchez,
Johnny, Ed Vela, 54.10. 6, Tavares, Julian, Rivera, 55.44.
Boys 800 Meter Run
1, del Toro, Reynaldo, San Benito, 1:58.17. 2, Chapa, Ruben, Rivera, 1:59.34.
3, Ramirez, Luis, Weslaco East, 1:59.80. 4, Hill, Christopher, Ed Vela,
2:01.29. 5, Benavides, Art, Harlingen, 2:02.35. 6, Alvarado, Leo, Weslaco
East, 2:03.28.
Boys 1600 Meter Run
1, Pena, Tristen, Ed North, 4:29.08. 2, Doria, Josh, Ed North, 4:29.79. 3,
Herrera, Jonathan, Rivera, 4:36.13. 4, Pena, Leo, Hanna, 4:37.27. 5, Ramos,
Edward, Harlingen, 4:37.61. 6, Escovar, Fernando, Harlingen, 4:41.42.
Boys 110 Meter Hurdles
1, Vargas, Juan Carlos, Weslaco East, 15.85. 2, Renterria, Roel, Harlingen,
16.01. 3, Carretero, Alfonso, Veterans, 16.02. 4, Ortiz, Diego, Sharyland,
16.15. 5, Caballero, Jordan, Ed Vela, 16.19. 6, Ramirez, Robert, Los Fresnos,
16.24.
Boys 300 Meter Hurdles
1, Renterria, Roel, Harlingen, 41.80. 2, Ortiz, Diego, Sharyland, 42.21. 3,
Guerra, Justin, Ed North, 42.36. 4, Jones, Marc, CC Carroll, 42.76. 5,
Aguilar, Isaac, Harlingen, 43.39. 6, Ortiz, Angel, Rivera, 43.80.
Boys 4×100 Meter Relay
1, CC Carroll 43.64. 2, Rivera 43.96. 3, Veterans 44.30. 4, Weslaco East
44.38. 5, Hanna 44.83. 6, Raymondville 45.24.
Boys 4×200 Meter Relay
1, San Benito 1:32.48. 2, Lopez 1:33.16. 3, Weslaco East 1:33.31. 4, Rivera
1:34.04. 5, Edinburg 1:35.23. 6, Ed Vela 1:35.39.
Boys 4×400 Meter Relay
1, Weslaco East (Alvarado, Leo , Ybarra, Derick , Ramirez, Luis , Villarreal,
Sebastian ), 3:28.56. 2, CC Carroll (Alcorta, Sergio , Thompson, Darian ,
Roberson, Jaedon , Bradley, Jerel ), 3:30.97. 3, San Benito (Pope, Issac , del
Toro, Reynaldo , Retta, Eric , Guzman, Jediah ), 3:31.09. 4, Rivera (Tavares,
Julian , Ureno, Jerry , Lucio, Jesus , Gutierrez, Aron ), 3:34.18. 5,
Sharyland (Garza, Angel , Zuniga, Juan , Escalera, Luis , Longoria, Edgar ),
3:35.07. 6, Lopez (Camacho, Jorge , Eschavaria, Jose , Gallegos, Osvaldo ,
Saldania, Daniel ), 3:35.90.