By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Brownsville First Baptist boasts a boys basketball team ranked No. 7 in the state in TAPPS Class 3A.

The Crusaders’ poll position may improve when the new weekly TAPPS rankings are announced Tuesday.

First Baptist, 16-8, has gone about winning a district championship and achieving a high level of success without much in the way of fanfare outside the school’s confines.

That’s perfectly fine with Crusaders coach George E. Solis, now in his third season guiding the team and 10th overall at the school.

“We consider our season very successful, and we like it quiet,” Solis said.

The Crusaders have clinched their district championship with a 5-0 record and one conference game remaining. It’s Thursday at South Texas Christian of McAllen.

First Baptist will have a first-round bye in the TAPPS playoffs and then go against a team from the Austin or San Antonio area in the second round on Feb. 21. It will be a home game for the Crusaders.

“We just go about doing our business,” said Solis, whose ballclub earlier this season won the Progreso Tournament and captured the consolation championship at the San Isidro Tournament. “We’re a very humble team, but when we step on the court, we’re a very courageous team that is not afraid of any challenge.”

There is only one senior on the squad. He is Jorge Barrios, a 5-foot-10 forward and team co-captain along with 5-6 junior point guard George Andrew Solis, son of the head coach.

other starters include 6-3 junior center Phillip Crumley, 6-0 junior forward Juan Alberto Pena and 6-1 junior forward Brandon Diaz.

Phillip Crumley leads the team in scoring (13.0), rebounding (12.0) and blocks (3.0). Barrios leads the team in assists with an average of six per game. In a recent game, Barrios recorded a rare triple double that did not include points. He had double-digit totals in rebounding, assists and steals.

Other members of the ballclub are Robert Gualt, Pablo Perez, Mauricio De La Garza, Alexis Segovia, Marco De Leon and Stephen Crumley.

George Lovejoy and Joshua Crumley are the assistant coaches.

Barrios has been a varsity player for the Crusaders all four years of high school and said it’s one of the best basketball teams the school has produced.

“I feel honored to be a captain for the players on this team and watch them grow as persons,” he said. “We have become more united as a team throughout the years. We’re playing for fun and we’re doing good (at the same time).

“We know that what is ahead (in the playoffs) will be challenging and we know we can overcome it,” he added.

George Andrew Solis likes the way the squad plays with an attitude of unity.

“We’re giving an overall (strong) team effort,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to play with these guys and hang out with them. We work really well together as a team, we’re fast and we’re playing good defense along with good passing and (an active) fastbreak.

“Our goal was to make the playoffs,” he added. “We’ve done that and now we just want to keep on going, hopefully make it to the (TAPPS) state tournament and go undefeated.”

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

It was a soccer match four days in the making.

The District 32-5A game between Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Lopez that was suspended Friday due to heavy rain was completed Monday with the Chargers winning 2-1.

The contest was started Friday on Brownsville Veterans’ natural grass field before a deluge of rain forced the action to be discontinued in the second half when water accumulated on the playing surface and made conditions unsafe for the players.

It was halted with 28:06 remaining and Brownsville Veterans leading 1-0 thanks to a goal from close range by Ramon Perez just eight minutes into the match.

The two teams completed the game Monday on the artificial turf field at Sams Memorial Stadium, resuming the match at the point it had been stopped.

The win allowed the Chargers to retain the 32-5A lead with a 4-0 record and 12 points. Lopez slipped to 2-2 with six points.

“It’s way too early (in the district race to get too excited),” Chargers coach Alberto Vasquez said. “We have tons of games to come. I honestly feel that anyone can beat anyone in this district on any night. It’s a good thing and a bad thing. We just have to make sure we’re taking care of business one game at a time.”

Vasquez said it’s the first time he’s coached a game where the result in district wasn’t determined until after a wait of several days.

“I’ve never had this happen before where we had to suspend a game like this, lay it off for a few days, play it and then look forward to playing again the next day,” he said. “You have tournament games (where you do that and play back-to-back days), but district is completely different.

“We had to focus on these 28 minutes (against Lopez) and not anything else for tomorrow (concerning our next match Tuesday against Porter),” he added.

It remained 1-0 Monday until the Chargers’ Aldo LeKach scored from medium range to give his team a two-goal advantage with 11 minutes left. LeKach’s shot was deflected by the Lopez goalkeeper, but the ball still managed make it into the left corner of the goal.

The Lobos pulled within one goal again with a minute and a half remaining. Jose Echevarria converted a penalty kick for Lopez with a strong shot into the left corner of the net to account for the final score of 2-1.

Monday’s Lobos-Chargers match marked the third time a game involving a Brownsville team was completed on another day after a suspension Friday due to rain. Two Friday matches were resumed and finished on Saturday at Sams as Hanna beat Harlingen South 2-1 in District 32-6A and Pace edged Donna North 3-2 in 32-5A.

District 32-5A competition continues Tuesday as Lopez plays host to Mercedes and Brownsville Veterans is scheduled to play at home against Porter.

Vasquez said his team’s home field should be dry enough to be the site for the game against the Cowboys.

By Roy Hess, Staff Writer

Next stop Austin.

With another strong showing, McAllen schools dominated the day and qualified a host of swimmers and divers for state at Saturday’s Region VIII-6A meet at Brownsville’s Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center.

There were some solid performances by competitors from the Brownsville area as well.

Among those qualifying for state in individual events from the Metro-area included Rivera’s Stephanie Castillo and Italy Garcia, Hanna’s Maya Athena Imperial and Natalia Davila, and Los Fresnos’ Luis Osuna. The Hanna girls also are sending a relay team to state.

The UIL state meet is Feb. 17-18 in Austin. The top two finishers in each swimming event at Saturday’s regional competition earned a trip to state along with the top three divers.

Castillo posted a second-place finish in the girls 100 freestyle. She barely missed another ticket to state with a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke.

“I was kind of scared and I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” said Castillo, a senior who is returning to state in the same event as before. “Now I’m going back for my second chance (to do well). I proved myself wrong today. Last year I was swimming 55 seconds (in my event) and this year I’ve been swimming 58s, so I wasn’t sure I would make it again. But I’m proud of myself and thankful for Coach (Ryan) Shea and Coach (Julie) Puckett for pushing me.”

Imperial, also a senior, qualified for state again in multiple events. She came in second in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle, plus she swam on the Lady Golden Eagles’ second-place 400 freestyle relay with Davila, Gloria Orta and Nadia Gutierrez. Another Hanna girls relay with the same four swimmers finished third.

“I’m satisfied with my showings and very pleased to be going back to state (for the third time),” Imperial said. “I thank my family and everyone.”

Davila placed second in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 butterfly, while Garcia was third in the girls 1-meter diving.

Osuna came in second in the boys 500 freestyle. He also was fourth in the 100 backstroke.

Also for Rivera, Adrian Flores finished third in the boys 200 freestyle.

McAllen High’s boys and McAllen Memorial’s girls captured regional team championships Saturday just like they did one year ago.

“I’m super proud of each and every one on our team,” said McAllen Memorial junior Hannah Bradford, who was named the meet’s outstanding female swimmer after winning the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke besides swimming on the Lady Mustangs’ first-place 200 medley relay. “I told my teammates coming into the meet that if they didn’t think they were the best swimmer out there, they had to give it their all because it’s the little points (in every event) that count in the end, so I’m really proud of every one of them. We did much better than expected.

“This type of showing (at the regional level) is a confidence booster for sure (going into the state meet),” Bradford added. “To have so many people coming with us to state is really exciting.”

The Memorial team qualified seven athletes in individual events plus a first-place relay for the girls and a first-place relay for the boys.

The Lady Mustangs won their team title with 286 points and edged out runner-up McAllen Rowe with 276. McHi was third with 235, Laredo Alexander fourth with 206 and Hanna fifth with 198.

McHi qualified five athletes for state in individual events plus swimmers in five relays.

The Bulldogs repeated as the top boys team with 378 points, outdistancing second-place Memorial with 333. PSJA Southwest was third with 193, Laredo United fourth with 186 and Los Fresnos fifth with 169.

The McHi boys were led by junior Shaine Casas, who was named the meet’s outstanding male swimmer after winning the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly while swimming on two first-place relays. Casas is coming off last year’s third-place showing at state.

“It’s a great accomplishment (to be recognized as the top male swimmer),” Casas said. “I work really hard. I’ve been busting my butt for a long time to get to this point. It’s finally paying off, but I’m not satisfied. I expect a lot of myself, so we’ll see what happens in two weeks (at state).

“It’s also a big accomplishment (to win the boys team title again), not only for me, but for our whole team together,” Casas added. “We’ve swam together since the summer and it’s been a long process. It’s great to repeat.”

Besides Casas, winners of individual events for McHi included Shelby Swanson (girls 200 and 500 freestyles), Thomas Wilkins (boys 200 and 500 freestyles) and Michael Moore (boys 100 freestyle). Also for the Bulldogs, Max Saenz qualified for state with second-place finishes in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.

The Bulldogs produced state qualifiers in all three relays.

Along with Bradford, other individual event winners for Memorial were Robert Anaya (boys 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke), Stacia Benitez (girls 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke) and Patricia Rocha de Murga (girls 1-meter diving). Rocha de Murga was named outstanding female diver of the meet.

Earning trips to state with second-place finishes for Memorial were Caden Garza (boys 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly), Ruben Trevino (boys 100 freestyle) and Katherine De Leon (girls 1-meter diving).

McAllen Rowe was led by Ina Te, who won the girls 50 and 100 freestyles. She also swam on two first-place relays for Rowe.

Also qualifying for state from Rowe were Daniella Santos, second in the girls 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly; and Quintin Lorenz, third in boys 1-meter diving.

Selected as the region’s coaches of the year were Memorial’s Timothy Nelson for the girls and McHi’s Jared Kaminski for the boys.

La Joya High’s Vicente Martinez, winner of the boys 1-meter diving, was named the outstanding male diver of the meet. Teammate Eddie Barrera finished second in the event.

Top boys performers for PSJA Southwest included Joseph Velasquez, first place in the 100 breaststroke, and Joshua Velasquez, second place in the 100 backstroke. The Javelinas also qualified a relay for state with a second-place finish.

Meanwhile, no Brownsville athletes qualified for state at Saturday’s Region VIII-5A meet in Corpus Christi.

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

Just one step remains for area swimmers and divers to qualify for the UIL state meet.

It’s a daunting one, though.

Swimmers finishing in the top two places in each event at this weekend’s regional competition will move on to the state meet Feb. 17-18 in Austin. The top three divers at regionals advance to state as well.

It’s a change from previous years when only the top finisher in each swimming event at regionals qualified along with the top two divers.

Still, even with a more favorable format to reach state, it figures to be quite a challenge.

Three area swimmers who have advanced to state before and want to go back are Hanna’s Maya Athena Imperial (500 freestyle), Rivera’s Stephanie Castillo (100 freestyle) and Los Fresnos’ Stephanie Villarreal (200 freestyle relay).

Regionals are today and Saturday around the state. The Region VIII-6A meet is at Brownsville’s Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center, while the Region VIII-5A meet is at the CCISD Natatorium at Cabaniss Sports Complex in Corpus Christi.

Swimming prelims are scheduled today starting at noon in Brownsville and 10 a.m. in Corpus Christi. Finals are Saturday at both sites, starting at 9 a.m. for diving and 10 a.m. for swimming.

Swimmers and divers qualified for regionals at last weekend’s district meets, where the top six finishers in each event advanced. At the regional level, it becomes much more difficult to move on to state.

“Our focus has changed to regionals (after having our girls win the District 32-6A meet),” Hanna coach Sam Perez said. “We know where we stand and we know what we’re up against. We’ve been looking at times and at swimmers and studying the meet.

““I really believe in letting our swimmers know what the strategy is for the meet (at hand), and for the whole year, really,” Perez added. “I think that helps a lot. I had a lot of buy-in this year from everyone, especially the ones I would call the ‘B’ swimmers. I told them they would be our game-changers (at the 32-6A meet). They pushed for sixth place and helped us pick up one or two points (here and there at district). The boys have pushed the girls and the girls have pushed the boys all season long.

“It’s exciting. We’re looking to fight to the finish and make it to state.”

The McAllen High boys and McAllen Memorial girls are defending team champions of the Region VIII-6A meet.

Meanwhile, sparked by a dominating performance from his boys and girls at the District 32-5A meet, Brownsville Veterans Memorial coach Frank Sanchez hopes the momentum carries over for his team this weekend in Corpus Christi.

“I think our district showing really prepares our swimmers (for regionals),” he said. “Of course, they come down from the high of winning district and then go right back to their routine (of preparing for the next meet), but I think they’re going to be very pumped up for regionals. It will be difficult, but not anything that is impossible to achieve.”

Added Marijose Garza-Argote, a senior team captain for the Lady Chargers, “Our expectations are always high. We’re expecting everyone to swim at their ‘A’ level, and we know they will be able to because we’ve fought hard for this. I know in my heart that all the boys and girls can do it.

“I would just say thank you to all our swimmers,” she added. “This being the last year for the seniors, it’s a little heartbreaking, so thank you to all of them.”

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

For someone who enjoys playing football, what could be better than having a chance to play in college?

That opportunity came for Ricardo Miner on Wednesday when the standout defensive lineman for the St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds signed a scholarship agreement to continue his football career at Trinity University in San Antonio.

He chose Trinity over several other offers. Family, classmates, teammates, coaches and school administrators were present to share in the moment at an on-campus signing ceremony.

“Playing college football is what every high school athlete wants to do,” said Miner, a 6-foot-1/2, 275-pounder who led the 9-3 Bloodhounds last season with 120 tackles (48 solo, 72 assisted) in 12 games. “Not a lot of people are willing to put in the work to do it and even fewer (of all those out there) are actually able to do it, so it’s really a blessing to get to experience this.”

Miner transferred to SJA for his senior year and wasted no time in becoming a strong presence as a starter on the defensive line for the Bloodhounds. Besides a team-best 120 tackles, he also recorded three sacks, one safety and one recovered fumble out of two caused.

His postseason honors included first-team recognition as TAPPS all-state, TAPPS all-district, The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro and All-956. He also was named to the TAPPS academic all-state team.

SJA coach Tino Villarreal described Miner as “an imposing force on the defensive line,” and “someone who could control the line of scrimmage while creating double- and triple-teams.”

“Ricardo’s outstanding play allowed us to open up the defense and do what we did (during the 2016 season),” Villarreal said. “I really believe that without Ricardo on our team, I don’t know if we would have won as many games as we did.

“I’m very happy that out of his multiple offers, he made the right choice,” Villarreal added. “With the type of academic rigor and prestige that Trinity has, I know that played a big role in him deciding to go there. Trinity mirrors a lot the values and philosophy we have here at St. Joseph Academy.

“To me, at the end of the day as a coach, besides winning games, (choosing a school like Trinity) is the most important thing. It makes me very proud to know that our student-athletes are pursing a top-notch education as well (as playing sports in college).”

Miner, who is considering a pre-med major in college, said coming to SJA for his senior year has meant a lot.

“It’s been an experience that I wish I had experienced sooner,” he said. “It’s really like no other program that I can think of in the Valley. St. Joseph is a close-knit community and everyone knows everyone here. I feel like I’m part of a family.”

When asked how Wednesday ranked as one of the most enjoyable days in his life, Miner said, “It’s definitely right up there (as one of the best).”

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 soccer teams displayed some scoring firepower in winning their district games Tuesday night.

There were some lopsided matches, especially for District 32-5A girls, as Pace defeated Mercedes 7-0, Porter triumphed over Donna North 7-3 and Lopez blanked Donna High 5-0.

On the boys side, Rivera shut out Harlingen High 7-0 in a District 32-6A match, while St. Joseph Academy dispatched Port Isabel 5-1 in a non-district game.

It’s believed to be the first time the Porter girls have scored that many goals in a district match.

“It was an awesome feeling seeing the girls play their hearts out and scoring all those goals against a really tough team like Donna North,” Cowgirls coach Abraham Gracia said. “I’m really proud of our girls because even though we did score seven goals, Donna North was not easy to score on. It was really a good game, and at one point, they almost tied us (when we led 4-3).”

The Porter girls were ahead 3-0 at halftime, but Donna North rallied and pulled to within 4-3 after the Cowgirls had added another goal. Then the Porter girls scored their final three goals to make it 7-3.

Priscila Cortinas led the Cowgirls with four goals. Teammates Lizbeth Garacia, Carloa Longoria and Christy Herbet each added one.

“Hopefully this puts us back on track,” said Gracia, whose Cowgirls are now 1-2 in district with four points.

Playing at Mercedes, the Pace girls led only 1-0 at halftime before coming alive to score six more goals in the second half.
Kryssie Rivera led the Lady Vikings with four goals. Also scoring for Pace were Kenia Galvan, Ariana Garcia and Eileen Rodriguez.

“Any win is good, especially one in this district,” Lady Vikings coach Jesus O. Villarreal said. “We’re taking every game seriously. I’m happy for the girls. They’re working hard.”

Playing at home against Donna High, the Lopez girls were sparked offensively by two goals apiece from Kiara Garcia and Carla Gracia along with one from Jaky Olivares.

Since winning one of the brackets in the Brownsville ISD Tournament last month, the Rivera boys have displayed some scoring prowess, particularly in 32-6A action.

Against Harlingen High on Tuesday at Sams Memorial Stadium, the Raiders surged to a 3-0 halftime lead before winning 7-0. The goal scorers for Rivera included Julian Espinoza (three), Ivan Cruz (two), Ramiro Rodarte (one) and Adrian Mireles (one).

Including the 6A and 5A teams for boys and girls from Brownsville plus those from Los Fresnos, their combined record in district on Tuesday was 10-2 as they outscored opponents 55-17.

DISTRICT LEADERS
After two games in 32-6A, the leaders for the boys are Los Fresnos (2-0) and Rivera (2-0), each with six points. The 32-6A leaders for the girls are Weslaco East (2-0), Los Fresnos (2-0) and Hanna (2-0), each also with six points.

Three matches have been played in 32-5A and the leaders for the boys are Brownsville Veterans Memorial (3-0) and Porter (3-0), each with nine points. For the 32-5A girls, the lone leader is Lopez (3-0) with eight points.

LIVING ON THE EDGE
At the other end of the Valley, nine-team District 31-5A already has played five games and the Mission Veterans Lady Patriots are walking a narrow line between victory and defeat.

Out of their five 31-5A matches, the Lady Patriots have gone to penalty kicks three times already and have won each one. It’s given them a 4-1 record with nine points.

Sharyland High and Sharyland Pioneer are tied for the 31-5A girls lead with 4-0 records and 12 points apiece. They play each other Friday night at Sharyland Pioneer.

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

At least they gave her a choice.

After the Los Fresnos boys won the District 32-6A swimming meet Saturday at Brownsville’s Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center, interim head swimming coach Becky Woods was asked by her team if she would consent to taking a dip in the pool with them to celebrate the Falcons’ eighth straight district championship.

“No, I’m not going in any pool,” responded Woods, who has replaced former coach Albino Cisneros.

The Los Fresnos swimmers respected the wishes of their hall of fame coach, who at various times throughout her 30-plus-year teaching career at Los Fresnos has directed athletes in other sports besides volleyball.

Woods later walked out of the Clark Center as dry as could be with her team and the district trophy in tow.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the pool Saturday, Hanna coach Sam Perez wasn’t given much of a choice.

His girls team had just captured a 32-6A championship as well and the Hanna swimmers surprised Perez by giving him a celebratory dunking in the pool. He went willingly and didn’t seem to mind getting wet.

“I’ve got another (dry) shirt (nearby),” he said.

Perez estimated it’s been five years or so since Hanna last won district in swimming.

“I’m so happy for our girls,” a drenched Perez said. “Every year (lately) it always seems to slip out of their grasp, and this year they won. We had been working on our relays and our strategy for where we were going to swim our girls (in the

lineup of events).

“We had to sit down and crunch numbers (to see where we could earn the most points),” he added. “Not everyone got to swim her favorite event. They swam for the team. That’s what I told them it would take (to win district).”

Hanna’s girls won with 122 points, edging runner-up Los Fresnos with 108. Rivera was third with 101.

The Los Fresnos boys amassed 181 points to easily outdistance second-place Weslaco High (88) and third-place Rivera (82).

“We have a team of real competitors,” Woods said. “They were ready and they wanted to win. They knew they were going for their eighth straight district title and they weren’t going to let anything get in their way.

“Our girls had a pretty good showing, too, but Hanna kind of surged ahead of us at the end,” Woods added. “It was back and forth all day long. We lost two tremendous (female) swimmers from last year, and this is a young (girls) team. They’re coming back strong.”

The district meet’s outstanding swimmers were Daryl Wells of Weslaco High for the boys and Natalia Davila of Hanna for the girls.

Wells won the 100 butterfly and took third in the 200 freestyle while swimming on two second-place relays for the Panthers.
Davila won the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly along with swimming on two first-place relays.

“This means a lot,” Davila said of her award. “It means a lot of hard work and dedication the whole season. I’ve sacrificed myself for this. My past failures — I’ve got them as anchors — helped me (do well today). They serve as a motivation.

“After many years (of waiting) to win district, this is amazing,” she added. “We’ve got our Eagle pride back.”

Other individual event winners for the Lady Golden Eagles included Maya Athena Imperial (200 individual medley and 500 freestyle) and Gloria Orta (200 freestyle). The Hanna girls also won two of the three relays. Swimmers on those relays included Davila, Imperial, Orta, Nadia Gutierrez, Annika Larson and Naquita Deysel.

The Los Fresnos boys posted also some solid victories in the individual events and the relays. Actually, the Falcons won all three relays behind the efforts of Javier Espinoza, Travis Jones, Ari Morales, Carlos Paredes, Luis Osuna, Will McKinney and Daniel Escamilla.

Individual event winners for the Falcons included Escamilla (50 freestyle), Paredes (500 freestyle), Osuna (100 backstroke) and McKinney (100 breaststroke).

The Los Fresnos girls also took first in a relay.

Rivera boasted a couple of double-winners in Stephanie Castillo (100 freestyle and 100 backstroke) for the girls and Adrian Flores (100 and 200 freestyles) for the boys. Also for Rivera, Italy Garcia won the girls 1-meter diving.

The meet’s other individual event winners included Weslaco High’s Brock Bloomquist (boys 200 individual medley), Hanna’s Andres Anorga (boys 1-meter diving) and Harlingen South’s Lola Garza (girls 100 breaststroke).

The top six finishers in each event qualified for the Class 6A regional meet scheduled next Friday and Saturday at the Clark Center.

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

2017 District 32 6A Championship Results

Margaret A. Clark Aquatic Center, Brownsville

Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay

1, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Rodriguez, Emily , Villarreal, Sarah , Manongas, Maria ,

Castro, Kaylie ), 2:03.32. 2, Harlingen South ‘A’ (Anderson,

Bobbie J 17, Garza, Lola D 15, Duncan, Catherine , Haley, Aransas L 17),

2:08.42. 3, Hanna HS ‘A’ (Gutierrez, Nadia , Imperial, Maya Athena ,

Deysel, Naquita , Larson, Annika ), 2:11.96. 4, Weslaco High School ‘A’

(Parker, Morgan D , Cano, Cyanna L , Horta, Larisa M , Torres, Iris ),

2:14.46. 5, Rivera HS ‘A’ (Perez, Cassandra , Errizuriz, Korinna , Gonzalez,

Ximena , Guevara, Diana ), 2:23.91. 6, Harlingen High ‘A’ (Vasquez, Vivian ,

Smith, Bailey , Uribe, Kaitlyn , Mata, Kaitlyn ), 2:33.38. —, Weslaco East

High School ‘A’ (Najera, Gabriela A , Dominguez, Alexandria J , Torres,

Rebecca M , Marroquin, Alyssa R ), DQ.

Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay

1, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Osuna, Luis , McKinney, Will , Espinoza, Javier ,

Escamilla, Daniel ), 1:44.73. 2, Weslaco High School ‘A’ (Wells, Daryl L 16,

Bloomquist, Brock A , Trevino, Daniel R , Cerda, Francisco J ), 1:47.28. 3,

Rivera HS ‘A’ (Shea, Kyle , De Los Santos, Pablo , Shea, Ryan , Flores, Adrian

), 1:48.53. 4, Hanna HS ‘A’ (Lovett, Matthew , Alaniz, Tristan , Santos,

Jose , Anorga, Andres ), 1:56.17. 5, Weslaco East High School ‘A’ (Barrientos,

Pasqual L , Ochoa, Jose A , Rodriguez, Daniel , Bulnes, Johnathan ), 2:07.40.

6, Harlingen High ‘A’ (Castaneda, Jason , Horn, William , Smith, Noah , Bazan,

Ricardo ), 2:08.85. —, Harlingen South ‘A’ (Massey, Hunter 15,

Ibarra, Brandon 15, Valdez Jr, Leonel 17, Moore, Matthew D 16), DQ.

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle

1, Orta, Gloria, Hanna, 2:08.77. 2, Rodriguez, Emily, LOFR, 2:14.36. 3, Mata,

Claudia, BRRI, 2:19.53. 4, Castro, Kaylie, LOFR, 2:21.00. 5, Castro,

Katherine, LOFR, 2:29.33. 6, Perez, Cassandra, BRRI, 2:30.54. 7, Aune, Megan,

HASO, 2:32.28. 8, Salas, Makaya, HARG, 2:33.33. 9, Lopez, Leslie, Weslaco

East, 2:37.16. 10, Hansen, Christine, HASO, 2:37.82. 11, Cazares, Olga,

Weslaco, 2:38.73. 12, Padilla, Meagan, HARG, 2:40.17. 13, Gonzalez, Juliet,

HASO, 2:42.74. 14, Cano, Cyanna L, Weslaco, 2:45.20. 15, Falcon Hernandez,

Monica, HARG, 2:45.33. 16, Sauceda, Ilyana, HASO, 2:45.59. 17, Martinez, Azul,

BRRI, 2:46.30. 18, Razo, Neida, HARG, 2:47.99. 19, Perez, Yaresia, Hanna,

2:49.97. 20, Dominguez, Alexandria J, Weslaco East, 2:50.64. 21, Peacock,

Angelita, Weslaco, 2:50.79. 22, Marroquin, Alyssa R, Weslaco East, 3:03.94.

23, Larraga, Alexis G, Weslaco East, 3:06.15. 24, Morales, Alma, Hanna,

3:17.40. 25, Moreno, Miranda, Hanna, 3:57.77.

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle

1, Flores, Adrian, BRRI, 1:51.06. 2, Paredes, Carlos, LOFR, 1:51.34. 3, Wells,

Daryl L, Weslaco, 1:53.64. 4, Santos, Jose, Hanna, 2:02.20. 5, Roblero, Jesse,

LOFR, 2:04.82. 6, Smith, Noah, HARG, 2:05.21. 7, Castaneda, Jason, HARG,

2:06.24. 8, Velarde, Erick, HASO, 2:06.40. 9, Braun, Nathaniel, LOFR, 2:07.50.

10, Horn, William, HARG, 2:10.29. 11, Gayosso, Claudio, BRRI, 2:15.69. 12,

Leija, Gabriel, HASO, 2:15.94. 13, Lerma, Carlos, LOFR, 2:17.31. 14, Mata,

Cristian, BRRI, 2:27.89. 15, Pecina, Ramiro, HASO, 2:32.29. 16, Cantu, Derek,

Weslaco, 2:32.42. 17, Martinez, Fernando, Hanna, 2:32.85. 18, Garza, Patrick,

Weslaco, 2:40.02. 19, Fujan, Aidan, HASO, 2:40.62. 20, Casares, Jet A, Weslaco

East, 2:56.16. 21, Chavez, Josue I, Weslaco East, 3:12.47. —, Saldivar,

Osiel, Hanna, DFS. —, Lopez, Saulo, Hanna, DFS.

Girls 200 Yard IM

1, Imperial, Maya Athena, Hanna, 2:20.06. 2, Villarreal, Sarah, LOFR, 2:26.26.

3, Flores, Sarah, HARG, 2:33.87. 4, Garza, Lola D, HASO, 2:40.45. 5, Ortega,

Lulu, BRRI, 2:44.97. 6, Errizuriz, Korinna, BRRI, 2:47.94. 7, Cano, Brianna L,

Weslaco, 2:52.96. 8, Duncan, Catherine, HASO, 2:54.81. 9, Ramos, Sarah M,

HASO, 2:57.91. 10, Smith, Bailey, HARG, 3:04.49. 11, Mata, Kaitlyn, HARG,

3:13.90. 12, Uribe, Kaitlyn, HARG, 3:15.24. 13, Hinojosa, Ariana, Hanna,

3:20.05. 14, Urbina, Cecilia, BRRI, 3:21.89. 15, Maldonado, Karen, Hanna,

3:33.95. 16, Esparza, Sophia, BRRI, 3:46.82.

Boys 200 Yard IM

1, Bloomquist, Brock A, Weslaco, 2:09.89. 2, Shea, Kyle, BRRI, 2:12.02. 3, De

Los Santos, Pablo, BRRI, 2:12.70. 4, Jones, Travis, LOFR, 2:19.35. 5, Paredes,

Kevin, LOFR, 2:25.10. 6, Rodriguez-Garza, Michael M, HASO, 2:28.92. 7, Wells,

Robert, LOFR, 2:30.19. 8, Uribe, Richard, HARG, 2:30.87. 9, Reddy, Samir,

LOFR, 2:33.48. 10, Alaniz, Tristan, Hanna, 2:35.88. 11, Urteaga, Alan S, BRRI,

2:42.94. 12, Ochoa, Jose A, Weslaco East, 2:47.89. 13, Barrientos, Pasqual L,

Weslaco East, 2:54.50. —, Rodriguez, Miguel, Hanna, DQ.

Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

1, Davila, Natalia, Hanna, 26.37. 2, Torres, Iris, Weslaco, 28.09. 3, Haley,

Aransas L, HASO, 28.36. 4, Cumpian, Melanie, HARG, 28.83. 5, Anderson, Bobbie

J, HASO, 28.91. 6, Solis, Britney N, Weslaco, 29.09. 7, Cruz, Charlie A,

Weslaco, 29.18. 8, Reyes, Kyana, Weslaco, 29.46. 9, Larson, Annika, Hanna,

12, Marroquin, Alyssa R, Weslaco East, 30.69. 13, Alaniz, Alexandria, LOFR,

Waters, Karen, LOFR, 32.00. 17, Navarette, Jackie, LOFR, 32.16. 18, Perez,

Ruth, Hanna, 32.56. 19, Villareal, Brianna N, Weslaco East, 34.14. 20,

Guevara, Diana, BRRI, 34.49. 21, Zaragoza, Victoria, HARG, 34.70. 22,

Rodriguez, Andrea, Hanna, 35.49. 23, Vasquez, Vivian, HARG, 35.72. 24, Falcon

Hernandez, Monica, HARG, 35.97. 25, Valdez, Lorena, Weslaco East, 36.10. 26,

Ochoa, Isabella C, Weslaco East, 41.20.

Boys 50 Yard Freestyle

1, Escamilla, Daniel, LOFR, 23.18. 2, Morales, Ari, LOFR, 23.35. 3, Trevino,

Daniel R, Weslaco, 23.93. 4, Espinoza, Javier, LOFR, 24.18. 5, Fredrickson,

Ian, HARG, 24.31. 5, Lovett, Matthew, Hanna, 24.31. 7, Shea, Ryan, BRRI,

10, Anorga, Andres, Hanna, 25.89. 10, Givilancz, Caleb, Weslaco, 25.89. 12,

Rebolloso, Ismael A, Weslaco, 25.92. 13, Davila, Patrick, HASO, 26.16. 14,

Bulnes, Johnathan, Weslaco East, 26.75. 15, Rodriguez, Daniel, Weslaco East,

East, 43.61.

Girls 1 mtr Diving

1, Garcia, Italy, BRRI, 189.45. 2, Cordova, Vanessa R, BRRI, 153.20.

Boys 1 mtr Diving

1, Anorga, Andres, Hanna, 209.85. 2, Franklin, Tyler, HARG, 175.80. 3,

Castillo, Aaron, HARG, 170.35.

Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

1, Davila, Natalia, Hanna, 1:03.27. 2, Gonzalez, Ximena, BRRI, 1:09.62. 3,

Manongas, Maria, LOFR, 1:10.13. 4, Cumpian, Melanie, HARG, 1:10.39. 5, Horta,

Larisa M, Weslaco, 1:16.65. 6, Duncan, Catherine, HASO, 1:18.01. 7, Errizuriz,

Korinna, BRRI, 1:20.70. 8, De Leon, Paloma, HARG, 1:22.97. 9, Zamora, Paulina,

Hanna, 1:26.43. 10, Ramos, Sarah M, HASO, 1:26.70. 11, Hinojosa, Ariana,

Hanna, 1:38.39. 12, Lopez, Brianna, Hanna, 1:40.05. 13, Razo, Neida, HARG,

1:43.02. 14, Uribe, Kaitlyn, HARG, 1:43.17.

Boys 100 Yard Butterfly

1, Wells, Daryl L, Weslaco, 53.92. 2, McKinney, Will, LOFR, 54.73. 3, Shea,

Ryan, BRRI, 58.40. 4, Trevino, Daniel R, Weslaco, 1:00.67. 5, Fredrickson,

Ian, HARG, 1:02.75. 6, Valdez Jr, Leonel, HASO, 1:04.17. 7, Perez, Rudy, BRRI,

1:05.03. 8, Castaneda, Jason, HARG, 1:05.46. 9, Braun, Nathaniel, LOFR,

1:05.96. 10, Salinas, Juan, Hanna, 1:11.30. 11, Reichardt, Jan, Hanna,

1:16.49. 12, Bazan, Ricardo, HARG, 1:20.89. 13, Lerma, Carlos, LOFR, 1:23.18.

14, Callison, Magnum, LOFR, 1:25.16. —, Garza, Gilbert, Hanna, DFS.

Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

1, Castillo, Stephanie, BRRI, 58.08. 2, Gutierrez, Nadia, Hanna, 59.67. 3,

Rodriguez, Emily, LOFR, 1:01.73. 4, Parker, Morgan D, Weslaco, 1:02.82. 5,

Mata, Claudia, BRRI, 1:03.00. 6, Deysel, Naquita, Hanna, 1:03.45. 7, Cruz,

Charlie A, Weslaco, 1:04.00. 8, Gallegos, Alejandra, LOFR, 1:04.25. 9,

Larrasquitu, Nellely, BRRI, 1:05.46. 10, Solis, Britney N, Weslaco, 1:05.75.

11, Roblero, Nancy, LOFR, 1:07.86. 12, Torres, Iris, Weslaco, 1:08.08. 13,

Ramos, Ana, HARG, 1:08.26. 14, Zamora, Paulina, Hanna, 1:09.16. 15, Saenz,

Victoria, HASO, 1:10.10. 16, Hansen, Christine, HASO, 1:11.04. 17, Gonzalez,

Juliet, HASO, 1:13.27. 18, Alaniz, Alexandria, LOFR, 1:13.36. 19, Perez, Ruth,

Hanna, 1:13.71. 20, Sauceda, Ilyana, HASO, 1:14.33. 21, Villareal, Brianna N,

Weslaco East, 1:14.72. 22, Myers, Madison, HARG, 1:15.92. 23, Najera, Gabriela

A, Weslaco East, 1:16.22. 24, Torres, Rebecca M, Weslaco East, 1:20.58. 25,

Gonzalez, Kaitlyn, HARG, 1:22.05. 26, Perez, Jessica, HARG, 1:27.09. 27,

Riojas, Audrey M, Weslaco East, 1:34.83.

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle

1, Flores, Adrian, BRRI, 50.74. 2, Escamilla, Daniel, LOFR, 51.10. 3, Morales,

Ari, LOFR, 51.94. 4, Bloomquist, Brock A, Weslaco, 52.71. 5, Cerda, Francisco

J, Weslaco, 53.77. 6, Espinoza, Javier, LOFR, 55.45. 7, Rodriguez, Jeremiah,

HARG, 56.43. 8, Velarde, Erick, HASO, 56.79. 9, Waters, Robert, LOFR, 57.00.

10, Ibarra, Brandon, HASO, 57.22. 11, Garza, Justin, Hanna, 57.73. 12,

Rebolloso, Ismael A, Weslaco, 57.90. 13, Perez, Rudy, BRRI, 58.27. 14, Davila,

Patrick, HASO, 58.31. 15, Rodriguez, Miguel, Hanna, 59.05. 16, Gayosso,

Claudio, BRRI, 1:00.06. 17, Rodriguez, Daniel, Weslaco East, 1:03.28. 18,

Moore, Matthew D, HASO, 1:04.41. 19, Cantu, Derek, Weslaco, 1:05.51. 20,

Decanini, David, Weslaco East, 1:06.01. 21, Reichardt, Jan, Hanna, 1:06.71.

22, Valdez, Aaron, Hanna, 1:08.24. 23, Reyes, Gerardo, Weslaco East, 1:08.36.

24, Casares, Jet A, Weslaco East, 1:16.04.

Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

1, Imperial, Maya Athena, Hanna, 5:28.93. 2, Manongas, Maria, LOFR, 5:59.63.

3, Flores, Sarah, HARG, 6:03.72. 4, Castro, Kaylie, LOFR, 6:25.78. 5,

Gonzalez, Ximena, BRRI, 6:26.31. 6, Jones, Michaela, LOFR, 6:32.37. 7, Aune,

Megan, HASO, 6:56.05. 8, Castillo, Elaine M, Weslaco, 7:00.85. 9, Lopez,

Leslie, Weslaco East, 7:11.32. 10, Salas, Makaya, HARG, 7:18.20. 11, Padilla,

Meagan, HARG, 7:18.50. 12, Martinez, Azul, BRRI, 7:28.86. 13, Cordova, Vanessa

R, BRRI, 7:42.71. 14, Zaragoza, Victoria, HARG, 7:49.47. 15, Lopez, Brianna,

Hanna, 8:32.92. 16, Morales, Alma, Hanna, 9:03.86.

Boys 500 Yard Freestyle

1, Paredes, Carlos, LOFR, 5:04.21. 2, Osuna, Luis, LOFR, 5:07.33. 3, Cerda,

Francisco J, Weslaco, 5:25.35. 4, Roblero, Jesse, LOFR, 5:29.68. 5, Santos,

Jose, Hanna, 5:31.78. 6, Smith, Noah, HARG, 5:40.86. 7, Horn, William, HARG,

5:58.96. 8, Callison, Magnum, LOFR, 6:09.53. 9, Leija, Gabriel, HASO, 6:11.46.

10, Avalos, Alejandro, BRRI, 6:19.96. 11, Mata, Cristian, BRRI, 7:02.54. 12,

Martinez, Fernando, Hanna, 7:23.84. 13, Salazar, Christian, HASO, 7:29.85. 14,

Allison, Nathan, HARG, 7:44.05. 15, Chavez, Josue I, Weslaco East, 8:41.48.

—, Lopez, Saulo, Hanna, DFS.

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1, Hanna HS ‘A’ (Gutierrez, Nadia , Orta, Gloria , Larson, Annika ,

Davila, Natalia ), 1:52.13. 2, Rivera HS ‘A’ (Larrasquitu, Nellely , Ortega,

Lulu , Mata, Claudia , Castillo, Stephanie ), 1:52.55. 3, Weslaco High School

‘A’ (Cruz, Charlie A , Solis, Britney N , Reyes, Kyana , Torres, Iris ),

1:57.03. 4, Harlingen South ‘A’ (Anderson, Bobbie J 17, Duncan,

Catherine , Garza, Lola D 15, Haley, Aransas L 17), 1:58.12. 5, Los Fresnos

‘A’ (Castro, Katherine , Roblero, Nancy , Alaniz, Alexandria , Gallegos,

Alejandra ), 1:59.13. 6, Harlingen High ‘A’ (Cumpian, Melanie , Salas, Makaya

, Ramos, Ana , Flores, Sarah ), 1:59.83. 7, Weslaco East High School ‘A’

(Marroquin, Alyssa R , Larraga, Alexis G , Villareal, Brianna N , Lopez,

Leslie ), 2:11.93.

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Espinoza, Javier , Jones, Travis , Morales, Ari , Paredes,

Carlos ), 1:35.27. 2, Harlingen High ‘A’ (Rodriguez, Jeremiah , Castillo,

Aaron , Uribe, Richard , Fredrickson, Ian ), 1:41.82. 3, Harlingen

South ‘A’ (Velarde, Erick 16, Davila, Patrick , Ibarra, Brandon 15,

Rodriguez-Garza, Michael M 17), 1:42.90. 4, Hanna HS ‘A’ (Rodriguez,

Miguel , Garza, Justin , Reichardt, Jan , Anorga, Andres ), 1:43.83. 5,

Weslaco High School ‘A’ (Givilancz, Caleb , Garza, Patrick , Cantu, Derek ,

Rebolloso, Ismael A ), 1:47.99. 6, Weslaco East High School ‘A’ (Ochoa, Jose A

, Decanini, David , Rodriguez, Daniel , Bulnes, Johnathan ), 1:48.43. 7,

Rivera HS ‘A’ (Perez, Rudy , Avalos, Alejandro , Gayosso, Claudio , Mata,

Cristian ), 1:50.96.

Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

1, Castillo, Stephanie, BRRI, 1:05.65. 2, Villarreal, Sarah, LOFR, 1:08.07. 3,

Gutierrez, Nadia, Hanna, 1:10.73. 4, Anderson, Bobbie J, HASO, 1:13.76. 5,

Jones, Michaela, LOFR, 1:15.28. 6, Cano, Brianna L, Weslaco, 1:15.59. 7,

Gallegos, Alejandra, LOFR, 1:16.38. 8, Ramos, Ana, HARG, 1:17.41. 9, Perez,

Cassandra, BRRI, 1:19.53. 10, Cazares, Olga, Weslaco, 1:21.25. 11, Garcia,

Thalia, HASO, 1:26.44. 12, Reyes, Kyana, Weslaco, 1:26.77. 13, Najera,

Gabriela A, Weslaco East, 1:29.44. 14, Guevara, Diana, BRRI, 1:30.60. 15,

Perez, Yaresia, Hanna, 1:33.24. 16, Vasquez, Vivian, HARG, 1:34.66. 17,

Rodriguez, Andrea, Hanna, 1:35.78. 18, Torres, Rebecca M, Weslaco East,

1:41.98. —, Parker, Morgan D, Weslaco, DQ. —, Perez, Jessica, HARG, DQ. —,

Gonzalez, Kaitlyn, HARG, DQ. —, Perez, Marie D, Weslaco East, DQ. —,

Fonseca, Bianca, Weslaco East, DQ.

Boys 100 Yard Backstroke

1, Osuna, Luis, LOFR, 58.76. 2, Lovett, Matthew, Hanna, 59.47. 3, Shea, Kyle,

BRRI, 1:01.17. 4, Jones, Travis, LOFR, 1:05.47. 5, Reddy, Samir, LOFR,

1:05.98. 6, Valdez Jr, Leonel, HASO, 1:11.00. 7, Givilancz, Caleb, Weslaco,

1:11.33. 8, Garza, Justin, Hanna, 1:12.16. 9, Massey, Hunter, HASO, 1:12.59.

10, Zamora, Robert, LOFR, 1:12.70. 11, Barrientos, Pasqual L, Weslaco East,

1:14.23. 12, Moore, Matthew D, HASO, 1:21.66. —, Fujan, Aidan, HASO, DQ.

Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

1, Garza, Lola D, HASO, 1:15.31. 2, Orta, Gloria, Hanna, 1:15.62. 3, Haley,

Aransas L, HASO, 1:16.33. 4, Smith, Bailey, HARG, 1:23.89. 5, Deysel, Naquita,

Hanna, 1:24.91. 6, Castro, Katherine, LOFR, 1:25.01. 7, Larson, Annika, Hanna,

1:28.01. 8, Roblero, Nancy, LOFR, 1:30.41. 9, Horta, Larisa M, Weslaco,

1:30.88. 10, Cano, Cyanna L, Weslaco, 1:32.86. 11, Mata, Kaitlyn, HARG,

1:35.68. 12, Waters, Karen, LOFR, 1:36.23. 13, Castillo, Elaine M, Weslaco,

1:43.18. 14, Dominguez, Alexandria J, Weslaco East, 1:44.63. 15, Garcia,

Annette, Weslaco, 1:45.76. 16, Maldonado, Karen, Hanna, 1:46.34. 17, Esparza,

Sophia, BRRI, 1:51.53. —, Urbina, Cecilia, BRRI, DQ.

Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke

1, McKinney, Will, LOFR, 1:08.20. 2, De Los Santos, Pablo, BRRI, 1:10.62. 3,

Paredes, Kevin, LOFR, 1:11.58. 4, Rodriguez-Garza, Michael M, HASO, 1:14.09.

5, Wells, Robert, LOFR, 1:15.14. 6, Alaniz, Tristan, Hanna, 1:16.21. 7,

Zamora, Robert, LOFR, 1:18.71. 8, Uribe, Richard, HARG, 1:18.73. 9, Castillo,

Aaron, HARG, 1:19.38. 10, Ibarra, Brandon, HASO, 1:21.20. 11, Pecina, Ramiro,

HASO, 1:26.49. 12, Ochoa, Jose A, Weslaco East, 1:26.65. 13, Garza, Patrick,

Weslaco, 1:26.85. 14, Christiansen, Cameron, HASO, 1:32.89. 15, Avalos,

Alejandro, BRRI, 1:35.20. —, Urteaga, Alan S, BRRI, DQ.

Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

1, Hanna HS ‘A’ (Imperial, Maya Athena , Orta, Gloria , Deysel, Naquita

, Davila, Natalia ), 3:59.78. 2, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Rodriguez, Emily , Manongas,

Maria , Castro, Kaylie , Villarreal, Sarah ), 4:03.91. 3, Rivera HS ‘A’

(Ortega, Lulu , Larrasquitu, Nellely , Mata, Claudia , Castillo, Stephanie ),

4:10.88. 4, Weslaco High School ‘A’ (Cruz, Charlie A , Solis, Britney N ,

Reyes, Kyana , Parker, Morgan D ), 4:22.04. 5, Harlingen High ‘A’ (Cumpian,

Melanie , Ramos, Ana , Salas, Makaya , Flores, Sarah ), 4:27.22. 6, Harlingen

South ‘A’ (Aune, Megan , Ramos, Sarah M 17, Hansen, Christine 17,

Saenz, Victoria ), 4:43.00. 7, Weslaco East High School ‘A’ (Dominguez,

Alexandria J , Torres, Rebecca M , Villareal, Brianna N , Najera, Gabriela A

), 5:11.72.

Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

1, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Escamilla, Daniel , Osuna, Luis , McKinney, Will ,

Paredes, Carlos ), 3:22.79. 2, Weslaco High School ‘A’ (Wells, Daryl L 16,

Trevino, Daniel R , Cerda, Francisco J , Bloomquist, Brock A ), 3:32.72. 3,

Rivera HS ‘A’ (De Los Santos, Pablo , Shea, Ryan , Shea, Kyle , Flores, Adrian

), 3:36.23. 4, Hanna HS ‘A’ (Santos, Jose , Rodriguez, Miguel , Garza,

Justin , Lovett, Matthew ), 3:43.82. 5, Harlingen High ‘A’ (Rodriguez,

Jeremiah , Uribe, Richard , Castillo, Aaron , Fredrickson, Ian ), 3:43.94. 6,

Harlingen South ‘A’ (Velarde, Erick 16, Davila, Patrick , Valdez

Jr, Leonel 17, Rodriguez-Garza, Michael M 17), 3:48.71.

Girls Team Rankings

1, Hanna HS, 122. 2, Los Fresnos, 108. 3, Rivera HS, 101. 4, Harlingen

South, 73. 5, Weslaco High School, 62. 6, Harlingen High, 50. 7,

Weslaco East High School, 8.

Boys Team Rankings

1, Los Fresnos, 181. 2, Weslaco High School, 88. 3, Rivera HS, 82. 4,

Harlingen High, 64.5. 5, Hanna HS, 62.5. 6, Harlingen South, 34,

7, Weslaco East High School, 14.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

After coming so close a year ago, the St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds are now champions of the Progreso Soccer Tournament.

The Bloodhounds lost in the final of the 2016 event to host school Progreso on penalty kicks 1-0 (5-4).

This time, SJA breezed through the three-day tournament with a 6-0 record and defeated La Feria 2-0 in Saturday’s title match.

For not having a regular goalkeeper available at the moment, the Bloodhounds did well by not allowing a single goal in any of their six tournament matches.

Having pretty much the entire team back together helped a lot as well, SJA coach Juan de Dios Garcia said.

“We have been struggling because of injuries and other factors that have caused some players to be missing,” Garcia said. “We had practically our whole team together (for the tournament), except the goalkeeper, and our players showed what they can do. These guys are a different team when they’re (all) together.”

Scoring goals for the Bloodhounds in the final against La Feria were Manuel Ravize and Miguel Guerra. The halftime score was 1-0.

Earlier Saturday, the Bloodhounds defeated Progreso 4-0 in the tournament semifinals. All of SJA’s goals came in the opening half against the Red Ants and were scored by Ravize, Guerra, Kai Money and Jose Kauachi.

“I’m happy for these guys,” Garcia said. “It has not been easy for them. The process (of transitioning to me as the new coach) has not been easy. With (only) four starters back, there are a lot of new players. Everybody has to understand that it’s a different team (than the one that went to the TAPPS state semifinals the past two years). But these guys are coming along. They’re improving and I’m glad to have them back together.

“We’re getting ready for the second round of our (TAPPS) district,” he added.

SJA opened the tournament on Thursday with wins against Port Isabel (6-0) and Grulla (4-0). On Friday, the Bloodhounds defeated Monte Alto (4-0) and Brownsville IDEA Frontier (4-0).

Pablo Zolezzi, normally a midfielder, played goalkeeper for SJA the first two days of the tournament, Garcia said. Zolezzi had a prior commitment on Saturday and wasn’t available to play, so Alex Cuadra filled in at goalkeeper for the Bloodhounds against Progreso and La Feria.

“They did a good job,” Garcia said. “Different ones have volunteered to help out the team by playing goalkeeper.”

The Bloodhounds next play host to Port Isabel on Tuesday at Canales Field.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Perhaps it’s time.

Considering their geographical proximity and the fact they’re now in the same district, maybe it’s time for athletic competitions between Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Pace to have a name defining their emerging rivalry.

On the other side of the city, Porter and Lopez have the “Battle of Southmost” as a unique description for their matchups in all sports. So why not give a name to the same athletic matchups between the Vikings and Chargers — something like the “West End Rivalry” or “Battle of Military Highway.”

There are obviously some better candidates out there that would enable the two schools to make the athletic competition against one another in all sports definitive as well.

Regardless of what their emerging rivalry may be called, the boys and girls soccer teams of Pace and Brownsville Veterans played District 32-5A openers Tuesday at Pace.

It was a good night for Brownsville Veterans as the Lady Chargers won 1-0 and the Chargers rallied to triumph 2-1.
The boys match featured late-game drama befitting an intracity rivalry. Pace went ahead 1-0 on Maximiliano Rivas’ goal midway through the second half, but the Chargers didn’t let up.

A goal by Brownsville Veterans’ Ramon Perez with nine minutes left tied the match at 1. Aldo LeKash then came up big for the Chargers by scoring into the upper left corner of the net from about 17 yards out with just 23 seconds remaining to make it 2-1. The ball had been put into play on a corner kick by the Chargers before it was deflected out to LeKash, who drilled it home.

“The thing I liked most about our guys was they always thought they could win the game, even when we were behind,” Chargers coach Alberto Vasquez said. “It was great that they could accomplished what they wanted to do. It’s always great to start off (district) with a win.

“When we’re down in the score, these guys kept fighting and never gave up,” Vasquez added. “We weren’t there (just) to tie the game. We wanted the win and the three points. We put a lot of pressure on Pace during the last two minutes with two throw-ins into the box and a corner kick into the box. The ball bounced our way, you could say.”

The earlier girls match didn’t lack for intensity, either.

The difference was a goal by the Lady Chargers’ Arely Guzman midway through the second half. Sam Bodden assisted on the play.

“It’s big to start off district with a win, especially against a Brownsville team,” Lady Chargers coach Luis Troncoso said. “Pace has a very good team and it was a hard-fought game.

“I would say our girls take from this game the motivation to just keep trying hard, working hard and to keep looking for those victories,” Troncoso added. “That’s the motivation factor (you get with a win).”

Both Troncoso and Vasquez believe the Brownsville Veterans-Pace rivalry is worthy of a suitable nickname.

“How about the ‘Military Highway Clasico,’?” Vasquez suggested.

UP NEXT
While 32-5A boys and girls opened district play Tuesday, District 32-6A starts Friday with varsity matches at 7 p.m.

One of the top games of the night finds Rivera’s boys at Hanna. The Rivera girls play host to Hanna at the Rivera campus.
Rivera is scheduled to play its home games at Sams Memorial Stadium this season, although for Friday’s match, the Lady Golden Eagles and Lady Raiders are set to play at Rivera.

Also in 32-6A, Los Fresnos’ boys are at home against San Benito at 7 p.m. Friday, while the Los Fresnos girls play at San Benito. The same night there will be 32-6A boys and girls matches between the two Harlingen schools and the two Weslaco schools.

LOOKING AHEAD
A doubleheader to look forward to next week on Feb. 3 will find the Lopez girls and boys playing at Brownsville Veterans in 32-5A competition at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

With each successful lift, the Lopez Lobos are emerging as one of the top powerlifting programs in the Rio Grande Valley.

That statement is particularly true concerning the Lopez boys squad, which won its own meet last Saturday against 23 other teams. Individually, the Lobos had six first-place finishers, two second-place lifters and another competitor take third.

“It’s an honor (to be a part of this program at Lopez),” said Hugo Salas, a senior who placed first in the 148-pound weight division at Saturday’s meet. “It’s not an everyday thing somebody can say that they get to be on this team.”

Salas won his division at the Lopez meet with a combined total of 1,375 pounds for the squad lift, bench press and dead lift.

He has set a goal to break the state record in his weight class of 620 pounds for the squad lift. Salas hopes to lift 630 pounds in the coming months leading up to the state meet for boys in March. So far, he’s lifting close to 600 pounds in the event.

“I’m looking forward to that big (state) meet,” Salas said.

The Lopez boys took first at Saturday’s meet with 55 points. Weslaco East was second with 23 and Pace was third with 22.

Besides Salas, other first-place finishers for the Lobos were Leo Alaniz with a 1,065-pound total in the 123-pound division, Jose Alvarado with a 1,325 total in the 132-pound division, Ramses Ramos with a 1,270 total in the 165-pound division, Jesse Luna with a 1,385 total in the 198-pound division and Josh Trevino with a 1,750 total in the super heavyweight division.

Alvarado was named the meet’s outstanding male lifter. His 1,325 total in the 132-pound weight division included a 565-pound squad lift, a 280-pound bench press and a 480-pound dead lift.

Alaniz said winning the meet just adds to the team’s motivation for a state title.

“I was feeling pretty confident (that I might get first place in my division),” said Alaniz, a junior. “I was also a little disappointed because I didn’t get all my lifts (and achieve the weight totals I wanted). I didn’t reach some of my goals, but it’s OK because we still have a long way to go (before regional and state competition).

“It feels good to be part of something that is known around the state and even nationally (as a strong powerlifting team),” Alaniz added. “It’s also a humbling feeling. This past meet was pretty big and had a lot of schools from around the Valley, so that makes us feel pretty confident after we did so well. We’re just hoping for the best and hopefully we’ll win it all this year.”

Taking second for the Lobos were Omar Salazar with a 1,375 total in the 198-pound division and Leo Diaz with a 1,245 total in the 154-pound division. Teammate Christian Godinez was third in the 220-pound division with a total of 1,490 pounds.

Most, if not all, the members of the Lopez boys powerlifting team also played football in the fall and were on the Lobos squad that returned to the playoffs in November for the first time in a decade.

Lopez also has some standout female lifters, including Julieann Delgado, who is the defending state champion at 220 pounds and currently ranks first in Texas with her 1,050-pound total. Other strong female lifters for Lopez are Lexy Davila, Norma Vega and Alexis Rivas, who is expected to be Lopez’s valedictorian this school year. Davila is a 97-pound freshman with a 505-pound lift total to her credit.

Matt Barba has taken over for Hugo Ramirez as the head coach for powerlifting at Lopez. Barba came to the Lobos from a successful Los Fresnos program, where he mentored under coach Dan Smith.

“I feel that we have grown as a program from when ‘Coach Ram’ (Ramirez) started this boys program to now,” Barba said. “It’s grown exponentially. The main thing has been initiating a girls team because being known as ‘The Program’ is to have both your boys and girls teams be successful.”

In the girls division at Saturday’s meet, Hanna was the top team with 37 points followed by Los Fresnos with 29 and Edinburg Vela with 27.

The outstanding female lifter was Rio Hondo’s Andrea Ramirez from the 148-pound weight division. She had a 970-pound total that included a 334-pound squat lift and a 185-pound bench press.

Upcoming meets for local powerlifters include Jan. 28 at Pace, Feb. 4 at Brownsville Veterans Memorial (the city meet) and Feb. 25 at Hanna.

The girls state meet is March 17-18 in Waco and the state meet for boys is March 24-25 in Abilene.

Valley schools all want to make an impact at the state level, and Barba believes Brownsville ISD is getting there.

“(Right now,) Hanna has the top girls team and Lopez has the top boys team, so Brownsville must be doing something right (in powerlifting),” Barba said.

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