By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — The University Interscholastic League released an updated fall sports calendar and guidelines for member schools to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic Tuesday.

The decision to start Sub-5A programs Aug. 3 was not well received by coaches of small schools across the state, nor in the Rio Grande Valley.

The health orders issued by Cameron County judge Eddie Trevino Jr. specifically designated a return to in-person schooling no earlier than Sept. 8. Willacy County judge Aurelio Guerra signed a shelter-in-place order July 7, which is also being cited by Lyford, Raymondville and San Perlita in their approaches to returning to on-campus instruction and athletics.

“We’re not going to start face-to-face instruction until Sept. 14,” Rio Hondo athletic director Rocky James said. “We’ll see if they move that start date for everybody. I thought they did a good job of moving the (start date for the Class 5A and 6A schools) to Sept. 8, but ours being left on Aug. 3 was a horrible decision by the UIL, just horrible. They should have put everybody the same on Sept. 8, but they didn’t. … I don’t like it, I don’t think it’s fair to us, knowing that the (Cameron County judge) said we couldn’t start until Sept. 8 and (UIL) is having the season start a month and five days earlier than we are.

“I know we need to start later because of what’s going on down here, it’s not that. UIL should have had more compassion or had a look around the state. They know about the Rio Grande Valley and the hotspots. The small schools didn’t get a fair shake on this.”

All East Valley UIL member schools and officials from District 16-4A Division I on down to District 16-A Division II will be in the same boat, including Santa Maria athletic director Israel Gracia, and Lyford athletic director Israel Gonzalez.

“I don’t understand why they didn’t (start all classes at the same time),” Gracia said. “I’m sure there’s a reason behind it, obviously. It’s kind of crazy because we all have different start dates. It puts us in a weird situation. … It kind of throws a wrench in the whole deal. It’s going to be a mess trying to reset schedules, and there’s going to be games we aren’t going to be able to play.”

Gracia offered that a possible explanation for the earlier start date for small schools could be the need to transition athletes over to basketball and other winter sports, a more challenging prospect at schools like Santa Maria, Santa Rosa or San Perlita, for example.

At Rio Hondo, its basketball class will be allowed to resume after Sept. 8 when on-campus instruction is permitted, but official practice outside the confines of the school day have not yet been addressed.

James and Raymondville athletic director Frank Cantu noted that their respective schools have budgeted in their central office expenses for fuel and meals for road games, so any travel outside the Valley that is canceled or rescheduled will either be saved or reallocated to account for new dates or travel plans.

Cantu, who said the Bearkats will not be able to start practicing until Sept. 21, joined the chorus of coaching voices who sought the extra time to help stem the rising tide of the coronavirus as hospitalizations continue to soar.

“Us being a (coronavirus) hotspot down here, we’re definitely going to miss out on some things,” Cantu said. “It would have been nice to start later like the 6A schools and just have everybody’s football seasons start the same. I think we were hurt by having the 4A schools start earlier, because we could have used that time to kind of recover, let the numbers go down and try to compete and have a full season. But that’s not the way it was mapped out.”

Gonzalez said he spoke with a UIL representative about the acclimation period for student-athletes to ramp back up, and adjust to the heat and the rigor of regular practices and games.

“There’s still a lot of questions, Gonzalez said. “If we’re not able to start on those days because of our county health orders, is the UIL going to change those (acclimation periods), or what are they going to do?”

Gonzalez and Cantu expressed optimism about being able to play in 2020, and East Valley coaches said they will adjust to meet the expectations of local health officials to do whatever they can to make it possible to have a fall sports season.

“I truly believe that football coaches are the best people to handle these types of situations,” Gonzalez said. “Because we deal with this kind of stuff all the time when it comes to coaching — the games are ever-changing, the athletes are ever-changing, the momentum of the game, highs and lows. I think coaches are well-suited for this situation and dealing under pressure. There’s no doubt that South Texas coaches are going to get the job done.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — The Cameron County Health Authority and Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. issued a joint order Tuesday mandating that “extracurricular sports and activities shall not take place until school systems re-open for on-campus instruction” until at least Sept. 8 due to an increase in COVID-19 coronavirus cases across the Rio Grande Valley and Texas.

School systems have been asked to develop a plan for resuming on-campus instruction at least two weeks prior to Sept. 8, and virtual learning can take place at the discretion of school districts.

“If you can’t teach a student face to face, there’s no way you can coach a student face to face,” Brownsville Independent School District Athletic Director Gilbert Leal said.

Leal said he felt there was an outside chance that the 2020 football season would take place, before Cameron County and Hidalgo County issued the strictest education orders to date in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

Hidalgo County will not open K-12 in-person instruction until after Sept. 27.

“With (Cameron County and Hidalgo County) combined, that pretty much finishes our football and volleyball season,” Leal said.

The University Interscholastic League’s certification deadline for football district champions is Nov. 9, a checkpoint that would need to be delayed in the event of a late September or early October start.

The UIL’s latest realignment shook up Districts 32-6A, 16-5A Division I and 16-4A Division II, combining Brownsville and McAllen schools in league play and pitting East Valley schools like Rio Hondo, Port Isabel and Raymondville against several of their traditional bi-district playoff opponents from the Coastal Bend.

“We’re looking at this locally, every district could make their own decision about when to come back,” Leal said. “These things hurt us locally, but until we get some guidance from the UIL to delegate depending on how serious it is in each place …”

Of the 42,000 students enrolled at BISD, only 1,000 participated in the district’s summer strength and conditioning program. Even in smaller groups with social distancing, Leal and BISD were concerned with the rapid spread of the virus throughout Cameron County.

“We’re not seeing a slowdown on this thing at all,” Leal said. ‘The only good thing is you’re taking it out of the hands of the individual school districts, and now that everyone is in the same boat, it prevents them from taking the risk of trying to hold face-to-face instruction.”

Cameron County superintendents have written in favor of a plan that would include 18 weeks of remote instruction for the first semester, and any sports-related coaching or instruction would follow suit.

“Our teaching is going to be virtual,” Rio Hondo athletic director and football coach Rocky James said. “Now that we’re in this point and moving into August, there will be more teaching of offense, defense and special teams (schemes). It’s going to be visual. I’m hoping we’re going to come up with a good game plan to help them.”

James is optimistic a season can take place, but that it would likely need to be rushed or condensed the further on-campus instruction is delayed on the academic calendar.

Nonetheless, he supports the countywide measure, and both Leal and James echoed the sentiment that it was important for school districts across the Valley to be on the same page regarding their plan to address the pandemic.

“I think (Trevino Jr.) has done the right thing in shutting things down,” James said. “And seeing if we can cool them off a bit.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

PALM VALLEY — Palmhurst’s LJ Chavez had a comfortable seven-stroke lead going into the final day of the South Texas Junior Golf Classic on Sunday at Harlingen Country Club and cruised to a 10-stroke advantage after his final round to claim the boys 15- to 18-year-olds division championship.

The 38th annual edition of the tournament was sponsored by Gillman Auto Group, and the event saved some of its most exciting action for the final holes of the par-72 course.

“Overall, I’m very pleased with the tournament,” STJGC director Durrell Lovell said. “We saw some extremely low scores and good play, lots of sportsmanship.”

At the front and center of that solid play was Chavez (66-70—136), who followed up Saturday’s electric performance by overcoming a shaky start to the latter part of his second round. He recorded a 35 on both the front and back nine, including a string of birdies capped by an eagle on the 17th hole. He was the only golfer to finish below par.

Despite bogeys on the ninth and 11th holes, he refocused and channeled his energy into attacking.

“I kind of switched things around and moved my momentum towards positivity, and started hitting the ball better,” Chavez said. “I was just playing aggressive like I did (Saturday).”

Harlingen’s Nate Newman (73-73—146) was the runner-up, posting a 37 on the front end and 36 on the back end. Ethan Galvan of Edinburg (75-76—151) started the day in third place and was overtaken by McAllen’s Raul Gonzalez (77-72—149) for the last medal spot.

“Ethan’s like my brother,” Chavez said. “It was fun (playing with Galvan and Newman), we give each other good competition (in the Rio Grande Valley).

Edinburg’s Madison Ozuna (83-81—164) repeated as the girls 15-18 division champion, and Round Rock’s Jordan Davis (87-80—167) was three strokes behind her. Three strokes also separated Davis and Rancho Viejo’s Allison McGinnis (90-80—170), the third-place finisher.

“Today’s round was a little shaky,” Ozuna said. “But I made sure I never stopped trying. It was a little bit rough. I struggled with my long game, but my short game was where I wanted it to be. I wasn’t too disappointed, but I knew I could have played a lot better. But I still came out with a win.”

Lovell said it was important for the tournament to continue and to give young golfers an opportunity to perform at an event that conforms to PGA standards and what he believes is one of the best simulations of a college golf setting.

Ozuna appreciated the HCC course for the way it challenges her to improve her performance off the tee.

“I love how the course has a lot of trees and makes it difficult to ensure your long game is very accurate,” Ozuna said. “It’s a very unique course for the Valley, just a lot of trees. It’s pretty windy as well. It makes it a little more difficult for those people who don’t hit as long, but overall it’s a pretty good course.”

Joslyn Lopez of Mission, who shot a 90 on Saturday and trailed Ozuna and Davis, withdrew from the tournament after having stomach pains.

Presley Bolado of San Antonio (81-80—161) captured the title in the girls 13-14 division.

In the boys 13-14 division, Edinburg’s Bryan Sandoval (78-85) took home the crown. Hezikia Caldera of Weslaco (88-88—176) finished first in the boys 11-12 division.

Harlingen’s Sofia Pena (46-47—93) placed first in girls 11-12 linkster. The boys 11-12 linkster champion was Lorenzo Garza (40-42—82) of Mission.

Anounallah Farid of Houston (51-40—91) won the boys 9-10 linkster, and Edinburg’s Leonel Salinas III (46-48—94) won the 6-8 coed division.

Lovell noted that he was proud of the efforts of the HCC staff, tournament volunteers and the compliance of spectators and golfers with the mask-wearing and social distancing regulations and guidelines in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

“I thought the kids handled the pressure more so than anything else,” Lovell said. “‘Do I wear the mask? Do I stay 6 feet away?’ … It’s mass confusion, but I thought they handled it extremely well. … The virus is very serious, and we shouldn’t take that for granted. It’s a pleasure to get to play golf and to be outdoors. I thought the kids showed respect for the rules and what all we had to do.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

The Texas Southmost Volleyball Officials’ Association awarded four scholarships of $500 each to graduating seniors from the class of 2020 on June 6.

Two of the recipients were from St. Joseph Academy: Victoria Gonzalez and Allison Stachowiak. Rebekah Schlatter from Brownsville Hanna and Rebekah Trevino from Brownsville Harmony also received scholarships.

Jose Herrera, the assigner for TSVOA — the chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials that serves the lower Rio Grande Valley — said due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the number applicants decreased significantly this year, but that recognizing the student-athletes’ accomplishments and supporting them in obtaining a college education was important regardless of whether or not they continued to play volleyball after high school.

“(The scholarship) made me feel as though it was a real award for my hard work,” Schlatter said. “That it had finally paid off and I would be able to see it.”

Schlatter said her heart is set on working for the DEA, a career she was inspired to pursue after taking a pharmacy technician certification class. She plans to major in biology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

During her Hanna career, Schlatter played several positions, including right side hitter and libero. She overcame a torn ACL during her junior year, and coach Ansgar Hagemann depended on Schlatter to bounce back in her senior season. He deployed her all over the court to help steady a young team, playing in the back row and at her libero position.

“I don’t take my junior year (following the injury) as lost time,” Schlatter said. “Because I got to make those bonds with the girls. … I just thought it was an eye-opening experience for me in high school.”

Trevino is enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, where she will major in biology. She aspires to attend medical school and become a dermatologist.

“I feel honored, being selected as one of the four recipients for the TSVOA scholarship,” Trevino said via text message. “It was very satisfying knowing that all my hard work does pay off. During my volleyball career I was chosen as (District 32-3A MVP) twice and played as an all-around and outside hitter.”

Gonzalez also is headed to the University of Texas at Austin in the fall, and also will major in biology. She plans to attend medical school after obtaining her undergraduate degree.

Gonzalez was in eighth grade when the Lady Bloodhounds added a volleyball team, and while reflecting on her career with St. Joseph, she added she was grateful that the TSVOA chapter recognized her and her peers.

“It was nice to see that (the officials) knew who we were,” Gonzalez said. “You go to these games and you see these refs and you interact with them, but you never know if they remember who you are. The sentiment in and of itself, and the fact that they chose me to receive this scholarship, it was very fulfilling and I have a lot of gratitude towards them.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

This summer has been a busy one for St. Joseph Academy athletic director Tino Villarreal.

He is overseeing several facility upgrades on campus, including the removal of the Memorial Gymnasium floor and work on a new girls locker room.

He said that now is the perfect time to make the improvements, with no students on campus and therefore no worries of interrupting summer school or sports camps with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic ongoing.

“It’s a big deal for our campus, because most everyone who’s gone to (SJA) who’s still alive has played on that floor,” Villarreal said. “So preserving it is huge. We’re taking our time removing it, cutting it up. We’re going to sell it by the square foot.”

In an Instagram post last Thursday, the school announced its plan to sell pieces of the floor as keepsakes and auction off more prized areas like the painted baseline sections and center court circle, which have been kept intact. The proceeds of the sale will help pay for the new floor.

The project to replace the 53-year-old gym floor began in earnest a year and a half ago, but its origins can be traced back 15 years to a group of alumni that started a fund to maintain the historic gymnasium. The SJA Alumni Golf Committee and Donna Barron, vice president of academy advancement and alumni affairs, have spearheaded the efforts to fundraise for the new gym floor.

The old floor is only the second hardwood surface the building has used, after the first was ruined by water damage from Hurricane Beulah in 1967.

“After 53 years of wear and tear and many sandings and paintings, it was just time for us to get a new floor,” Villarreal said. “The floor began to crack, and little things here and there, it was starting to have more dead spots.”

The SJA AD has been involved in a hands-on way with the early phases of the renovation — he applied a coat of varnish to the old floor before it was disassembled. He and the school administration have anticipated a large demand from the community and have been fielding several questions about availability and pricing from alumni and parents.

“Everyone’s asking,” Villarreal said. “Right now, it’s just about drumming up interest. We’re not trying to sell the old floor to pay for the new floor, obviously. They’re still trying to figure out a price tag. It’s just gonna be something that can be affordable and fun for a lot of alumni to be able to buy it. … If it’s meaningful for them to have a slab of the floor to put in their man cave, or square footage to put in their office, whatever they desire.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

Hanna earned the right to boast that its Golden Eagles were the best boys track team in Brownsville in 2020 when it captured the BISD City Meet title with 169 points on March 13.

“We did finish with a bang,” Eagles track coach Armando Rocha said. “If there’s one thing that went right for us, we did finish on a high note. That was something special, and something these guys can still take with them.”

Though they might not have realized in the moment that it was their final competition, the Hanna seniors were satisfied to go out on top. But they later lamented the fact that they did not have the opportunity to continue their success at the District 32-6A meet, area or Region IV-6A meets due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s kind of disappointing, all of these seniors put in three or four years of hard work,” Rocha said. “Then it comes up short (with the early end to the season) and you just feel bad for them, all of their hard work throughout the whole tenure they’re in high school. … It’s hard to swallow.”

Rocha said seniors Sabian Arceneaux, Aaron Amaro and Felipe Parra had exemplary high school careers.

“We were dedicated, we would show up to practice every day and it was a motivated group,” Arceneaux said. “(The possibility that the city meet was our last meet) made us want to win even more, and I’m glad we got to go out together as seniors with the victory.”

Arceneaux, the Coe College-bound high jumper and a standout for the Hanna basketball team, also competed in the 400-meter dash. He won the high jump at the city meet with a leap of 5 feet, 10 inches. He missed qualifying for the 2019 Region IV-6A meet by one spot and joined the track team later than some of his teammates because of his basketball commitments.

“At the beginning of the city meet, we started off rough,” Arceneaux said. “We didn’t know we would have the most points at the end, because (Brownsville Veterans Memorial) has a good track team. … At the end, we had the most for varsity points and overall points.”

Amaro recorded the second-best long jump at the city meet, a personal record of 20-4 1/2, and was the runner-up in the 100, with a time of 11.63 seconds. He was also a part of the Eagles’ 400 and 800 relay teams.

“It meant a lot to me (to place in four of five events and earn two second-place finishes),” Amaro said.

His progress in the long jump was unparalleled, as he continued to set personal bests after each meet having never attempted the event before he arrived at Hanna as a freshman.

“All of those four years of dedication in track paid off in the end,” Amaro said. “I was able to help my team out a lot, actually. I’m thankful for all the coaches, especially Coach Rocha and (coaches Damian Vela and JC Ramirez), who helped me throughout the years of track and always supported me and coached me to my best.”

Parra, a Waldorf University commit, was a distance runner who excelled in both cross country and track.

“We were going to try to reach their goals (of advancing to the area and regional meets) one step at a time,” Rocha said. “But that didn’t happen.”

Hanna’s outlook on the track remains bright, especially with several key sophomores expected to elevate their performance in 2021. Sprinter Esteban Zavala, high jumper Charles Thirlwall and John Abrego, a distance runner, all had impressive years for the Eagles.

“Next year, they should have a good group of seniors, juniors and sophomores,” Arceneaux said. “They should be good for the next couple of years.”

Arceneaux and Parra both have college athletic careers to look forward to, and Arceneaux said he is logging workouts sent to him by his Coe coaches.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Arceneaux said. “I’m going to miss the track team and just competing with them in general, the atmosphere.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

The 2019 season was a reset button for a young Brownsville Pace baseball program that finished 11-13 in District 32-5A and came up one game shy of qualifying for the playoffs with its group of seven freshmen.

One year later, a more mature Vikings squad felt it was poised to make a postseason run in a competitive district before the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic brought the season to a close.

“The last few games before the pandemic shut everything down, we were playing some pretty good baseball,” Pace coach Roy Rodriguez said. “There was always that premise that we could be pretty good this year.”

The Vikings picked up a 9-1 win over San Antonio Brackenridge in a tournament Feb. 27 and an 8-3 victory over Progreso on March 3. Pace also defeated Edinburg Economedes, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and St. Joseph Academy.

“We really thought this season was going to be a big stepping stone for our program,” said Chase Morales, a pitcher and first baseman.

This year’s Pace squad featured all nine returning starters, including senior utility player Jose Lara and junior pitcher/outfielder Jose Banda.

The remaining seven were sophomores: infielder/pitcher John Garcia, outfielder/pitcher Jose Reyna, outfielder Gustavo Puente, infielder/pitcher Agustine Garcia, catcher Max Parga, and pitchers John Moody and Morales.

“We knew coming in that we were going to be young,” Garcia said. “But we were ready for it. … We were really excited because we knew we had a team that could make the playoffs and go a few rounds. We knew we had a good team, even though we were young.”

Garcia said in his offseason he plans to participate in showcases in August in the Rio Grande Valley, Dallas and San Antonio areas.

Several Pace players are multisport athletes like Morales, a tight end and flex receiver on the school’s football team and a center on the basketball team.

Many of them grew up playing with or against each other in the West Brownsville Little League, one of the reasons for the Viking’s cohesion.

“Each of us knew what we were capable of,” Morales said. “We were pretty excited to play as freshmen, and just getting the opportunity to play and to start. … It was fun competing against each other and learning everyone’s strengths and weaknesses (prior to high school).”

Moody led Pace’s rotation, and Reyna, a lefty, was one of the team’s top relievers.

“(Moody) won some big games for us last year,” Rodriguez said. “He started strong for us this year before district. … (Reyna) would come in and was pretty much our setup man at the end of our games this year.”

Rodriguez said his squad’s biggest strength was the group’s continuity and its aptitude and desire to learn.

“A lot of the kids were coming back after playing varsity for the first time last year,” Rodriguez said. “They pretty much know the system on both sides of the ball, and it was a lot easier for the coaches this year to just polish up and work on the weaknesses, whereas last year we had to start from scratch.”

The Vikings are confident that they’ll come back stronger and hungrier next year.

“We believe we’re a really good team,” Morales said. “We believe we can compete with anybody in our district. Often we would just have a bad time or have bad slumps, but we’re a top caliber team, we all believe that. We know the damage we can do in our district and compete.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

Brownsville Rivera midfielder Salvador “Chava” De Leon signed his intent to attend Dallas Christian College on Wednesday at Rivera, alongside teammate Kevin Zarrazagas.

A two-time captain and District 32-6A champion, De Leon also earned the district’s utility player of the year award and was named to the all-district first team during his tenure with the Raiders.

“I’m very proud looking back at the memories and accomplishments I had at Rivera,” De Leon said. “They will always be remembered and cherished. I learned a lot as a player and it’s brought me to the place where I am today, and I thank God very much (for that).”

Rivera coach Salvador Garcia lauded De Leon for his humility and discipline, as well as his versatility and ability to play several forward and midfield positions.

“It says a lot about the mentality (De Leon) has,” Garcia said. “All he wants to do is help the team.”

The Raiders’ coach said he is thrilled for two of his top seniors to get the opportunity to continue their academic and athletic careers together.

“They have been playing together for the longest time,” Garcia said. “And it is going to be a blessing for them to continue to play together at the next level.”

De Leon said he plans to major in accounting and become a certified public accountant at DCC, which is located in Farmers Branch, a northern suburb of Dallas. The Crusaders compete in Division II of the National Christian College Athletic Association.

DCC coach Dan Mariscal, a Weslaco native, has long been interested in the development and success of youth soccer in the Rio Grande Valley, and said he believes Rivera players exhibit the character and the soccer skill and intelligence he seeks to build his program.

“These kids come with the mindset that if they lose the ball defensively, they’ll get it back,” Mariscal. “Every one of these guys I’ve coached (from the Valley) has been of sound character, and that’s a credit to what Coach Garcia has done. … I think they bring that inner drive to compete for every 50-50 ball. … I think first and foremost, it’s the ability to relate to them, because I’ve been in their shoes.”

Mariscal expected his background to resonate with Valley players, and it certainly has for De Leon.

“That gave me much more comfort, knowing that I’d be going to a coach that knows where I came from,” De Leon said. “And being able to understand each other. I expect great things out of his program, and it’s very exciting to be able to look forward to it.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

Kevin Zarrazagas has been a captain for the Brownsville Rivera soccer team for the last three years.

On Wednesday, he took a step toward the next chapter of his journey in the sport when he signed his intent to play for Dallas Christian College at the high school.

“I’m glad (Zarrazagas) has the chance to continue with that dream,” Raiders coach Salvador Garcia said. “He’s been our captain for the last three years.”

DCC is located in Farmers Branch, a northern suburb of Dallas. The Crusaders compete in Division II of the National Christian College Athletic Association.

Zarrazagas earned three District 32-6A titles with Rivera, and twice was named the district’s utility player of the year.

“As coaches we have no doubt that (Zarrazagas) will be able to succeed at the next level,” Garcia said. “He has the drive, he has what it takes. … And also, a lot of discipline.”

He set lofty goals as a freshman but always felt he had the work ethic to achieve them.

“As a freshman, I told Coach Garcia I wanted to be a starter, be captain one day, win district titles, regionals, even go to state and to play at the next level,” Zarrazagas said. “I wanted to continue playing and face better players to keep learning from them and have the experience.”

The senior midfielder joins his teammate, Salvador De Leon, Hanna’s Marko Garibay and San Benito’s Adrian Martinez in DCC coach Dan Mariscal’s inaugural 2020 recruiting class.

“I think we’re going to get to know each other and become good friends, but I don’t know them too much, personally,” Zarrazagas said of his future teammates and district rivals. “Just from playing against each other.”

De Leon’s interest helped persuade Zarrazagas to reach out to Mariscal, and the veteran coach, who has always kept a close eye on Rivera, was eager to add another Raiders player to his squad.

Mariscal’s Rio Grande Valley roots trace back to the inception of organized soccer in the region, and his father was a prominent referee during the 1980s.

Garcia complimented Mariscal’s free-flowing, up-tempo style that he has employed throughout his career coaching boys and girls, most recently as a coach at FC Dallas’ development academy.

Zarrazagas credited his high school and travel team coaches for his growth, and added he will major in sports management and plan to pursue a career in coaching.

“I want to thank them for helping me out in every aspect of the game,” Zarrazagas said. “Not only as a player but as a person. And for helping me show the underclassmen that they can accomplish anything they want and they can play at the next level if they want to.”

By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer

The Lopez Lady Lobos’ track & field team had its sights set on sending several girls beyond the District 32-5A meet to postseason success.

“This year was going to be one of our stronger years, for sure,” Lopez coach Jesus Artiaga said.

Artiaga said several of his athletes would have had a good shot at advancing past district, had the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic not put their season on pause following the BISD City Meet on March 13.

Freshman standouts for the Lady Lobos included Star Martinez, a freshman who placed first in the shot put with a throw of 28 feet, 4 inches, and Kassandra Aguirre, a long jumper.

Sophomore Keyla Hernandez-Olguin excelled in the discus, and junior Brenda Savariego thrived in the 800-meter run and the 1,600, winning both events at the junior varsity level at the city meet.

Other top performers were junior Katherin Rodriguez in the discus (third place in the discus at the city meet with a throw of 97 feet, 11 inches), and seniors Alexis Zepeda in the 100 (with a fifth-place finish and time of 13.79 at the city meet) and Kenya Gonzalez in the 400. Gonzalez (1:07.67) was fifth in the 400 at the city meet.

“I enjoyed spending time with the team on and off the track,” Aguirre said. “There was really good chemistry within the team, there were a lot of laughs, and we talked a lot about our events and supported each other throughout the season.”

Aguirre and Hernandez-Olguin were among those who Artiaga believes had the best chance at advancing to the UIL Region IV-5A meet.

“When you look at their numbers compared to the rest of the district, they definitely had a shot at going into the next round,” Artiaga said.

Hernandez-Olguin won the discus event at the city meet, setting a personal-best throw of 119-10.

Aguirre made her debut at the freshman level during the Bobby Morrow Relays on Feb. 7 in San Benito and competed at the city meet, one day after pulling her hamstring. She had been slated to move up to the varsity level for the district meet.

At the Bobby Morrow Relays, Aguirre turned in her best performance, sweeping the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump, and she also competed in the 400 relay.

She said Savariego was a mentor for her, showing her stretches she could use to help prevent future hamstring injuries, and giving her moral support and guidance for handling nerves and anxiety prior to competitions.

“(Savariego) did help a lot,” Aguirre said. “While she would be warming up, she would give me tips and advice about how to compete, and it helped me a lot as a freshman.”

At the city meet, Aguirre won the 100 with a time of 13.77 seconds and was the runner-up in the 200, clocking in at 29.34. She placed second in the long jump with a mark of 13-11 and recorded a triple jump of 28-2 1/12 — good for fourth place.

“It was a good meet, but I didn’t really do as well as I expected because I had just come back from the injury,” Aguirre said. “It was a little difficult, I was a little scared coming back and jumping, but I tried my best to forget about it and give it my all, and pull through to perform my best.”

She also played volleyball and basketball for Lopez, and participated in five track & field events — in the long jump, Aguirre set a personal record with a long jump of 16-10.

“One of the things I tell the girls is, ‘The race you’re going to remember is your last race,’” Artiaga said. “So it meant a lot. There’s a lot of emphasis on varsity sports, but our program is super young, and my freshman team ended up placing third at the city meet and my JV team ended up placing third, and I was really proud of them for that.”

Lopez will look to build off of its shortened 2020 season and hopes to become a strong postseason contender with its young core.

“We’re very excited,” Artiaga said. “We had a lot of girls and parents who had expressed interest in doing summer track. … With this younger group coming in, I think the support of the parents is what will end up helping the program tremendously.”