STAFF REPORTS
Boys and girls cross country and boys and girls tennis are four of 30 sports categories that will be recognized at the 2016 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet on June 14 at DoubleTree Suites in McAllen.
Representatives from the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, The Monitor, the Brownsville Herald and the Valley Morning Star voted on three nominations for each category, with winners announced at the banquet.
The following is nominees, in alphabetical order, for the two cross country and tennis categories.
Boys Cross Country:
>> Moises Campos, Hidalgo: The senior placed sixth at the 2015 Class 4A state meet with a time of 16:45.44.
>> Refugio Montelongo, La Villa: Montelongo was a 2015 state qualifier and finished 10th at the Class 3A regional meet.
>> Jonathan Reyes, Mercedes: The junior placed 10th at the 2015 Class 5A state meet with a time of 16:52.75.
Girls Cross Country:
>> Ana Bautista, Rio Grande City: The senior placed 11th at the Class 5A state meet with a time of 19:49.30.
>> Beth Ramos, Edinburg North: The sophomore placed 19th at the Class 6A state meet with a time of 19:38.94.
>> Valery Tobias, Edinburg IDEA Quest: The sophomore placed 18th at the Class 3A state meet with a time of 12:48.91.
Boys Tennis:
>> Sebastian Arizola, Sharyland High: Arizola, a senior, qualified for state in boys doubles in 2015.
>> Jeremiah Gonzalez, Harlingen South: Gonzalez was a 2015 state qualifier and is likely headed there again as he has qualified for state each of his three seasons. Gonzalez signed in December to play tennis at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.
>> Jack Wang, McAllen Memorial: The junior is a District 30-6A boys singles champion and the anchor of a strong Mustangs boys program. Wang was a regional semifinalist in singles in 2014 and doubles in 2015.
Girls Tennis:
>> Diana Amaro, Brownsville Porter: Amaro is one of the top players in District 32-5A and has led the Lady Cowgirls to girls doubles tournament championships.
>> Larissa Lopez, Los Fresnos: The senior has won tournaments this season and anchors a tough Lady Falcons program.
>> Valeria Montero, Harlingen South: Just a freshman, Montero has dominated the Rio Grande Valley tennis. She is a District 32-6A girls singles champion, making it two meets she has won this year while finishing second and fourth, respectively, in others.
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson will be the keynote speaker at June’s banquet.
Pearson, who was inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 2011 after a standout career defined by his performances in the clutch, will highlight the function hosted by RGVSports.com in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame. The awards banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will recognize team and individual standouts in multiple sports over the past year.
To buy tickets to the banquet, log on to TheMonitor.com, BrownsvilleHerald.com, or ValleyStar.com and click on the rgvsports_banquet link on the toolbar on the home page of each website.