By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — When Los Fresnos coach Jaime Perez asked his athletes, “Who’s the No. 1 team in the Valley?” on Friday night, the Lady Falcons loudly responded, “We are!”
They proved to be the No. 1 team in the region with a resounding win in the Region VIII-6A swimming & diving meet at Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center. Los Fresnos accumulated 418 points and the Lady Falcons clinched their third straight regional title, qualifying several athletes for the state meet in the process.
“First, I want to thank God for my many blessings, which include the opportunity to coach student-athletes and help them accomplish their swimming and academic goals,” Perez said. “I congratulate our swimmers for rallying together to defend their regional title, making it three in a row. When they work as hard as they do and do all the little things, to get to the next level is something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
“Winning is a new experience every single time,” Perez added. “Every victory is special, and we work hard for each and every championship. As we head to state, our goal is to keep elevating the level of swimming in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Laredo United (313 points) finished second and Laredo Alexander (300) finished third. Mission High (252) and Harlingen South (187) rounded out the top five teams.
Los Fresnos battled to win two of the three relays. The Lady Falcons started the meet by swimming a 1:56.13 to take gold in the 200-yard medley relay, comprised of Ariana Mancillas, Maria Jimena Trevino, Jada Ashford and Rebeca Osuna. Osuna, a senior, swam an impressive final leg to overtake Laredo United for the win. The quartet also made up the gold-medal winning 200 freestyle relay.
“I love the relays because it’s the team event, and they were really close. We had to come from behind on both of our state qualifying relays, so that made it special,” Perez said.
Ashford, a sophomore, was named the athlete of the meet, which she also accomplished last week at the District 32-6A meet. She won both of her individual races, swimming a 24.22 in the 50 freestyle and a 53.81 in the 100 freestyle to qualify for her second straight state meet.
Ashford wasn’t thrilled with her times, but she was happy with her team’s success and is “very excited” to return to the big stage.
“I thought I could go a lot faster, but the type of meet it was, with prelims and finals in the same day, that took a toll on my performance. A little more rest would’ve done a lot,” Ashford said. “It feels really good to see everything that I worked for be worth it, despite my times. I feel a lot more prepared now that I’ve experienced the crowd, the swimmers (at state). I know what to expect in two weeks.”
Osuna, Mancillas and Trevino finished second in individual races and could advance to state if their times are among the top eight overall from all swimmers among the eight regional meets.
Harlingen South’s Camille Conlu Lizada was the only other Valley swimmer to advance to state from the Region VIII-6A meet, winning the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.97. She also anchored South’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays, which both finished third. Lizada finished second in the 100 backstroke, putting herself in contention to qualify with her time to compete at state.
Weslaco High’s Ivy Hernandez (200 freestyle), Mission High’s Jaquelyn Seledon (500 freestyle) and the Lady Falcons’ Citabria Barrales (200 IM, 100 backstroke) and Kallyia Seanz (100 butterfly) earned bronze medals. Harlingen High and Mission High were third and fifth, respectively, in a competitive 200 medley relay race.
Region VIII-6A Meet
Thursday and Friday
Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center, Brownsville
Girls
Team results
1, Los Fresnos, 418; 2, Laredo United, 313; 3, Laredo Alexander, 300; 4, Mission High, 252; 5, Harlingen South, 187; 6, PSJA High, 155; 7, Harlingen High, 84; 8, Weslaco High, 71; 9(T), PSJA North, 61; 9(T), Edinburg High, 61; 11, Edinburg Vela, 54; 12, Laredo United South, 43; 13, Brownsville Rivera, 29; 14, Edinburg Economedes, 13; 15, Laredo Nixon, 12.
Individual Results
Girls 200 Medley Relay
A Final: 1, Los Fresnos A (Mancillas, Ariana 10, Trevino, Maria Jimena 11, Ashford, Jada 10, Osuna, Rebeca 12), 1:56.13. 2, Laredo United A (Gomez, Sofia N 11, Rodriguez, Alijah D 12, Aleman, Diara A 09, Trevino, Sofia 11), 1:56.35. 3, Harlingen High A (Gutierrez, Davina 09, Uribe, Lauen 09, Hernandez, Elise 09, Montalvo, Jenelle 11), 2:19.54. 4, Laredo Alexander A (Nunez-Cazares, Amanda 12, Cardenas, Kayla 11, Garcia, Sabrina 12, Campos, Isabella 10), 2:20.55. 5, Mission High A (Espinoza, Valeria 12, Castillo, Carleigh 11, Gutierrez, Samantha 10, Pena, Annika 10), 2:22.28. 6, Edinburg Vela A (Trevino, Vivian SO, Avila, Katarina , Rodriguez, Andrea SO, Oros, Maria SO), 2:23.89. 7, Harlingen South A (Porzycki, Ana JR, Hardison, Jenna SR, Hinojosa, Isabella FR, Robinson, Brianna FR), 2:36.52. —, Weslaco High A (Cortez, Emily 12, Siller, Ashley 10, Hernandez, Ivy 10, Guerra, Brianna 10), DQ. B Final: 9, PSJA High A (Jimenez, Kassandra 10, Cardenas, Tanya 12, Iracheta, Yuczzin 11, Vargas, Allitzel 10), 2:41.91. —, Laredo Nixon A (Rodriguez, Lizbeth 11, Santiago, Andrea 10, Gomez, Faith A 09, Alva, Kandrey L 10), DQ.
Girls 200 Freestyle
A Final: 1, Martinez, Edith, Laredo Alexander, 2:00.49. 2, Osuna, Rebeca, Los Fresnos, 2:10.22. 3, Hernandez, Ivy, Weslaco High, 2:21.37. 4, Seledon, Jaquelyn, Mission High, 2:23.28. 5, Nunez-Cazares, Amanda, Laredo Alexander, 2:23.92. 6, Briones, Sylvia, PSJA High, 2:24.50. 7, Hernandez, Elise, Harlingen High,, 2:24.60. 8, Chavez, Alyssa, Los Fresnos, 2:25.53. B Final: 9, Mendez, Ximena, Laredo United, 2:29.20. 10, Cienega, Bianca, Mission High, 2:31.89. 11, Garza, Darlynne, Edinburg High, 2:37.70. 12, Campos, Isabella, Laredo Alexander, 2:40.63. 13, Mata, Jocelyn, Mission High, 2:41.45. 14, Arce, Victoria, Edinburg High, 2:46.83. 15, Cepeda, Abigail, Mission High, 2:48.12.
Girls 200 IM
A Final: 1, Gomez, Sofia N, Laredo United, 2:15.89. 2, Aleman, Diara A, Laredo United, 2:25.75. 3, Barrales, Citabria, Los Fresnos, 2:29.10. 4, Seanz, Kallyia, Los Fresnos, 2:34.48. 5, Garza, Hayley, Mission High, 2:38.39. 6, Garcia, Sabrina, Laredo Alexander, 2:51.86. 7, Porzycki, Ana, Harlingen South, 2:57.86. 8, Romero, Sasha, PSJA North, 3:02.08. B Final: 9, Shea, Madison, Brownsville Rivera, 3:00.84. 10, Pena, Annika, Mission High, 3:13.50. 11, Hulkow, Aleksandra R, Laredo United, 3:16.92. 12, Iracheta, Yuczzin, PSJA High, 3:45.64. —, Hernandez, Delilah, La Joya High, DQ.
Girls 50 Freestyle
A Final: 1, Ashford, Jada, Los Fresnos, 24.22. 2, Rodriguez, Alijah D, Laredo United, 24.91. 3, Ojeda, Camila, Laredo Alexander, 26.30. 4, Gonzalez, Mia, Harlingen South, 27.35. 5, Trevino, Maria Jimena, Los Fresnos, 27.85. 6, Garza, Daniela, Laredo Alexander, 27.92. 7, Gutierrez, Davina, Harlingen High,, 27.94. 8, Cervantes, Ana Pua, Laredo Alexander, 27.98. B Final: 9, Rodriguez, Andrea, Edinburg Vela, 29.80. 10, Avila, Katarina, Edinburg Vela, 30.20. 11, Delgado, Alexis, Edinburg High, 30.25. 12, Garcia, Marisela, PSJA High, 32.49. 13, Gutierrez, Samantha, Mission High, 32.50. 14, Garza, Angelina, Mission High, 33.62. 15, Zapata, Paola, Mission High, 41.56.
Girls 100 Butterfly
A Final: 1, Conlu Lizada, Camille, Harlingen South, 1:01.97. 2, Aleman, Diara A, Laredo United, 1:04.84. 3, Seanz, Kallyia, Los Fresnos, 1:07.63. 4, Blanco, Joslyn, Los Fresnos, 1:08.41. 5, Gonzalez, Alexia S, Laredo United, 1:17.68. 6, Garcia, Sabrina, Laredo Alexander, 1:17.80. 7, Blanco, Marlin, Los Fresnos, 1:18.38. 8, Castillo, Carleigh, Mission High, 1:18.92. B Final: 9, Romero, Sasha, PSJA North, 1:21.39. 10, Espinoza, Valeria, Mission High, 1:29.59. 11, Cortez, Samantha, Laredo United, 1:32.39. 12, Jimenez, Kassandra, PSJA High, 1:36.70. —, Valdez, Karina, PSJA North, DQ.
Girls 100 Freestyle
A Final: 1, Ashford, Jada, Los Fresnos, 53.81. 2, Mancillas, Ariana, Los Fresnos, 56.92. 3, Garza, Daniela, Laredo Alexander, 1:00.09. 4, Gonzalez, Mia, Harlingen South, 1:02.37. 5, Cervantes, Ana Pua, Laredo Alexander, 1:03.86. 6, Gonzalez, Daniela, Harlingen South, 1:04.33. 7, Rodriguez, Andrea, Edinburg Vela, 1:07.07. 8, Pena, Annika, Mission High, 1:08.23. B Final: 9, Cienega, Bianca, Mission High, 1:08.44. 10, Benavides, Alexandra, Laredo United South, 1:09.33. 11, Trevino, Audrey, PSJA High, 1:13.09. 12, Gutierrez, Samantha, Mission High, 1:13.69. 13, Cuellar, Analee, Laredo Alexander, 1:15.95. 14, Cavazos, Lezlie, Mission High, 1:18.83. —, Oros, Maria, Edinburg Vela, DQ.
Girls 500 Freestyle
A Final: 1, Martinez, Edith, Laredo Alexander, 5:18.89. 2, Trevino, Sofia, Laredo United, 5:47.65. 3, Seledon, Jaquelyn, Mission High, 6:21.65. 4, Blanco, Joslyn, Los Fresnos, 6:21.80. 5, Gonzalez, Alexia S, Laredo United, 6:24.41. 6, Castillo, Carleigh, Mission High, 6:31.30. 7, Chavez, Alyssa, Los Fresnos, 6:31.43. 8, Ramos, Nayeli, Edinburg High, 6:45.16. B Final: 9, Mendez, Ximena, Laredo United, 6:45.39. 10, Garza, Darlynne, Edinburg High, 6:58.37. 11, De Los Santos, Gabby, Brownsville Rivera, 7:05.83. 12, Valdez, Karina, PSJA North, 7:22.72. 13, Wrinkle, Evangeline, Los Fresnos, 7:26.40.
Girls 200 Freestyle Relay
A Final: 1, Los Fresnos A (Mancillas, Ariana 10, Osuna, Rebeca 12, Trevino, Maria Jimena 11, Ashford, Jada 10), 1:45.05. 2, Laredo Alexander A (Ojeda, Camila 10, Cervantes, Ana Pua 11, Garza, Daniela 10, Martinez, Edith 11), 1:46.26. 3, Harlingen South A (Gonzalez, Mia FR, Balli, Jaclyn SR, Gonzalez, Daniela FR, Conlu Lizada, Camille SR), 1:53.60. 4, Weslaco High A (Hernandez, Ivy 10, Conner, Alyssa 09, Guerra, Brianna 10, Siller, Ashley 10), 2:02.65. 5, PSJA High A (Bravo, Natalie 11, Vargas, Allitzel 10, Garcia, Marisela 11, Briones, Sylvia 10), 2:05.76. 6, Laredo United A (Gonzalez, Alexia S 09, Velez Rivera, Mirelys Z 11, Serna, Melani J 09, Mendez, Ximena 09), 2:06.04. 7, Edinburg High A (Delgado, Alexis JR, Varela, Frida FR, Gonzalez, Itzel JR, Garza, Darlynne SR), 2:06.20. —, Mission High A (Castillo, Carleigh 11, Seledon, Jaquelyn 12, Espinoza, Valeria 12, Garza, Hayley 12), DQ. B Final: 9, Laredo United South A (Cardenas, Alejandra 11, Mancillas, Yaretzi 10, Cortez, Deserey 11, Benavides, Alexandra 10), 2:10.27. 10, Brownsville Rivera A (Mancilla, Arely 12, Puga, Ruby 11, De Los Santos, Gabby 11, Shea, Madison 11), 2:12.73.
Girls 100 Backstroke
A Final: 1, Gomez, Sofia N, Laredo United, 1:00.97. 2, Conlu Lizada, Camille, Harlingen South, 1:03.30. 3, Barrales, Citabria, Los Fresnos, 1:07.17. 4, Osuna, Rebeca, Los Fresnos, 1:07.50. 5, Nunez-Cazares, Amanda, Laredo Alexander, 1:15.30. 6, Bravo, Natalie, PSJA High, 1:17.10. 7, Espinoza, Valeria, Mission High, 1:19.61. 8, Cortez, Emily, Weslaco High, 1:23.74. B Final: 9, Idnani, Esha, Laredo Alexander, 1:24.00. 10, Cuellar, Analee, Laredo Alexander, 1:26.38. 11, Mata, Jocelyn, Mission High, 1:30.09. 12, Cepeda, Abigail, Mission High, 1:35.04. 13, Delgado, Alexis, Edinburg High, 1:35.94. —, Jimenez, Kassandra, PSJA High, DQ.
Girls 100 Breaststroke
A Final: 1, Rodriguez, Alijah D, Laredo United, 1:12.55. 2, Trevino, Maria Jimena, Los Fresnos, 1:15.18. 3, Trevino, Sofia, Laredo United, 1:15.75. 4, Mancillas, Ariana, Los Fresnos, 1:16.25. 5, Garza, Hayley, Mission High, 1:21.55. 6, Ojeda, Camila, Laredo Alexander, 1:26.14. 7, Briones, Sylvia, PSJA High, 1:26.48. 8, Velez Rivera, Mirelys Z, Laredo United, 1:29.06. B Final: 9, Flores, Josefina, Los Fresnos, 1:30.88. 10, Porzycki, Ana, Harlingen South, 1:31.30. 11, Vargas, Allitzel, PSJA High, 1:35.24. —, Cardenas, Tanya, PSJA High, DQ.
Girls 400 Freestyle Relay
A Final: 1, Laredo United A (Gomez, Sofia N 11, Aleman, Diara A 09, Trevino, Sofia 11, Rodriguez, Alijah D 12), 3:50.79. 2, Laredo Alexander A (Martinez, Edith 11, Cervantes, Ana Pua 11, Garza, Daniela 10, Ojeda, Camila 10), 3:55.22. 3, Harlingen South A (Gonzalez, Mia FR, Balli, Jaclyn SR, Gonzalez, Daniela FR, Conlu Lizada, Camille SR), 4:09.63. 4, Los Fresnos A (Seanz, Kallyia 12, Blanco, Joslyn 11, Blanco, Marlin 12, Barrales, Citabria 12), 4:15.79. 5, Harlingen High A (Hernandez, Elise 09, Gutierrez, Davina 09, Uribe, Lauen 09, Montalvo, Jenelle 11), 4:25.03. 6, Mission High A (Pena, Annika 10, Seledon, Jaquelyn 12, Cienega, Bianca 10, Garza, Hayley 12), 4:27.86. 7, PSJA High A (Bravo, Natalie 11, Trevino, Audrey 10, Garcia, Marisela 11, Briones, Sylvia 10), 4:50.56. 8, PSJA North A (Romero, Sasha 11, Martinez Alvarez, Tatiana 9, Martinez Alvarez, Amaya 9, Valdez, Karina 11), 4:56.89. B Final: 9, Laredo United South A (Cardenas, Alejandra 11, Mancillas, Yaretzi 10, Cortez, Deserey 11, Benavides, Alexandra 10), 4:55.46. 10, Weslaco High A (Cortez, Emily 12, Calderon, Cadence 10, Givilancz, Bethany 10, Conner, Alyssa 09), 5:00.13. 11, Laredo Nixon A (Alva, Kandrey L 10, Santiago, Andrea 10, Rodriguez, Lizbeth 11, Gomez, Faith A 09), 5:09.27.