By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
In the biggest meets, the best swimmers always step up.
That was the story for Los Fresnos during Saturday’s Region VIII-6A meet at Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center in Brownsville.
All school year, the Falcons have nurtured their goal of advancing a relay to the UIL state meet. They made it happen in two relays Saturday and set a pool record in the process.
At the regional meet, the top two boys and girls swimmers in individual events and relays qualify for state along with the top three divers. The state meet is scheduled Feb. 16-17 in Austin.
The Los Fresnos boys won the 400 freestyle relay, the last event of the meet, with a pool-record time of 3 minutes, 14.71 seconds. Swimming on the relay for the Falcons were Danny Escamilla, Will McKinney, Carlos Paredes and Luis Osuna.
In the 400 freestyle relay, the Falcons finished eight seconds ahead of runner-up PSJA Southwest (3:22.71).
Those same four Los Fresnos swimmers took second place in the 200 freestyle relay behind McAllen High to earn a trip to state as well.¬
“Ever since I started swimming, it’s always been a goal to go to state, and I did it three times in the meet today, so it means the world to me,” said Paredes, a senior. “It means everything since the time I first jumped into the pool.
“It’s something I couldn’t have done without the help of Luis, Will or Danny,” Paredes added. “It’s a feeling I really can’t explain because it’s so exhilarating. Being able to break the pool record was just something amazing and something I would have never thought we would be able to do. We couldn’t do it individually, we had to do it all together.”
Paredes is going to state in three events — the two relays and in the 500 freestyle, where he placed second behind Osuna. Actually, Osuna, a junior, won the 200 and 500 freestyles Saturday and is going to state in four events, including the two relays.
“It’s just an amazing feeling (to make it to state),” said Osuna, who advanced to Austin in the 500 freestyle as a sophomore. “When you work hard and go for your goals, (it pays off). I work hard every day in practice and it’s just beautiful when the results (like this) come to you.”
Los Fresnos also had a state qualifier in Sarah Villarreal, a junior who won two events (200 individual medley and 500 freestyle) in the girls division.
“I’ve been working hard for a really long time and I think that it was my time to shine today,” said Villarreal, who went to state on a relay for the Lady Falcons as a freshman. “I’ve worked so hard for this — two practices a day — and I finally did it.”
Regional meet team champions McAllen High for the boys and McAllen Memorial for the girls successfully defended their titles from a year ago.
For the boys, McAllen High won with 289 points, while second-place Laredo United had 282. Rounding out the top five team finishers for the boys, it was Los Fresnos in third with 210 points, Laredo Alexander in fourth with 162 and PSJA Southwest in fifth with 151.
“All my boys scored points — all of them,” said McAllen High coach Albino Cisneros, who won a regional title with the Los Fresnos girls a few years ago. “It’s just amazing that our boys have won the regional meet three years in a row. We’re taking a good group (of boys and girls) to state.”
One of the main point-producers for the Bulldogs was Shaine Casas, a senior who won two events (100 butterfly and 100 backstroke) in addition to swimming on two first-place relays. The Texas A&M-bound swimmer was named the outstanding boy of the meet.
McAllen Memorial’s Stacia Benitez, a junior, was chosen the meet’s outstanding girls performer. She won the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke and swam on two first-place relays for the Lady Mustangs.
The McAllen Memorial girls won their division with 317 points, comfortably outdistancing second-place McHi with 236 points. Laredo Alexander was third with 212, Los Fresnos fourth with 208 and Laredo United fifth with 178.
Besides Osuna and Casas, other double-winners at the meet for the boys were PSJA Southwest’s Joseph Velasquez (200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke) and McHi’s Maximo Saenz (50 and 100 freestyles), who also swam on two first-place relays.
For the girls, the only other double-winner besides Villarreal and Benitez was McAllen Memorial’s Avia Guerra (200 freestyle and 100 freestyle).
2018 Region VIII Championship – 2/2/2018 to 2/3/2018
Women
Team Rankings
Through Event 24
1, McAllen Memorial, 317. 2, McAllen High, 236. 3, Laredo
Alexander, 212. 4, Los Fresnos, 208. 5, Laredo United, 178. 6, Harlingen
South, 176. 7, Nikki Rowe High School, 151. 8, Hanna, 141. 9, Harlingen High, 105. 10, PSJA Bears, 100. 11, Edinburg , 74. 12, Rivera HS, 69. 13, Laredo United South, 58. 14, Weslaco High, 52. 15, Mission High, 38. 16, Edinburg Vela, 33. 17, Laredo Johnson, 28. 18, San Antonio Southwest, 25. 19, PSJA North, 17. 20, PSJA Memorial, 14. 21, Del Rio, 5. 22, Edinburg North, 2.
Men
Team Rankings
Through Event 24
1, McAllen High, 317. 2, Laredo United, 314. 3, Los Fresnos, 250. 4, PSJA Southwest, 185. 5, Laredo Alexander, 184. 6, McAllen Memorial, 180. 7, Weslaco High, 120. 8, Rivera, 99. 8, Harlingen South, 99. 10, Hanna, 83. 11, Del Rio, 80. 12, Nikki Rowe High School, 73. 13, Harlingen High, 63. 14, Edinburg High, 58. 15, PSJA Bears, 56. 16, Lajo, 37. 17, Edinburg Vela, 30. 18, Mission High, 23. 19, PSJA Memorial, 13. 20, Edinburg Economedes, 9. 20, San Antonio Southwest, 9. 22, Weslaco East, 8. 23, Edinburg North Cougars, 6. 24, Laredo United South, 4.
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay
(A – Final) 1, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Benitez, Stacia A 11, Salvo, Sofia 09, Guerra, Avia 12, Blevins, Megan 12), 1:56.76. 2, McAllen High ‘A’ (Rodriguez, Lauren 11, Crocker, Courtney 12, Blackwell, Katie 9, Swanson, Shelby 12), 1:58.46. 3, Laredo Alexander ‘A’ (Alvarado, Nana N 09, Mohammed, Ani C 12, Fierro, Kenya 11, Fuentes, Chelsea A 11), 1:59.98. 4, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Osuna, Rebeca 09, Villareal, Sarah 11, Manongas, Maria 10, Rodriguez, Emily 10), 2:01.40. 5, Harlingen South ‘A’ (Lizada, Camille C 09, Garza, Lola D 11, Duncan, Catherine 10, Saenz, Victoria 10), 2:02.73. 6, PSJA High ‘A’ (Esparza, Kaylan 11, Davila, Jordan 10, Ruiz, Isela 9, Campos, Carina 9), 2:08.52. 7, Rivera ‘A’ (Martinez, Azul 10, Gonzalez, Sofia 11, Gonzalez, Ximena 12, Errizuriz, Korinna 11), 2:12.40. 8, Edinburg Vela ‘A’ (Benevente, Ashley 11, Alanis, Grace 10, Guerra, Christa 12, Leal, Caroline 10), 2:14.45.
Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay
1, McAllen High S’A’ (Casas, Shaine 12, Lyon, Jace 10, Saenz, Maximo 12,
Park, Gwanghoon 10), 1:36.65. 2, PSJA SW ‘A’ (Mejia, Juan 12, Velasquez, Joseph 12, Singh, Luke 11, Garza, Zack 12), 1:39.99. 3, Laredo Alexander ‘A’ (Lee, Kevin 12, Chun, David 11, Pineda, Fernie M 10, Trevino, Antonio A 12), 1:41.29. 4, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Rodriguez, Richard 11, Vazquez, Jorge 12, Gates, Cooper K 11, Garcia Sandoval, Humberto 12), 1:42.91. 5, Laredo United ‘A’ (Mendoza, David E 10, Martinez Jr., Oscar J 09, Mata Saldivar, Emilio 10, Chavana, Diego 09), 1:47.27. 6, Rivera ‘A’ (Shea, Kyle 10, Urteaga, Alan S 11, Shea, Ryan 12, Perez, Rudy 12), 1:50.13. 7, McAllen Rowe ‘A’ (Baltodano, Richardo 11, Chimely, Cody 10, Mendiola, Noah 11, Acevedo, Nico 10), 1:50.58.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle
1, Guerra, Avia, MCME, 2:01.34. 2, Perales, Danielle E, Laredo United, 2:03.86. 3, Lizada, Camille C, Harlingen South, 2:04.25. 4, Estrada, Mariam, McAllen Rowe, 2:10.26. 5, Tedesco, Mariella R, Laredo Alexander, 2:13.30. 6, Ponce, Mariana B, Laredo United, 2:13.33. 7, Moreno, Alanah, McAllen High, 2:13.50. 8, Stock, Mckenna, Harlingen High, 2:13.61.
Boys 200 Yard Freestyle
1, Osuna, Luis, Los Fresnos, 1:45.55. 2, Moore, James, McAllen High, 1:47.00. 3,
Pineda, Fernie M, Laredo Alexander, 1:47.03. 4, Gates, Cooper K, McAllen Memorial, 1:48.08. 5, Paredes, Carlos, Los Fresnos, 1:48.83. 6, Wells, Daryl L, Weslaco High, 1:49.70. 7, Gonzalez Jr., David, Laredo United, 1:52.65. 8, Hurtado, Andrik A, Laredo United, 1:54.76.
Girls 200 Yard IM
1, Villareal, Sarah, Los Fresnos, 2:20.26. 2, Mohammed, Ani C, Laredo Alexander,
2:21.76. 3, Fuentes, Chelsea A, Laredo Alexander, 2:24.18. 4, Orta, Gloria, Hanna,
2:25.95. 5, Bradford, LiLi, McAllen Memorial, 2:33.18. 6, Manongas, Maria, Los Fresnos,
2:33.33. 7, Barrales, Citabria, Los Fresnos, 2:33.98. 8, Hernandez, Mahali v,
Laredo United, 2:38.63.
Boys 200 Yard IM
1, Velasquez, Joseph, PSJA SW, 1:59.64. 2, Diaz, Justin, HASO, 2:02.21. 3,
Bloomquist, Brock A, Weslaco High, 2:02.59. 4, Muniz Jr, Israel, Laredo United,
2:06.09. 5, Vazquez, Jorge, McAllen Memorial, 2:06.63. 6, Martinez Jr., Oscar J, Laredo United, 2:07.53. 7, Morris, Nick C, Laredo Alexander, 2:11.84. 8, Shea, Kyle, Rivera, 2:15.74.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle
1, Rodriguez, Alijah, Laredo United, 25.84. 2, Salvo, Sofia, McAllen Memorial, 25.95. 3,
Fierro, Kenya, Laredo Alexander, 26.79. 4, Garcia, Ashley, Laredo United South, 27.04. 5,
Canales, Kiki, Laredo United, 27.09. 6, Villarreal, Carolina, McAllen Rowe, 27.52. 7,
Rodriguez, Emily, Los Fresnos, 27.72. 8, Ramos, Jacqueline, Laredo United, 27.79.
Boys 50 Yard Freestyle
1, Saenz, Maximo, McAllen Memorial, 21.37. 2, Mejia, Juan, PSJA SW, 21.91. 3, Escamilla,
Danny, Los Fresnos, 22.01. 4, Lee, Kevin, Laredo Alexander, 22.58. 5, McKinney, Will,
Los Fresnos, 22.66. 6, Deysel, Quinten, Hanna, 22.95. 7, Anaya, Matthew,
Edinburg High, 23.87. 8, Rivera, Justice, Vela, 23.98.
Girls 1 mtr Diving
1, Rocha de Murga, Patricia, McAllen Memorial, 324.30. 2, Warner, Amber, Harlingen High, 312.30. 3, De Leon, Katherine, McAllen Memorial, 309.66. 4, Kennedy, Mae, Harlingen South, 286.68. 5, Garcia, Italy, Hanna, 256.23. 6, Borrego, Madeline, Harlingen, 253.62. 7, Riggs, Journey, PSJA Southwest, 194.43. 8, Anaya, Emily, Edinburg High, 181.05.
Boys 1 mtr Diving
1, Barrera, Eddie, La Joya High, 342.24. 2, Rios, Jose, La Joya High, 324.36. 3, Luckey,
Jason, Harlingen South, 302.16. 4, Plummer, Ethan, McAllen Memorial, 288.21. 5, Mondragon, David, McAllen Rowe, 276.30. 6, Anorga, Andres, Hanna, 258.15. 7, Lorenz, Quintin, McAllen Rowe, 249.12. 8, Maldonado, Jaime, Edinburg High, 236.97.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly
(A – Final) 1, Benitez, Stacia A, McAllen Memorial, 1:01.44. 2, Lizada, Camille C, Harlingen South, 1:01.45. 3, Fierro, Kenya, Laredo Alexander, 1:04.44. 4, Alvarado, Nana N, Laredo Alexander, 1:07.09. 5, Blackwell, Katie, McAllen, 1:07.17. 6, Gallegos, Aztridt L, Johnson, 1:08.48. 7, Ruiz, Isela, PSJA High, 1:09.03. 8, Blevins, Megan, McAllen Memorial, 1:12.94.
Boys 100 Yard Butterfly
1, Casas, Shaine M, McAllen High, 47.99. 2, Wells, Daryl L, Weslaco High, 51.48. 3, Singh,
Luke, PSJA SW, 55.30. 4, McKinney, Will, Los Fresnos, 55.38. 5, Shea, Ryan, Rivera, 56.67. 6, Von Aspe, Erich T, Del Rio, 56.95. 7, Mendoza, David E, Laredo United, 57.40. 8, Hurtado, Andrik A, Laredo United, 59.29.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle
1, Guerra, Avia, McAllen Memorial, 56.06. 2, Rodriguez, Alijah, Laredo United, 57.53. 3,
Garcia, Ashley, Laredo United, 57.92. 4, Estrada, Mariam, McAllen Rowe, 57.94. 5, Gutierrez, Nadia, Hanna, 58.71. 6, Canales, Kiki, Laredo United, 59.01. 7, Osuna, Rebeca, Los Fresnos, 59.77. 8, Stock, Mckenna, Harlingen, 1:00.69.
Boys 100 Yard Freestyle
1, Saenz, Maximo, McAllen, 47.66. 2, Moore, James, McAllen, 47.79. 3, Escamilla,
Danny, Los Fresnos, 48.24. 4, Gates, Cooper K, McAllen Memorial, 48.36. 5, Pineda, Fernie
M, Laredo Alexander, 49.44. 6, Bloomquist, Brock A, Weslaco High, 50.03. 7, Muniz Jr,
Israel, Laredo United, 50.86. 8, Sanchez, Ervey, PSJA High, 50.91.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle
1, Villareal, Sarah, Los Fresnos, 5:36.73. 2, Fuentes, Chelsea A, Laredo Alexander,
5:45.56. 3, Moreno, Alanah, McAllen, 5:51.00. 4, Moore, Madison R, McAllen Memorial, 6:11.44. 5, Ponce, Mariana B, Laredo United, 6:12.73. 6, Aune, Megan, Harlingen South, 6:20.01. 7, Curley, Ruth, Rivera, 6:20.97. 8, West, Gillian, McAllen High, 6:26.60.
Boys 500 Yard Freestyle
1, Osuna, Luis, Los Fresnos, 4:54.49. 2, Paredes, Carlos, Los Fresnos,
4:57.19. 3, Pandal Ledezma, Rodrigo, Laredo United, 5:04.66. 4, Gonzalez Jr.,
David, Laredo United, 5:06.51. 5, Diaz, Justin, Harlingen South, 5:10.58. 6, Park, Gwanghoon, McAllen Memorial, 5:16.36. 7, Garza, Zack, PSJA SW, 5:16.99. 8, DE Leon, Mario, Mcallen High 5:23.83.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1, McAllen High ‘A’ (Swanson, Shelby 12, Moore, Haidee 9, Seal, McCoy
10, Rodriguez, Lauren 11), 1:47.88. 2, McAllen Rowe ‘A’ (Estrada, Mariam 10, Villarreal, Carolina 11, Bzibziak, Kaitlyn 09, Reyes, Shaena 12), 1:48.48. 3, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Alaniz, Alex 12, Barrales, Citabria 09, Seanz, Kally 09, Villareal, Sarah 11), 1:50.41. 4, Edinburg High ‘A’ (Salinas, Brianna 11, Garza, Samantha 11, Anaya, Emily 10, Zea, Yvette 11), 1:52.94. 5, Hanna ‘A’ (Gomez, Destiny JR, Deysel, Naquita SR, Larson, Annika JR, Gutierrez, Nadia SO), 1:55.17. 6, Laredo Alexander ‘A’ (Alvarado, Nana N 09, Tedesco, Mariella R 10, Quintanilla, Sarah P 10, Gomez-Salinas, Natalia 11), 1:56.79. 7, Harlingen High ‘A’ (Stock, Mckenna 10, Ramos, Ana 11, Salas, Makaya 11, Cumpian, Melanie 11), 1:57.81. 8, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Bradford, LiLi 10, Moore, Madison R 10, Garza, Vanessa 12, Hernandez Balleza, Luisa 12), 1:58.40.
Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1, McAllen High ‘A’ (Casas, Shaine 12, Park, Gwanghoon 10, Moore, James
11, Saenz, Maximo 12), 1:27.99. 2, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Escamilla, Danny 12,
Paredes, Carlos 12, Osuna, Luis 11, McKinney, Will 12), 1:28.59. 3, Laredo
Alexander ‘A’ (Lee, Kevin 12, Pineda, Fernie M 10, Trevino, Antonio A 12,
Morris, Nick C 09), 1:32.63. 4, Laredo United ‘A’ (Muniz Jr, Israel 12,
Mendoza, David E 10, Salomon Sevilla, Brian A 11, Gonzalez Jr., David 12),
1:33.31. 5, Weslaco High ‘A’ (Bloomquist, Brock A 11, Valadez, Noah 09,
Parker, Nathan 09, Wells, Daryl L 11), 1:34.46. 6, Rivera ‘A’ (Shea, Ryan
12, Perez, Rudy 12, Gayosso, Claudio 12, Shea, Kyle 10), 1:35.98. 7, Hanna ‘A’ (Santos, Jose JR, Garza, Justin JR, Lovett, Matthew SO, Deysel, Quinten FR), 1:36.18. 8, Del Rio ‘A’ (Rios, Joseluis X 11, Gonzalez, Franky F 12, Garcia, Martin E 12, Von Aspe, Erich T 11), 1:39.69.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke
1, Benitez, Stacia A, McAllen Memorial, 59.90. 2, Perales, Danielle E, Laredo United, 1:02.44. 3, Rodriguez, Lauren, McAllen High, 1:05.02. 4, Gallegos, Aztridt L, Johnson, 1:06.11. 5, Gutierrez, Nadia, Hanna, 1:08.15. 6, Bradford, LiLi, McAllen Memorial, 1:09.23. 7, Manongas, Maria, Los Fresnos, 1:09.65. 8, Alvarado, Nana N, Laredo Alexander, 1:09.99.
Boys 100 Yard Backstroke
1, Casas, Shaine M, McAllen High, 47.52. 2, Mejia, Juan, PSJA SW, 53.47. 3, Lee,
Kevin, Laredo Alexander, 54.33. 4, Lovett, Matthew, Hanna, 58.18. 5, Rodriguez,
Richard, McAllen Memorial, 59.70. 6, Mendoza, David E, Laredo United, 1:00.18. 7, Garcia,
Martin E, Del Rio, 1:01.39. 8, Salomon Sevilla, Brian A, Laredo United HS, 1:01.42.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke
1, Garza, Lola D, Harlingen South, 1:12.65. 2, Crocker, Courtney, McAllen High, 1:12.86. 3,
Mohammed, Ani C, Laredo Alexander, 1:14.04. 4, Orta, Gloria, Hanna, 1:16.40. 5, Davila, Jordan, PSJA High, 1:17.01. 6, Salvo, Sofia, McAllen Memorial, 1:17.36. 7, Hernandez, Mahali v, Laredo United, 1:17.78. 8, Arredondo, Denssy I, Laredo United South, 1:18.74.
Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke
1, Velasquez, Joseph, PSJA SW, 59.73. 2, Lyon, Jace B, McAllen High, 1:00.31. 3, Vazquez, Jorge, McAllen Memorial, 1:00.38. 4, Martinez Jr., Oscar J, Laredo United, 1:04.26. 5, Davila, Diego, McAllen High, 1:05.09. 6, Sanchez, Ervey, PSJA High, 1:05.59. 7, Chun, David, Alexander, 1:05.62. 8, Rodriguez, Diego, McAllen High, 1:06.13.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Blevins, Megan 12, Salvo, Sofia 09, Guerra, Avia 12, Benitez, Stacia A 11), 3:49.65. 2, McAllen High ‘A’ (Swanson, Shelby 12, Moore, Haidee 9, Seal, McCoy 10, Rodriguez, Lauren 11), 3:58.75. 3, Harlingen High ‘A’ (Lizada, Camille C 09, Garza, Lola D 11, Saenz, Victoria 10, Duncan, Catherine 10), 4:06.86. 4, McAllen Rowe ‘A’ (Estrada, Mariam 10, Lum, Mariana , Bzibziak, Kaitlyn 09, Reyes, Shaena 12), 4:08.80. 5, Hanna ‘A’ (Gomez, Destiny JR, Zamora, Paulina SR, Orta, Gloria SR, Gutierrez, Nadia SO), 4:10.96. 6, PSJA ‘A’ (Campos, Carina 9, Pineda, Anna 12, Davila, Jordan 10, Ruiz, Isela 9), 4:19.98.
Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1, Los Fresnos ‘A’ (Escamilla, Danny 12, McKinney, Will 12, Paredes, Carlos 12, Osuna, Luis 11), 3:14.71. 2, PSJA SW Javelinas ‘A’ (Mejia, Juan 12, Garza, Zack 12, Singh, Luke 11, Velasquez, Joseph 12), 3:22.71. 3, Laredo United ‘A’ (Muniz Jr, Israel 12, Hurtado, Andrik A 10, Salomon Sevilla, Brian A 11, Gonzalez Jr., David 12), 3:25.43. 4, McAllen Memorial ‘A’ (Cortez, Alan 11, Rodriguez, Richard 11, Vazquez, Jorge 12, Gates, Cooper K 11), 3:27.31. 5, McAllen High ‘A’ (Moore, James 11, Davila, Diego 11, Park, Gwanghoon 10, Rodriguez, Diego 10), 3:28.40. 6, Weslaco High ‘A’ (Wells, Daryl L 11, Valadez, Noah 09, Parker, Nathan 09, Bloomquist, Brock A 11), 3:30.43. 7, Harlingen South ‘A’ (Davila, Patrick 10, Ibarra, Brandon 11, Velarde, Erick 11, Diaz, Justin 09), 3:34.80. 8, Laredo Alexander ‘A’ (Trevino, Antonio A 12, Morris, Nick C 09, Quiroqa, Mando R 10, Martinez, Joel 09), 3:36.46.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess