RGVSPORTS.COM
After a season of a lot of wins, few losses and district and playoff championships, the finalists for Program of the Year has been narrowed to six.
One team will be chosen for Class 6A and another will be chosen for sub-6A, with the winners announced at the eighth annual RGVSports.com & Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame awards ceremony next week.
For a third consecutive year, RGVSports.com and the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame are teaming to honor the best performances of the 2014-15 season in Rio Grande Valley high school athletics.
The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Col. Philip J. Yeckel Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Marine Military Academy in Harlingen. Admission is free.
The three finalists in Class 6A for Program of the Year are McAllen Memorial, Los Fresnos and Brownsville Rivera. In the sub-6A category, the finalists are Edinburg Vela, Sharyland High and Port Isabel.
McAllen Memorial’s football team was ranked in the All-Valley top 10 all season and was as high as No. 1. The Mustangs also sent seven swimmers and one diver to the state meet, and won the regional meet as a boys swimming team. McAllen Memorial was also ranked No. 1 for most of the season in girls soccer and won district championships in golf and boys basketball. The Mustangs were also the only upper or mid-Valley 6A team to send players to the regional tennis semifinals. McAllen Memorial also finished second in district in boys and girls track and field.
Los Fresnos was a regional finalist in girls soccer, a regional qualifier in volleyball, and district co-champion and tied for the longest Valley playoff run in football. The Falcons boys swimming team won its sixth consecutive district title, girls swimming took its third straight district crown, and the boys basketball team won its first district title since 1982 and won a playoff game. Los Fresnos was also district champ in girls track and field and playoff qualifiers in girls basketball and softball.
Brownsville Rivera brought home a state championship in boys soccer, becoming the first Rio Grande Valley team to do so with an undefeated season. The football team also advanced to the third round. The Raiders boys cross country team advanced to state for the first time as a team, and Raider Angel Espinoza went qualified for the state track and field meet and tennis player Julissa Rostro qualified for the regional tournament for the first time in program history.
Edinburg Vela was an area round qualifier in football and the boys basketball team went to the fourth round of the postseason. The Vela girls basketball team went to the third round of the playoffs, the volleyball team went to the second round and the baseball team made the playoffs for the first time in program history and advanced to the area round of the postseason. The softball team lost three games all season, won district and finished as bi-district playoff finalists. The Vela girls soccer team reached the regional quarterfinals, and Vela senior Andre Mercado qualified for the state tennis meet. Vela’s Brendan Rivera won gold in the high jump at state.
Sharyland High’s football team was a district champion and advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the third straight year. The boys basketball team was district co-champ and went to the second round. The baseball team was a co-district champ. The Rattlers’ girls soccer team reached the regional semifinals after going 12-0 in district, and the boys soccer team was a district champ. The Sharyland High girls golf team finished fourth at the state tournament, and the boys doubles team of Carlos Ramones and Sebastian Arizola finished as state runner-up.
Port Isabel’s Daniela Murchison won the state title in the shot-put for the third straight year. The Tarpons football team reached the bi-district round. Port Isabel’s volleyball team won a district championship and finished as an area qualifier. The softball team earned a co-district championship, and the girls basketball and baseball teams qualified for the playoffs.