BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
Marco Aguinaga was one of the Rio Grande Valley’s best football players for three years. The Edcouch-Elsa quarterback was all-district, all-area, led his team deep into the playoffs, and was even named The Monitor’s All-Area Offensive Player of the Year in 2016.
He was, by all stretches of the imagination, a bid deal around here.
But as a freshman at Baker University, he quickly learned what a big deal really was. Aguinaga suddenly sat behind All-American starter Logan Brettell, the reigning 2016 NAIA National Football Player of the Year. Brettell was a 5,000-yard passer with 51 touchdowns on a 2016 Baker team that went 14-1 and reached the NAIA title game.
“Playing and learning behind Logan Brettell was extremely helpful,” Aguinaga said. “He knows so much about the position, and I’ve learned not only how to be a great quarterback, but how to be a great leader.”
Aguinaga didn’t sign with Baker, a small 1,000-student school in Kansas, just to watch others play. He learned, and when it was his time to play, Aguinaga shined. He got his chance when Brettell was injured on Oct. 21, and Aguinaga finished out the game.
He went on to start four games in place of Brettell, throwing for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns while connecting on 102 of 155 passes to lead the Wildcats to a 2-2 record (Baker is 10-2 overall). Statistically, Aguinaga’s best game was in a loss against Missouri Valley, as the 5-foot-11, 185-pound QB went 30-of-54 passing for 347 yards with one TD and one interception.
Aguinaga set the Baker school record for pass attempts in that game. Perhaps his most accurate contest was against Evangel University, as Aguinaga went 30 for 36 for 200 yards and two TDs.
“Looking back at the year, I feel we did well,” Aguinaga said. “I also had great support from Logan and my OC and QB coach, Jake Morse. He put me in great positions to make plays, and that’s what I did.”
The Wildcats were ranked No. 2 in the NAIA most of the year, and they entered the postseason ranked No. 7 but lost a heartbreaker in the first round to Georgetown College 36-33. Look for Aguinaga to start next year for Baker along with current freshman JD Woods, who had more than 1,600 yards rushing.
“I feel like we have a great chance of making it to the (NAIA) national championship,” Aguinaga said. “Yes, I do expect to start if I put in the work that need to be put in and learn as much as possible.”
STANFORD’S SPEIGHTS PICKING HIS SPOTS
When former McAllen Memorial running back Trevor Speights committed two years ago to playing football for Stanford University, he knew he had joined an elite program. When he arrived on campus, NFL Rookie of the Year candidate Christian McCaffrey was the starting back and Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love was his backup.
Speights redshirted in 2016, and this year he’s played sparingly behind Love and another upperclassman, but he’s performed well. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound redshirt freshman’s best game by far was an eight-carry, 61-yard performance against the University of Oregon. And last Saturday, he picked up 18 yards on three carries against rival California. Speights, the Valley’s all-time leading rusher, has seen action in seven of the Cardinal’s 11 games. He has 28 carries for 107 yards on the year
TEXAS’ ALEX CRUZ COMPETES AT NCAA FINALS
The 2017 cross country season was one to remember for Edinburg High product Alex Cruz. The University of Texas runner set a personal record in the 6,000-meter run (the standard NCAA competition distance) at the NCAA Division I South Region Cross Country Championships on Nov. 10 with a time of 20 minutes, 24.9 seconds. The result followed a top-12 finish at the Big 12 Championships.
Representing the Longhorns last Saturday, Cruz finished 181 out of 255 runners and marked a 21:21.5 time at the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. The time was almost a minute slower than her time at regionals. The regional mark would have given her a 60th-place finish at the finals. Cruz was Texas’ second-highest finisher from it’s seven-member team. The Longhorns finished 31st.
LOS FRESNOS’ LUMBRERAS LEADING McMURRY SOCCER
Former Los Fresnos soccer forward Cristen Lumbreras recorded another stellar season at McMurry University in Abilene. The 5-foot junior speedster started 16 of his 18 games played and scored seven goals to help lead the Division III McMurry War Hawks. For her performance on the field, the American Southwest Conference named her to the women’s soccer honorable mention team.
Lumbreras was her team’s second-leading scorer and shot taker with 33. Twice she had two goals in a match. The 2017 season marked the second straight year that Lumbreras earned an honorable mention. At Los Fresnos, Lumbreras played varsity for four years and was named first-team all-district twice. The ASC includes schools such as Mary Hardin Baylor, UT-Tyler and Sul Ross State.
HARLINGEN SOUTH’s MONTEZ LEADS COASTAL BEND
Coastal Bend College sophomore Christina Montez led the Cougars with 243 kills — three times more than any teammate. The 5-foot-9 outside hitter, an all-district volleyball player from Harlingen South, played in 26 matches for the Beeville (one hour north of Corpus Christi) junior college.
Montez also had 85 digs and 12 total blocks on the season. Also on Coastal Bend College’s volleyball team are RGV players sophomore Brownsville Hanna grad Pamela Ellis, freshman Donna High grad Jaqueline Moreno, and sophomore Weslaco East grad Chylee LeFevre.
Know an RGV athlete doing well at the collegiate level in any sport? Send us a tip at gluca@ themonitor. com.