HSSM February Issue 2013

www.HSSMLive.com February 28-March 28, 2013

High School Sports MagazineHigh School Sports Magazine

RGC Wrestler Lisa GonzalezWins Title in Dramatic Fashion.

Champion!StateChampion!

StateSTATE BASKETBALL

PLAYOFFS RESULTS

BASEBALL & SOFTBALLPREVIEW 2013

32 RGV Athletes Sign Letter of Intents

RGV SOCCERSTANDINGS

SWIMMING & WRESTLINGSTATE FINALS

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Publisher & General ManagerDavid A. Amador

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Assistant Sports DirectorJohn Cannon

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Sports Photo EditorAlec Amador

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Photographer/GraphicsDavid Saldana

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Contributing Sports WritersJoshua JuradoVincent Davis

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February 28, 2013HSSMHSSM AN INSIDE LOOK...

The PlayoffsMarch Madness Begins! Class 5A Region IV Tournament at UTPA for first time in Valley history.

22

Top RGV Athletes sign NCAA Division I Scholarships. Many athletes sign to play sports in DII & DIII colleges.

6National SigningDay for RGV Athletes

Sabercats ?Are the Robert Vela Sabercats the team to beat in District 30-5A? See more.

17

Soccer Kicks OffSharyland Lady Rattlers looking to return to State

5A Region IV Tournament. Compete Standings

15

UT Baby! Sharyland baseball player Tres

Barrera will play for the University of Texas-Austin Longhorns in

2013. Tres is also a Top 25 MLB Prospect.

*Discounts and their availability may vary by state and eligibility requirements. For more information, please see or call a State Farm agent.

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It’s All AboutBy David A. AmadorHSSM Sports Director

Spring SportsLike

Laundry?

the Game

///////////////////////////////////

Trying to keep up with spring sports is like trying to wash my laundry. It’s hectic. It’s nerve wrecking. And above all, too many games to cover all at

one time. Like laundry, you got to wash the

whites together, the colors go seperately, and the stinky socks,

well...they get washed afterwards. With spring sports, track season

features many track and field meets; while baseball and softball tournaments are being played at the same time, same weekends too. Oh, and then there’s golf,

tennis, and soccer. Whew! How in the world do these athletes

keep fit!Probably the most difficult sport is golf. Yup. It’s golf. Think about it. You have 14 clubs in the golf bag with golf balls in the side

pockets. The object of the game is to hit the ball straight down the

grassy field or golf course with one club called the driver. It’s the one with the fat head at the end of the stick. After hitting the ball, you get another chance to use a iron to get the ball to land on

the green. This is where the ball lands on a smooth surface (like

carpet) with a hole somewhere in

the middle, side, or corner. Once you have achieved this, the next

thing is putting the ball in the hole with a stick that looks like a small

yards too. And don’t lose your balls or you will be penalized!

The game last a good four hours. For high school boys and girls athletes, they must walk the

course, carrying their bags that weigh about 40 lbs each.

Like golf, track and field is the most challenging. In hurdles,

runners train themselves to jump over boards that stand about 33” high for girls and 39” for boys in the middle of a track at the high school level. What makes this sport exciting are the seconds.

Hurdlers try to shave seconds off the clock by clearing the hurdles

with smoothness and finesse with great speed too. The problem

with this sport are the take downs. The falls. The crashes. The leg

muscle pulls. The hurdler must be confident and focused.

Then you have tennis. This game really demands plenty of strength

and conditioning. The matches can last 30 minutes for two sets

or some may last up to five hours. Spring Sports? Try to keep up with it. It’s like laundry. You got to wear them clothes again for

practice and game day.


hockey stick. Sounds easy? Oh, the part I forgot to mention is that when playing this game, you must refrain yourself from getting mad, throwing clubs, and you must do this all within 72 strikes or strokes on 18 holes, and most of the time,

on a course that is about 7,000

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BY JOHN CANNONHSSM ASSISTANT SPORTS DIRECTOR

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(McAllen, Tx)-National Signing Day has become one of the biggest sports days in history and it’s where thousands of High School Athletes select the college of their choice and then put the pen to the paper and make it official. Here in the Rio Grande Valley, 32 senior athletes have signed their letters of intent to play at the next level so far, three of them are heading to major college programs. McAllen Memorial’s Juan “Papito” Gonzalez will be playing golf at the University


Going to College! Pictured are Rio Grande City State 4A Wrestling Champion, Lisa Gonzalez (Undecided) with Juan “Papito” Gonzalez of McAllen Memorial (Univeristy of Houston) with Edinburg Economedes Leigha Brown (Arkansas). (HSSMImages/David Amador)


///////////8 HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013

of Housto; Edinburg Economedes track and field star Leigha Brown will run track and compete in the heptathlon at the University of Arkansas, while Sharyland’s Tres Barrera will play baseball at the University of Texas at Austin. Gonzalez said that it took a while before he got any responses from school. But after competing at the state tournament and the American Junior Golf Association (AGJA), the offers started coming in. “After I competed in the state tournament and in the AJGA tournament, I got six offers from colleges to play Golf,” said Gonzalez. “From there, I cut it to four and my choices were Houston, Baylor, North Texas and UT-El Paso. After a visit to Houston, my choice was clear and I decided to go there.” Papito will now join Roman Robledo, a former Harlingen South graduate who is now the No.1 player on the team with the Cougars in Conference USA. As for the Economedes all-around athlete, “It was an amazing feeling to get recruited by a Division 1 school and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would achieve this.” Brown said that the process in choosing a school and preparing for signing day is a job in itself.“Pretty much you go from the recruiting process to making your final decision,” said Brown. “When you are going through the recruiting process, you want to evaluate each school and see what it has to offer. I had offers from Arkansas, Texas State and Sam Houston and had to choose only one. But I liked what I saw from Arkansas due to their established success and that the competition was truly going to push me. From there, I informed the coach and he sent me the paperwork to fill out. You have to return the paperwork back to the school on time and then make sure you are eligible by the NCAA. It’s a pretty through process, but I can guarantee you it is definitely worth it when you make it official.” When Barrera made his choice to attend the University of Texas at Austin, he said the signing day was something like he had

Mustangs Going To College! Pic-tured top left is McAllen Memorial Angel Garcia signing his letter of in-tent to play football for Malane Univer-isty in Canton, Ohio and bottom photo is McAllen Memorial football player Pablo Adame proudly wearing his cap to attend Truman State Univeristy in Kirksville, Missouri. The Mustangs qualified for the State 5A playoffs three straight season with both players.(HSSMImages/David Saldana)

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never experienced before.“You always watch on TV when the others do it, but never imagine it might be you,” said Barrera.“When I had all of my teammates, my schoolmates, coaches, teachers, administration, parents and everyone else who was there show me support when I signed to play at UT, it meant so much to me and it was truly one of the best days of my life.”

McAllen Memorial Football Players Sign Scholarships(McAllen, Tx.) – McAllen Me-morial’s Angel Garcia, Pablo Adame, and Garrett Sharp can only thank Mustang head coach Bill Littleton for their opportu-nities as all three will play foot-ball at the college level. Garcia signed to play at Malone University while re-

ceiving a full scholarship on Monday afternoon at the McAl-len Memorial Library. Malone University is a Divi-sion II School in Canton, Ohio and is a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. “I really have to give a lot of

credit to coach (Bill) Littleton for helping me get this opportu-nity,” said Garcia “He is such a great coach and I owe all of the credit to him.” As for Pablo Adame, he want-ed to play football in the snow.Adame signed to play at Tru-man State University in Kirks-

ville, Missouri. Truman State University is a Division II School and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Adame had quite an impressive senior season and was selected to the THSCA All-State Academic Team. It was an emotional moment for Garrett Sharp’s mother as she wiped her tears away as she watched her son sign his letter of intent to play football for Blinn College located in Bryan, Texas. The 6’3” 225 lbs seniorcaptured High School Sports Magazine’s MVP on defensive. Sharp led his team to the State 5A Regional finals in 2011. He had 171 Tackles, 3 sacks, and 3 Forced Fumbles with 1 Fumble Recovery for TD in 2012.

Garret Sharp smiles as his mother wipes her tears away with Dale Sharp (father) seat-ed looking along with Rosa Larsons (principal), Bill Little-ton (head coach), Marcus Kaufmann (offensive coordina-tor), and McAllen ISD Athletic Director, Paula Gonzalez.

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National Signing Day Signees:

Brownsville Hanna: Chuck Atkinson, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Football

Brownsville Rivera: Christina Rivera, In-carnate Word University, Cross-Country

Edcouch-Elsa: Sandy Guerrero, Coastal Bend College, SoftballReneal Rodriguez, Coastal Bend Col-lege, Softball

Edinburg High: Samantha Arciba, Prairie View A&M, SoftballIsaiah Galvan, Chadron State University, FootballMicheline Mercelita, Our Lady Of The Lake, VolleyballMike Moreno, Hardin-Simmons Univer-sity, Football

Edinburg Economedes: Leigha Brown, University of Arkansas, Track and Field

Harlingen High: Alex Guerra, Coastal Bend College, Volleyball

Harlingen South: Priscilla Loa, San Jacinto Junior College, SoftballStephanie Lugo, Temple Junior College, Softball

La Joya High: Mark Lopez, Texas Wes-leyan University, Track and Field

La Joya Palmview: Miguel Garza, Park University, Track/Cross-CountryAlex Leal: Park University, Track/Cross-CountryJoel Alaniz, Park University, Track/Cross-Country

La Villa: America Ortiz, Coastal Bend College, Softball

Los Fresnos: Corina Cox, Troy Univer-sity, Track and FieldDebbie Lozano, University of Texas at Brownsville, VolleyballNick Scoville, Graceland University, Baseball

McAllen High: Garrett Thomas, Bowdoin College, Football

McAllen Memorial: Pablo Adame, Tru-man State University, FootballGarrett Sharp, Blinn Junior College, FootballAngel Garcia, Malone University, FootballJuan “Papito” Gonzalez, University of Houston, Golf

McAllen Rowe: Ciaira Briseno, Our Lady Of The Lake University, Basketball

Raymondville: Ralph Rubalcava, Texas A&M-Kingsville

San Benito: Pete Lozano, Central Meth-odist University, Football

Sharyland: Tres Barrera, University of Texas

(McAllen, Tx)-Garrett Thomas of McAllen High signed an academic scholarship to at-tend NCAA Division III Bow-doin College in Brunswick, Maine where he plans to study neuroscience. Thomas, who plays football and runs track at

McHi Football Player SignsMcAllen High, and is a mem-ber of the THSCA All-Academ-ic Elite team. Surrounded by his brother Cody, his mother Becky, Gar-rett and his father Brent the senior signed his letter of in-tent. Also in attendance were

Athletic Coordinator & Head Football Coach Kevin Brewer, McAllen ISD Athletic Director Paula Gonzalez, and Principal Albert Canales.

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(Edinburg, Tx) – After suf-fering a Torn ACL during his sophomore year, it appeared Edinburg High defensive tackle Isaiah Galvan’s road to recovery was going to be a tough one. However, Galvan worked his tail off rehabbing his knee during the offseason and was able to come back and have a strong junior and senior campaign. For his accomplishments, Galvan received a scholar-ship to play college ball at Chadron State University in Nebraska as he officially signed his letter on Wednes-day at Edinburg High School. Chadron State University is a Division II school and is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Confer-ence. “My teammates and my family inspired me to get through the rehab and I am so blessed to have them in my life,” said Galvan. “They pushed me to over-come it and now I am able to stand here today and will be achieving my dream of play-ing college ball.”Even though his primary po-sition was defensive tackle, Galvan also lined up as a fullback and at the lineback-er position for the Bobcats.“Isaiah was a very unself-ish young man and always

did what he had to in order to help the team,” said Ed-inburg High Head Football Coach Joey Caceres. “He would play both ways and his desire to win was second to none. This young man will be a huge asset for Chadron State at the next level and I am sure he will represent the Bobcats very well.”

Galvan Overcomes Injury; Signs With Chadron State University

Pictured Isaiah Galvan signing his letter of intent with his parents looking on. Also pictured is ath-letic coordiantor Joey Ca-ceres and principal Dan Roma. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

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(Edinburg,Tx)-Edinburg High’s Mike Moreno always was a threat at the cornerback posi-tion at the High School level.Moreno signed a letter of in-tent to play Football at Hardin Simmons this Fall and Bobcats Head Coach Joey Caceres feels he will be a huge asset for them.“Mike is a great ideal kid and a model student athlete,” said Caceres. “He is very disci-plined and always worked hard to be a better football player.”“He was a great teammate and Hardin Simmons is getting a very special young man.”Moreno was an Honorable Mention All-Valley Corner-back for the Bobcats this past season.

Edinburg’s Moreno to Attend

Hardin-Simmons

Edinburg High School senior Mike Moreno signs letter of intent to play football for Hardin-Simmons this fall. Pictured l-r are Joe Filoteo (Edinburg CISD Athletic Director), Dan Roma (principal), Joey Caceres (Edinburg HS Athletic Coordinator) with Moreno’s parent looking on. (HSSMIMages/David Saldana)

Edinburg High School senior Micheline Mercelita signs letter of intent to play basketball for Our Lady of the Lakes in San Antonio, Texas this fall. The Lady Bobcats won the District 30-5A title in 2013 with Mercelita averaging 15 rebounds per game and 18 points. The Lady Bobcats ad-vanced to the State 5A playoffs before losing to Harlingen in the area round. (HSSMIMages/David Saldana)

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(Los Fresnos,Tx) – Los Fresnos senior Debbie Lozano signed a let-ter of intent with UTB-TSC-Brownsville.The Lady Ocelots have had quite a bit of success over the past couple of years as they won the National Championship in 2011 and made it to the Final Four at the NAIA Tournament last year while comprising a 30-2 record.Lozano was named the 32-5A Offensive Player of the Year and was awarded Second Team All-Valley and was a 2012 Academic All-State Award winner. At McAllen Nikki Rowe, point guard Ciaira Briseno signed a letter of intent with Our Lady Of The Lake University in San An-tonio, Tx to play Basketball. “I feel that my basketball career isn’t ending after High School,” said Briseno. Briseno has played a key role for the Lady Warriors this season as she is averaging 12 points per game and 8.9 assists per game as well. Edinburg pitcher Samantha Arciba also signed a letter of intent to play softball at Prairie View A&M. Arciba has been a huge part of the Lady Bobcats success as she has been a part of three playoff appearances and led her team to the Sweet 16 three times. Prairie View A&M is a Division 1 School in the SWAC conference.

More Seniors Sign To Play College SportsProud to Sign! (Top photo) Los Fresnos’s Debbie Lozano signs letter of intent with UTB-TSC while (Left) Samantha Arciba will be going to Prairie View A&M and (Bottom) Nikki Rowe’s Ciaira Briseno will attend Our Lady of the Lakes in San Antonio, Tx. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

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(Sharyland, Tx.) – Sharyland High School proved the notion that things definitely happen in three’s. Three student athletes signed their letters of intent to pursue their sport of choice at the collegiate level on Thursday afternoon at the Sharyland Gymnasium. Valerie Rodriguez signed her letter to run Track and Cross Coun-try at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and said she chose to go

///////////14 HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013

Three Sharyland Athletes Sign Letters of Intent

there so she can be close to home.“I chose A&M-Kingsville because it’s not far and I want my fam-ily to watch me run,” said Rodriguez. Rodriguez, who will be participating in the 800-Meter run as well as Cross Country at Texas A&M-Kingsville, had a stellar High School career as she has made it to Regionals all four years in Cross Country and was a State Qualifier during her Freshman year. In Track and Field, Rodriguez has been a part of the three straight District championships with the Lady Rattlers and quali-fied for regionals in her Sophomore and Junior year. Camila Anguiano signed to play Tennis at Schreiner College and is the first player from Sharyland High School in quite a while to sign a letter intent in that specific sport. Anguiano has been a member of the Lady Rattlers Tennis team for four years and was a Regional qualifier for three years and said her choice was clear when she got to participate with the team up at Schreiner. The final signee of the day was Estefan Castillo who signed to

play Football at Angelo State University. Castillo, who was a First Team All-District and All-Valley Receiver, said that he can’t wait to strap on the pads once again.“This is an awesome feeling,” said Castillo. “It’s so great that my Football career isn’t over yet and I will get another four years un-der my belt. I am ready and anxious to hit the field again.”

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2013 Sharyland Soccer team pictured l-r (front) are Nikki Gonzalez, Samantha Pena, Clowyie Flores, Maggi Palacios, Beatriz Garza Middle L-R: Barbara Cantu, Hannah Padil-la, Daniela Cantu, Julie Alanis, Deandra Garza, Miriam Garza, Kassy De La Garza, Nallely Garza. Back row L-R: Anna Acuna, Valeria Lopez, Maried Salinas, Stephanie Barrientos, Chelsea Saenz, Mikaela Garvin, Maegan Idrogo, Taylor Marquez. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.netRGV Soccer Update

District 30-5ASharylandEconomedesDonnaJuarez-LincolnPalmviewLa Joya HSEdinburg NorthEdinburg VelaEdinburg

District 31-5AMcAllen MemorialMcAllenMcAllen RoweSan BenitoWeslacoWeslaco EastPSJA MemorialPSJAPSJA North

District 32-5AHarlingen SouthLos FresnosBrownsville HannaBrownsville RiveraHarlingenBrownsville PorterBrownsville LopezVeterans MemorialBrownsville Pace

9-07-26-46-45-55-54-62-81-9

9-19-18-26-44-53-63-72-80-10

9-18-28-26-46-43-63-61-90-10

2720191915131153

27272418109980

26252418189930

Standings Pts

Girl’s Soccer Standings

(McAllen, Tx)-Sharyland High School soccer coach J.J. Lopez knows that last season was just one point short of making their first appearance in the State 5A Soccer Tournament in Georgetown, Tx. “We almost got there,” adds Lopez. The Lady Rattlers lost to San Antonio Churchill 1-0 on a missed block late in the second half. “That was tough but we have ten girls back from that playoff team,” added Lopez. In the 2012 State 5A playoffs, the Lady Rat-tlers swept past Laredo Martin, Harlingen South, Edinburg North, and San Antonio MacArthur to get to the regional finals. So far,

the Lady Rattlers are perfect in 2013 in District 30-5A with Ed-inburg Economedes at 7-2. In District 31-5A, all three McAllen schools are fighting for first place with both Memorial and Rowe tied for first at 9-1. In District 32-5A, Harlingen South is 9-1 with Los Fresnos and Brownsville Hanna tied at 8-2. Rowe, Los Fresnos, McAllen, PSJA, Brownsville Rivera, Har-lingen, Hanna, and Brownsville Lopez all advanced to the State 5A playoffs in 2012 but the surprise of 2013 are Donna Lady Red-skins, and San Benito. The playoffs begin March 28-30th.

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State 5A Wrestling Qualifiers! McAllen Memorial Mustang wrestlers pictured l-r are Raul Ortiz, Jose Villarreal, Bobby Rodriguez, and Adonis Saucedo. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)


Akim Gonzales McA Rowe 35-8Juan Huerta PSJA North 24-4Greg Hernandez San Benito 23-5Kristian Rivera La Joya 29-2Paul Briceno RGC 22-4Alexander Artega San Benito 25-3Gilbert Urbina Weslaco East 29-0Alex Barreto RGC 31-4Matthew Torres Weslaco 31-1Ray Rodriguez Juarez-Lin 33-5Victor Trevino RGC 30-7Adonis Saucedo McA Mem 35-10Jr Briceno RGC 35-4Valentin Cantu RGC 31-4Bobby Rodriguez McA Mem 27-1Jose Villarreal McA Mem 34-3Raul Ortiz McA Mem 33-0Frankie Garza McA Rowe 39-2Leo Tanguma RGC 9-5Francisco Tirado McA Rowe 40-4

2013 State Wrestling Boys Qualifiers

Austin, Tx

February 21-23, 2013

RGV Wrestlers Compete at State Tournament(Austin, Tx)-Rio Grande City’s Lisa Gonzalez won gold in the 148-pound class at the state wrestling meet Saturday in Austin by defeating Paige Wolf of Azel, 3-2 to claim the championship. “It still has not sunk in. It’s like a dream,” Gonzalez said. But head coach RGC coach Ronald Pratt had already decided that she would ended up a state champion this season. “I made that deci-sion months ago that she would win. This is something special to be part of. She is a great athlete,” said Pratt.

In more action, two other wrestlers brought home silver med-als. Jackie Gonzalez of Mission Veterans (165-pound class) and, in Class 5A, Danae Sanchez of La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (148) — advanced to the state finals. Gonzalez lost 4-0 to Sandra Flores of Frisco, and Sanchez did all she could with a 5-4 loss to Chasity Villarreal of Katy Cinco Ranch. Also picking up medals were San Benito’s Valeria Torres (128) and La Joya Palmview’s Sandra Munoz (215), who both earned 5A bronze. PSJA High’s Adriana Pena (165), McAllen Memorial’s Bobby Rodriguez (132), and Weslaco East’s Gilbert Urbina (170) all earned fifth-place finishes in 5A. Memorial’s Raul Ortiz (120) and McAllen Rowe’s Frankie Garza (113) dropped their 5A fifth-place matches.

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RGV Softball Update

Vela Sabercats Team To Watch(Weslaco,Tx)- Edinburg Vela came to play some softball.The Edinburg Vela Lady Sabercats’ (10-2 Overall, 1-1 District 30-5A) crushed Weslaco High (7-5 Overall, 0-1 District 31-5A) 8-3 in the Championship Game of the Weslaco Softball Classic Tournament in Weslaco on Saturday afternoon. In the bottom of the first inning, Weslaco had an opportunity to get on the board as Odessa Porras singled to center and Klary Abeldano reached base on a hit by pitch.However, the Lady Pantherettes left both runners on base to finish the inning. In the top of the second, Valerie Camacho and Alyssa Reyes of Edinburg Vela

each hit a single to center. The Lady Sabercats were not able to capitalize in the inning as they left two runners on base.

The Edinburg Vela Lady Sabercats’ finally got a couple of runs in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. Lady Sabercats’ Audrey Aguirre got on base on a mishandled catch by Lady Pantherettes’ Melissa Manchaca.

Following the error, Adrianna Cazares tripled to deep center and Weslaco High could not make the catch at third that resulted in

an error and a score by Audrey Aguirre to take a 1-0 lead. Then, Lady Sabercats’ Shayla Abbott’s Sacrifice RBI scored Cazares which game

them a 2-0 lead.In the bottom of the third, the Lady Pantherettes had a chance to get on the board as Lily Salazar doubled with one out. Later, Lily Rodriguez hit a double and Sala-zar tried to score at home but was tagged out.In the bottom of the fourth, Weslaco’s Kelsey Sada hit a line drive to left and brought in Abeldano to cut the Edinburg Vela lead to 2-1. The Lady Panther-ettes had an opportunity to tack on a few more runs, but left two runners on base in the inning.During the top of the fifth inning, Edinburg Vela managed to tally on two more runs to take a 4-1 lead. The two runs scored by Audrey Aguirre and Adrianna Cazares during the inning were off of wild pitches to extend their lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Pantherettes were able to tack on a run to cut the Edinburg Vela lead 4-2 off a hit to deep center to Odessa Por-

ras which brought in Lily Rodriguez.In the seventh inning, the Lady Sabercats’ put the icing on the cake

by adding another four runs to extend their lead to 8-2.

Pictured is Robert Vela HS pitcherShayla Abbott

(HSSMImages/David Saldana)


By JoshuaJuradoHSSM Sportswriter

Players of the WeekPresented by Robert Elizalde, agent

In two seasons, Garza helped leadthe La Joya-Palmview Lobos toback-to-back playo� seasons for the�rst time in school history. Garza avg16.0 points per game and also had6.0 rebounds per game this season.

JAIME GARZA, Senior 6’3 point guardPALMVIEW H.S.

Jonah led his Brownsville Porter Cowboysto a second place �nish in District 32-5Awith an overall 33-5 record. The Cowboysalso quali�ed for the State 5A Region IVTournament for the �rst time in schoolhistory. He averaged 13.0 pts, 7.0 rebounds,and four steals per game in 2012-13.

JONAH KAVANAUGH, Senior 6’2 forwardPORTER H.S.

Martinez averaged 17.0 points per game andalso netted 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals thisseason. The Lady Cardinals ended the season in third place but she helped lead her teamto the State 5A Region IV semi�nals in 2013.The Lady Cards won Bi-District, Area, andRegional Qtr titles with Alexis in the lineup.

Only a junior, named Co-MVP in District 32-3A after leading the Pirates to theirseventh district title in 12 seasons. He averaged 14 pts and 15 rebounds this season. The Pirates also advanced to theState 3A Regional Quarter �nals in 2013.

MATTHEW DILLARD, Junior 6’6 centerHIDALGO EARLY COLLEGE H.S.

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JOSE LONGORIA, Senior 6’7” centerMONTE ALTO H.S.

ALEXIS MARTINEZ, Senior 5’7” postHARLINGEN H.S.

Longoria scored an impressive 42 points to go along with 16 rebounds as the Blue Devils made school history by defeating Premont 80-74 in the Class A Bi-District round. On the season, Longoria is averaging 28 points per game and 16 rebounds a game.

(Brownsville, Tx)-State Title hopes for RGV softball teams in 2013? Even though the Brownsville Lady Cowgirls lost four key play-ers last year, they have four more that will defi-nitely be able to carry the load. Senior first base-man Bernadette Garza and junior catcher Erika Sanchez will look to help Porter defend their District 32-5A title. In District 31-5A, the Weslaco Pantherettes look to continue their rich tradition of making the playoffs and hope to avenge their Bi-District loss to Edinburg North last season. Weslaco will definitely ride the hot hand, or arm of Catcher Angela Johnson and pitcher Summer Smith. District 30-5A will probably be the toughest district yet. The Edinburg North Lady Cougars look to feed off of their success from last sea-son in hopes of returning to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past ten years. One of the main factors that will help North this season in Senior Faith Escobar. Escobar put up some impressive numbers last year (.531 batting average, eight

2013 Raymondville Lady Kats softball team members pictured l-r front are Sabrina Per-ez, Chloe Kafka, Arianna Garza, Danielle Rubalcaba, and Samantha Meza. Back row l-r are Sonya Hernandez, Arianna Garza, Miranda Esparza, Natalie Janes, Gabby Ramirez, and Vanessa Torres. Head coach is M. Villarreal. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

Softball Begins WithDistrict Favorites


2013 Brownsville Pace Viqueens softball team members pictured l-r front are Ashley Gutierrez, Tori Martinez, Connie Martinez, Tiffany Arroyo, Amanda Perez, Amy Balli, and Jessica Aguilar. Back row l-r are Trish Cavazos, America De La Cerda, Sarah Gonzalez, Briana Leal, Valeria Valdiviez, Bianka Castaneda, Cassie Gomez, and Chelsea Hernan-dez. Head coach is M. Villarreal. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

2013 La Feria Lionettes softball team members pictured l-r front are Kayla Olivarez, Mayela Bernal, Abigail Benavides, Sarah Torres, and Annette Ruiz. Back row l-r are Alecxia Ceballos, Julissa Hinojosa, Belisa Vela, Lorena Torres, Shiann Montalvo, Connie Ceballos, and Darian Leal. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

2013 Raymondville Lady Kats softball team members pictured l-r front are Sabrina Per-ez, Chloe Kafka, Arianna Garza, Danielle Rubalcaba, and Samantha Meza. Back row l-r are Sonya Hernandez, Arianna Garza, Miranda Esparza, Natalie Janes, Gabby Ramirez, and Vanessa Torres. Head coach is M. Villarreal. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

home runs, 22 extra base hits) and will have to carry the load for a team that lost six key players to graduation last year. But the Edinburg Lady Bob-cats possess one of the best pitchers in the Valley by the name of Samantha Arciba. Arciba, who signed with Prai-rie View A&M in the fall, will definitely look to lead her team back to the Sweet 16 after post-ing an impressive 1.00 ERA last year to go along with 8 strikeouts per game. The Lady Bobcats should be a contend-er for the District 30-5A title as they bring back 13 players from last season. Other 5A teams that could surprise are Weslaco East, Brownsville Pace, McAllen, McAllen Nikki Rowe, La Joya, Harlingen South, Los Fresnos, Sharyland, and Edinburg Vela. With Edcouch-Elsa in District 32-4A, pitcher Sandy Guer-rero will be the workhorse on

the mound for the Lady Jackets after posting a 9-2 record last year to go along with a 2.33 ERA. The second part of the battery is catcher Reneal Rodri-guez who was an All-District selection last year.

District 32-3A Lyford Lady Bulldogs returns some key young players after losing a couple of starters from last sea-son’s District 32-3A champion-ship season. Maggie Vasquez (SS) is one of the best players

in the Rio Grande Valley and will lead the way for her team. One huge factor that will help Lyford is the return of former Softball coach Eloy Perez who led the Lady Dogs to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.


(Austin, Tx.) – After winning 17 district titles in boys swimming and another 14 with girls, the McAllen Memorial Mustangs ad-vanced to another University Interscholastic League Swim and Diving Championship in Class 5A at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center at the University of Texas at Austin. On the boys side, McAllen Memorial advanced to the State Meet after winning their sixth consecutive regional title in Brownsville last week. Memorial’s Juan Rocha qualified for the 50 and 100 Freestyle while William Holmes qualified for the 100 Back. Coming into the State Meet, Rocha is ranked 4th in the 50 Free-style and 7th in the 100 Freestyle. Rocha has set a pool record, a school record and is an All-American Consideration in the 50 Freestyle. On the other hand, Holmes set a District 31-5A record in the 100 Back. In the 200 Medley Relay, Bryan Holmes, Christian Salinas, Juan Rocha and William Holmes will be battling for that event. In the 400 Free Relay, Javi Guerra, Aaron Longoria, William Holmes and Juan Rocha will try to win that event. McAllen Memorial finished in first at the regional meet with 330 points while Corpus Christi King came in second with 268 points.“State is always a tough meet,” said McAllen Memorial Swim-ming coach Roxanne Balducci. “You’re going against swimmers that are six feet and taller. There’s a lot of pressure for this cham-pionship final. The boys are ready to give it their best shot. We’ve

worked hard and I told them to relax and swim their best race.”On the girls side, Los Fresnos is coming in fresh off of their first-ever district title in school history. Now, they also have a regional title to brag about. Other Rio Grande Valley swimmers competing were Los Fresnos freshman Iviana Besteiro, who qualified for the 200 IM and An-drew Moreno qualified in the 500 Freestyle.“We’re excited. We are here to have fun,” said Los Fresnos Swim-ming coach Albino Cisneros. At the State 5A Swimming and Diving Championships, the McAl-len Memorial boys team finished 27th overall in points earned with 17, while Southlake Carroll won the title with 279 points. A total of 67 teams competed at the meet. In the boys 200 Medley Relay, McAllen finished 16th overall with a time of 1:43.75 while Juan Rocha de Murga captured sev-enth place in the 50 Free finals. He would also finish 16th in the Consolation finals of the 100 yard freestyle event. William Holmes brought home 16th place honors in the 100 back and in the last event of the day, the Mustangs captured 16th place in the consola-tion finals of the boys 400 Free Relay event with a time of 3:20.65. “Our teams at McAllen Memorial are dedicated and they put in a lot of hours. Our teams begin competing in the middle schools and that’s what makes this team so competitive,” says head coach Rozanne Balducci of McAllen Memorial.

State Swim Meet


Pictured are State 5A Swim Meet Qualifiers! Pictured l-r are Juan Rocha, Humberto Salazar, William L. Holmes IV, and Aaron Longoria. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

McAllen Memorial Swimmers Compete at State Meet

///////////20 HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013

McAllen MemorialMustangs

Ad Paid by McAllen Memorial Parents

2013 Class 5A State Swimming & Diving ChampionshipsLee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center (University of Texas-Austin, Tx)

Aaron Longoria2009-10 District Champion 200 IM, 100 Back stroke2010-11 District Champion 200 IM, 100 Backstroke

2011-12 District Champion 400m Relay State 5A Quali�er

2012-13 District Champion 400 Relay State 5A Quali�er

Member of McAllen Swim Club3-year lettermen

William L. Holmes IV4-year lettermen, Co-Captain Junior-Senior Year

State 5A Quali�er-4 yearsDistrict & Regional Champion

100 backstroke, 200IM relay, 400m free relayPool Record in 50m freestyle at Weslaco Aquatic Center

Ranked 30/478 with 4.05 GPAMajor: Pre-Med, Biology, chemistry

Member of McAllen Swim Club

Juan Rocha De Murga2009-10 District Champion 400m relay

2010-11 District & Regional 400m; State 5A Quali�er2011-12 Region IV Champ 50m, 100m backstroke

400m Free Relay Regional Champ All-State 5A 50m free-style2012-13 Region IV Champion

50m & 100 Free style, 400m Free-Relay200m Medley Relay; State 5A Quali�er

Member of McAllen Swim Club

Humberto Salazar4-year lettermen

2011-12 District Champ 100m Backstroke, 200IM,and 400m Free-style relay team

Region IV Finalist 100m backstrokeState 5A Quali�er-400m freestyle relay team

2012-13 District Champ 100m backstroke, 200IM, 400M Free-Style Relay team

State 5A Quali�er 400m Free Style Relay TeamMember of McAllen Swim Club

Pictured are l-rAaron Longoria,

Humberto Salazar,William L. Holmes IV, and

Juan Rocha De Murga

Top Senior Swimmers

“

It's Time forUIL State Basketball

Marchmadness

The Fans from the Rio Grande Valley Showed-up...

Joe Filoteo Jr,Class 5A Region IV Tournament Athletic Director

(Edinburg, TX) – For the first time in history, fans from the Rio Grande Val-ley drove just a few miles to watch the Region IV 5A Girls and Boys Basketball Tournament. And boy, did they show their support too. More than 6,000 fans flocked to the University of Texas-Pan American Field House to watch match ups between Harlingen-Cibolo and Weslaco-San Antonio Wagner in girls basketball. The prize? A trip to the State 5A Tournament in Austin, Texas. Steele won the tour-nament and advanced to the state tournament to be played at the Frank Erwin Center this weekend. In the past, the Region IV 5A Girls Basketball Tourna-ment has been held in San Antonio at the University of Texas-Convocation Center. The distractions proved to get hold of the Steele Lady Knights early on as they led Harlingen 12-11 after the first quarter. “These fans

here are unreal. Look at this support. This is awesome,” said Knights head coach

Kari Wallace. Valley fans will get to wit-ness one more year too with-

out having to travel to San Antonio. This year Valley fans had


///////22 HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013

RGV Plays Host To Region IV-5A Boys and Girls Basketball TournamentsRGV Plays Host To Region IV-5A Boys and Girls Basketball Tournaments

It's Time for

Marchmadness

By Joshua JuradoHSSM Sportswriter

the opportunity to see Harlingen High and Weslaco High battle in the regional tournament. After Wallace called time out, the state-ranked Cibolo Steele crushed Harlingen High 64-34, allowing just two points scored in the second quarter. In the second game, Weslaco High fell to San Antonio Wagner with a score of 58-33. Ci-bolo Steele defeated San Antonio Wagner on Saturday at the UTPA Field House in the Regional Finals. Joe Filoteo, the Region IV 5A Tournament Director, said it took a proposal made in 2008 to consider relocating the Regional Tournament from San Antonio to the Valley. “It was held in San Antonio for many years,” said Filoteo. “It has never been held in the Valley before and the fans from the Rio Grande Valley showed-up.” Filoteo is in charge of organizing the locations where the regional tournaments are held. Harlingen CISD Athletic Director Randy Cretors knows that having the Regional IV 5A Tournament in the Valley makes the distance to travel a lot shorter. “I know for a fact the kids do not sleep well in hotels,” said Cretors. “It’s keep-ing them at a normal routine. It keeps them closer to home.”Cretors knows keeping the Regional IV 5A Tournament in

the Valley gives the local teams an advantage to come out and support them. “We hope to keep this rotation from here on out,” he said. Chris King, UTPA Athletic Director, knows that having the Regional IV 5A Tournament in the Valley is great. “We would like to host this every year if we could,” said King. “It’s great for the community and the Valley.”

State 5A Region IV Champions! The Cibolo Steele Lady Knights (32-5) defeated Harlingen and San Antonio Wagner to advance to the State 5A semifinals at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Tx this weekend. They will play Pflugerville (38-0) with the winner meeting Duncanville (40-0) or League City Clear Springs (38-2). Steele head coach Kari Wallance said the “hospitality in the RGV was awesome.” HSSMImages/David Saldana

March Madness! Crazed fans show their support at the Class 5A Region IV Basketball Tournament held at the UTPA Field House. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)


RGV Plays Host To Region IV-5A Boys and Girls Basketball TournamentsRGV Plays Host To Region IV-5A Boys and Girls Basketball Tournaments

///////////24 HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013


T-Birds vs Weslaco! Ashley Ross of San Antonio Wagner dribbles past Lady Panthers, Summer Smith in the Class 5A Region IV Semifinals Tournament at the University of Texas-Pan American Field House. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

T-BirdsToo Much

The Playoffs:

WeslacoLady Panthers Lose in Region IV Semifinals

(Edinburg, Tx.) – What a season it was for the Weslaco Lady Pan-thers in 2012-13. Over coming “adversity” could best describe the Lady Panthers this past season. But last weekend, their state title hopes ended with a loss to the San Antonio Wagner Lady Thun-derbirds. The state-ranked Lady Thunderbirds dominated inside the paint all night long as they accumulated 48 rebounds on the night and were extremely aggressive underneath the basket as they move on to the next round thanks to a 58-33 victory over Weslaco in the Re-gion IV-5A Semi-Final game on Friday night at the University of Texas-Pan American. Wagner improved to 32-6 and lost to Cibolo Steele in the Regional Finals. Weslaco’s season ends at 36-3. The Lady Panthers overcame one forfeit this past season which cost them one District 31-5A win and in the first round of the state playoffs, Laura Van Tilburg went down with a devastating knee

injury. The 6’3” junior will be out for nearly eight months and will maybe, be ready for the upcoming season. The loss of Van Tilburg dimmed the Lady Panthers hopes of winning a state title. “That hurt us when Laura went down. But, overall, I’m proud of these players. It was a great season,” said Griselda Fino, head coach. At the regional semifinals, home-field advantage proved to rat-tler the T-Birds at the University of Texas-Pan American Field House. This was the first time in Rio Grande Valley history that a UIL Basketball Region IV Tournament was ever played in South Texas. And the Weslaco fans came to show their support too. Wag-

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Tough Loss! Weslaco Lady Panther teammates hug and share tears after their loss to San Antonio Wagner in the Class 5A Region IV Semifinals Tournament at the University of Texas-Pan American Field House. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

ner wasted no time getting on the board early on as they jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first quarter. This drew chants from the crazed Weslaco fans as they battled back with a three-pointer by Jazz Garza, fueling a 5-0 run which trimmed the lead to 11-7 with 7:49 left in the second quarter. However, the Lady Thunderbirds put it into cruise control as they outscored Weslaco 47-26 the rest of the way. Amber Ramirez led Wagner in scoring as she netted 15 on the night while Tesha Smith brought down 14 boards. San Antonio Wagner Head Coach Christina Camacho knew it was going to be loud due to the fact it was pretty much a home game for Weslaco. “It was nearly sold out and the crowd was wild,” said Camacho. “I told the girls they needed to just stay focused and take care of business and we were able to do that.” Weslaco Head Coach Griselda Fino said that the size definitely hurt her team. “The size was obviously a disadvantage for us,” said Fino. “We are still a 5 foot team. I am proud of the girls’ effort and they have nothing to be ashamed of. I have nothing but pride at the way these kids played. Now we will go back to the drawing board in the summer and will say farewell to the seniors and move forward,” added Fino. In the playoffs, the Lady Panthers defeated Brownsville Rivera 48-31 in bi-district followed by an upset over Sharyland 58-39. In the state regional quarterfinals, Weslaco avenged last year’s loss to Laredo Alexander, this time, winning 49-45. The Lady Panthers also won the 31-5A District title in 2013.

///////////26 HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013

Weslaco Lady Panthers

Weslaco East Lady Wildcats

Weslaco High School PrincipalIsidro Nieto

Weslaco East H.S. PrincipalSusan Peterson

Weslaco ISD SuperintendentDr. Ruben Alejandro

WISD Athletic DirectorOscar Riojas

www.WISD.us

2012-13 31-5AAAAA District Champions

Head coach:

State 5A Region IV Basketball Semi�nalists

William KromerWeslaco East Head Coach

Head coach: Griselda Fino

Weslaco H.S. Lady Panthers

31-5A District Champs5A Bi-District Champs

5A Area Champs5A Reg Qtrs Champs

Cibolo Steele Wins! Brianna Millet of Steele guards Har-lingen’s Iris Cerrillo in the Class 5A Region IV Semifinals Tournament at the University of Texas-Pan American Field House. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)


SteeleShuts down

The Playoffs:

HarlingenLady Panthers Lose in Region IV Semifinals

Too Many Turnovers Plagued Lady Cardinals(Edinburg, Tx.) – The Harlin-gen Lady Cardinals proved they could hang with the big girls in the first quarter.

Unfortunately for them, there are four quarters in basketball.Cibolo Steele fed off of Harlin-gen’s 32 turnovers on the night

and turned them into points as they rolled to a 64-34 victory in the Region IV-5A Tournament Semi-Final held at the Univer-

sity of Texas-Pan American on Friday night.With the win, the 20th ranked Lady Knights improve to 31-5 overall and will face San Anto-nio Wagner in the Regional Fi-nal on Saturday at 1 p.m. As for the second ranked Lady Cardi-nals, their season ends at 30-7.Harlingen was able to keep up with Steele in the first quarter as they kept it to a one-point game (12-11) going into the second quarter.But the second quarter was one that the Lady Cardinals would like to forget as they commit-ted nine turnovers and the Lady Knights took advantage of them as they outscored Harlin-gen 19-3 and went into the half with a 31-13 lead.

Weslaco Lady Panthers

Weslaco East Lady Wildcats

Weslaco High School PrincipalIsidro Nieto

Weslaco East H.S. PrincipalSusan Peterson

Weslaco ISD SuperintendentDr. Ruben Alejandro

WISD Athletic DirectorOscar Riojas

www.WISD.us

2012-13 31-5AAAAA District Champions

Head coach:

State 5A Region IV Basketball Semi�nalists

William KromerWeslaco East Head Coach

Head coach: Griselda Fino

Weslaco H.S. Lady Panthers

31-5A District Champs5A Bi-District Champs

5A Area Champs5A Reg Qtrs Champs

Hidalgo Early College H.S.Athletic Director

Scott FordHidalgo ISD Superintendent

Librado S. De Hoyos

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Hidalgo Early CollegeHidalgo Early Collegewww.hidalgo-isd.com2012-2013

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Since 2001...12 Straight Playo� Appearances11 Bi-District Titles 5 Area Titles 5 Region IV Qtr Finals

2006 “Sweet 16” Region IV Semi�nals

Pictured front l-r are Daniel Alday, Mike Espinoza, Frankie Sanchez, Gus Sanchez (head coach) Oscar Ruiz, Hugo Frias, and Chris Anderson. Back row l-r are Jesse Castillo, Aaron Carrasco (assistant coaches);

Reymundo Alaniz, Eric Valdez, Matt Dillard, Andy Garza, and assistant coaches, Eric Garcia, Tony Frias.

Hidalgo Early CollegeHigh School PrincipalDomingo Villarreal III

29///////HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013

Hidalgo Early College H.S.Athletic Director

Scott FordHidalgo ISD Superintendent

Librado S. De Hoyos

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Hidalgo Early CollegeHidalgo Early Collegewww.hidalgo-isd.com2012-2013

Seven-Time District Basketball Champions!2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013

Since 2001...12 Straight Playo� Appearances11 Bi-District Titles 5 Area Titles 5 Region IV Qtr Finals

2006 “Sweet 16” Region IV Semi�nals

Pictured front l-r are Daniel Alday, Mike Espinoza, Frankie Sanchez, Gus Sanchez (head coach) Oscar Ruiz, Hugo Frias, and Chris Anderson. Back row l-r are Jesse Castillo, Aaron Carrasco (assistant coaches);

Reymundo Alaniz, Eric Valdez, Matt Dillard, Andy Garza, and assistant coaches, Eric Garcia, Tony Frias.

Hidalgo Early CollegeHigh School PrincipalDomingo Villarreal III

“We switched to a half court trap in the second quarter and were able to limit the shot selection for Harlingen,” said Cibolo Steele Head Coach Kari Wallace. “Also we were able to get into an of-fensive rhythm from there.”Cibolo Steele didn’t let up in the second half as they outscored Harlingen 33-21 from there. Baylor commit McKenzie Calvert was the leading scorer on the night as she ended up with 22 on the night.“That second quarter killed us,” said Harlingen Head Coach Nora Zamarripa. “We turned the ball over way too much and Cibolo outscored us 19-2 and couldn’t bounce back from there.”“But I am proud of the season we had and will hope for a different outcome next year.”Alexis Martinez, who played her last game in a Lady Cardinals uniform, ended up with 10 on the night and was glad to end her career close to home.“It feels good to be able to play here in front of our hometown fans,” said an emotional Martinez. “It really meant a lot to me to be able and get one last game in close to home.”

Bi-District Feb 11-12Los Fresnos 44 PSJA North 39

Del Rio 62 Ed North 49

Edinburg 70 Laredo Johnson 44

Weslaco East 47 Harlingen 53

Weslaco 48 Brownsville Rivera 31

Sharyland Laredo United

Edinburg Vela 61Laredo Alexander 70

Harlingen South 49McAllen Nikki Rowe 52

Area Playoffs Feb 14-16Los Fresnos 41

Del Rio 30

Harlingen 52 Edinburg 30

Weslaco 58 Sharyland 39

La Alexander 65 Nikki Rowe 34

Reg Qtrs Feb 18-19Weslaco 49 La Alexander 45Harlingen 36 Los Fresnos 20

Region IV TournamentFebruary 22-23

Cibolo Steele 64 Harlingen 34SA Wagner 58 Weslaco 33

Class 5A State BasketballPlayoffs Region IV-Girls


Bi-District Feb 11-12MissionVets 37 Laredo Cigarroa 40

CC Flour Bluff 48 Roma 31CC Ray 78 Ed-Elsa 30 CC Moody Mercedes


Bi-District Feb 11-12Raymondville 54

La Feria 53

Port Isabel 34 Lyford 48

Area Feb 14-16Rio Hondo 46 Lytle 35Lyford 30 West Oso 60

Raymondville 28 Hondo 58

Reg Qtrs Feb 18-19Rio Hondo 21 West Oso 38

Class 1A-DII State BasketballPlayoffs Region IV-Girls

Area Feb 18-19San Perlita 46 Knippa 82

Class 1A-DI State BasketballPlayoffs Region IV-Girls

Area Feb 18-19La Villa 10 Shiner 73

Bi-District Feb 11-12Lasara 62 Woodsboro 65

Santa Maria 21 Ben Bolt 36

The 2013 Playoffs ResultsGirls Basketball


Great Season! Both Edinburg Vela and Edinburg North clinched playoff berths. Pictured is Natalie Alaniz from North H.S. guarding Vela H.S., Emily Azubell. Top photo are La Villa’s Connie Martinez and Santa Maria’s Melissa Morales. Both teams also clinched playoff berths in Class 1A. (HSSMIm-ages/David Saldana)

More Basketball Playoff Action

Vela, North Both Get First Round Wins; La Villa, Santa Maria Clinch Playoff Spots(Edinburg, Tx)-Edinburg Vela High School clinched its first ever playoff berth in girls basketball, along with Edinburg and Edin-burg North in District 30-5A. But for the Lady Sabercats, their playoff run lasted only one round as they lost to Laredo Alexander 70-61 in the State 5A Bi-District championships. “I wished we could have made more free throws,” said head coach Lottie Zarate. Edinburg North also fell short with a first round loss to Del Rio

62-49, while Edinburg, the District 30-5A champion (14-2) won 70-44 over Laredo Johnson. The Lady Bobcats would lose in the second round to Harlingen 52-30 to end its season. In Class 1A Division I, the La Villa Lady Cardinals drew a first round bye while Santa Maria lost in the opening round to Ben Bolt 36-21. Lasara also lost to Woodsboro in a close one, 65-62. In the area playoffs, the Lady Cardinals were stopped by Shiner 73-10. Two Class 1A Divisions are played in the state basketball playoffs.

///////////30 HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013

(Weslaco, Tx.) – The Browns-ville Porter Cowboys were hot as a pistol on Tuesday night.Porter played extremely ag-gressive underneath the basket as they pulled out a 67-51 vic-tory over McAllen Rowe in the Class 5A Regional Quarterfi-nals game held at Weslaco East High School. With the win, the third ranked Cowboys improve to 33-5 and will face San Antonio Brandeis


PorterUpsets No.1

The Playoffs:

Nikki RoweCowboys Headed to State 5A Region IV Tournament

in the Class 5A Region IV Semifinals which begins Friday at the University of Texas at Pan American. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. As for the top ranked Warriors, their season ends at 31-5. “The kids believed that their season wasn’t going to end tonight and we are able to ad-vance to the Regional Tourna-ment,” said Porter Head Coach Luis Garza. “We didn’t shoot

the three-ball real well and to be honest with you, I think that Rowe probably shot from there better than we did.”“These guys are fighter’s man and believe that they will be playing in Austin.” The “Porter Nation” will now represent the Rio Grande Val-ley as the only and first team, to play in the regional tournament hosted by the Rio Grande Val-ley for the first time in history.

“We made history,” said Garza. “We will be the first team to play in South Texas in a region-al meet.” In the playoffs, the Cowboys easily defeated San Benito 69-51 in the bi-district round fol-lowed by a surprise upset of Del Rio in the area playoffs 68-62. But against the top-ranked team from the Rio Grande Val-ley, the momentum carried as the Cowboys stopped Rowe in the end. Porter players Jonathan Mar-tinez and Jonah Kavanaugh were key factors in their first come back against Rowe. Trail-ing 17-16 with 6:36 left in the second quarter, the Cowboys scored the remainder of their points underneath the basket as they outscored Rowe 12-7 the rest of the way and went into the half with a 28-24 lead.“Porter did a good job on de-fense tonight and deserved the win,” said Rowe Head Basket-ball Coach Jose Yebra. “I wish them the best of luck at region-als.” As for Porter, the dream season continues.

Headed to the Regional Tournament! The Brownsville Porter Cowboys qualified for the State 5A Region IV Basket-ball Tournament this weekend in Edinburg. They will be the first team ever from the Rio Grande Valley to play in this tournament hosted by this region at the UTPA Field House. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

1 Blvd. of Champions/Sams Stadium 956.548.8261 www.BISD.us

Mark Guess, Director of Athletics

2012 Bi-District Champions 2012 Area FinalistsDistrict 32-5A Playo� Quali�er HSSM Coach of the Year-David Cantu

PORTER

2013 State 5ARegional Quarter FinalistArea ChampionsBi-District Champions

Head Coach: Luis Garza

2012-13 Team Roster

32-5A Runner-Ups

Eric Martinez Gio BentacourtMoises Hernandez Martin De Los Santos

Hugo Salazar David Pizana Jonathan Martinez

Eli Martinez Jonah KavanaughHerbie Eckersley

Overall Record: 31-5District 32-5A: 13-3

32-5A

Porter HS Athletic CoordinatorHector Garcia Porter HS Principal: Liz Valdez

RGCISDRio Grande CityConsolidated Independent School DistrictRio Grande CityConsolidated Independent School District

Learn Today. Succeed Tomorrow! Fort Ringgold, Rio Grande City,Texas 78582 956-716-6700

BasketballBi-District Champions!

Area Finalists

2013 State 3A

Pictured front l-r are Luis Cantu, Ryan Zamora, Aaron Gutierrez, Mark Garcia, Jose Salad, Jesus Herrera, and Omar Nedzelsky. Back row l-r are Nacho Mejorado, Joe Ramos (head coach), Leo Martinez, Edgar Solis, David Mendiola, Jose Solis, Juan Hernandez, and Eddie Anzaldua. Assistant coaches Rodriguez and Gonzalez.

RGCCISD Superintendent-Roel Gonzalez RGCCISD Director of Athletics-Rey Ramirez

Principal-Joel Trigo Jr.Athletic Coordinator-Abel Gonzalez

Female Athletic Coordinator-Cita Jimenez

Principal-Adolfo Pena Jr.Athletic Coordinator-Carlos Longoria

Female Athletic Coordinator-Nicole Smedley

www.rgccisd.org

Wrestling Head CoachRonald Pratt

Boys BasketballHead CoachJoe Ramos

2013 State 4A

Lisa Gonzalez, Rio Grande City High School, Senior

WrestlingChampion!

Wrestling Regional Quali�ers

2013 State 4A

Front row: Julissa Alvarado, Alexandra Zurita, Anissa Galvan, Lisa Gonzalez, Maria Acevedo, Mayra GonzalezBack row: Victor Trevino, Noe Reyes, Steven de la Cruz, Paul Briceno, Andrew Pratt, JR Briceno, Alex Barreto, Orlando Garcia, Valentin Cantu, Humberto RodriguezNot Pictured: Alouette Gonzalez

Grulla HS Wrestling State Quali�ers!

Pictured are Christina Silva, Sa�ra Perez and head coach Oscar Ozuna.

Not pictured is Jackie Barrera

Special thanks to RGCCISD School Board meeting Basilio D. Villarreal Jr (president), Roberto Gutierrez (VP), Cesar Gonzalez (Secretary); Board members Leonel Lopez, Ruben Klein, and Daniel J. Garcia.



5A Bi-District Champions! Harlingen South head coach Brian Molina cuts down the nets after their win over PSJA North. (HSSMImages/David Saldana)

Bi-District Feb 18-19Harlingen South 67

PSJA North 54

Laredo United 70Edinburg 42

Edinburg North 76Laredo United So 70

McAllen Memorial 55Harlingen 43

McAllen Nikki Rowe 67Los Fresnos 44

Sharyland 50Laredo Alexander 81

Del Rio 79Palmview 42

Brownsville Porter 69San Benito 51

Area Playoffs Feb 21-23Harlingen South 41Laredo United 64

Edinburg North 67McAllen Memorial 56

McAllen Nikki Rowe 67Laredo Alexander 52

Porter 68Del Rio 68

Reg Qtrs Feb 25-26Laredo United Edinburg North

McAllen Nikki Rowe 51 Bro Porter 67

Region IV TournamentMarch 1-2

Porter vs SA BrandeisLaredo United vs Cibolo

Class 5A State BasketballPlayoffs Region IV-Boys


Bi-District Feb 18-19Roma 57 CC Flour Bluff 52Valley View 41 CC Ray 72

Laredo Nixon 73Mercedes 45

CC Miller 67Mission Veterans 42

Area Feb 21-23Roma 66 Floresville 56 2OT

Reg Qtrs Feb 25-26Roma 43

Port Lavaca-Calhoun 57


Bi-District Feb 18-19Raymondville 55La Feria 59 OT

Rio Hondo 37RGC-Grulla 46

Area Feb 21-23RGC-Grulla 32 Hondo 63

Hidalgo 61 Sinton 50CC West Oso 74 La Feria 28

Reg Qtrs Feb 25-26Hidalgo 44 CC West Oso 59


Area Feb 21-23Santa Rosa 31 SA Randolph 54

CC West Oso 74 La Feria 28

Class 1A-DII State BasketballPlayoffs Region IV-Boys

Area Feb 21-23San Isidro 63 Leakey 61

Bi-District Feb 18-19San Perlita 36 Waelder 58

Reg Qtrs Feb 25-26San Isidro 34 D’Hanis 59

Class 1A-DI State BasketballPlayoffs Region IV-Boys

Area Feb 21-23Santa Maria 45 Weimar 56

Monte Alto 61 Shiner 59

Bi-District Feb 18-19Monte Alto 81 Premont 74La Villa 53 Woodsboro 66

Reg Qtrs Feb 25-26Monte Alto 47 Port Aransas 84

David Keith of Sharyland watch his Rattlers lose in the first round of the state play-offs.(HSSMImages/David Amador)

Kevin Andrade of the Roma Gladiators led his team to the 4A Region IV Quarterfi-nals. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

Valley View H.S. Jerry Flores led his team to the playoffs for the first time in history. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

McAllen Memorial AJ Sal-dana led his team 5A Bi-Dis-trict title after six playoff tries.(HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

More Basketball Playoff Action

Valley View Makes History With Playoff Berth(Pharr, Tx)-Just call him Mr. Basketball! First-year head coach Arnold Martinez led the-Valley View Tigers to it’s first playoff berth in Class 4A. The

Tiger’s playoff run did not last long as they met Corpus Christi Ray in the first round and lost 72-41. “We had a great season. This season was special be-

cause I had the chance to coach my two sons,” added Martinez. After six straight first round losses, the 31-5A runner-ups McAllen Memorial Mustangs

defeated Harlingen in the Class 5A Bi-District playoffs while Roma advanced to the third round of the State 4A Region IV quarterfinals.


One OneOnI N T E R V I E W

Larry Gibsonwith

HSSM Assistant Sports Director John Cannon sat down with Brownsville Vet-erans Memorial Head Boys Basketball Coach Larry Gibson and talks about his high school career in coaching basketball.

HSSM: Tell us a little bit about your playing days in High School?

Gibson: I played high school ball at Houston Sterling as a Forward from 1969-1973. I averaged 23 points a game as a Senior and was a First Team All-City selection.

HSSM: What about your college career?

Gibson: I started play-ing college ball at Ranger Junior College in ‘73 and was a First-Team All Con-ference Selection as well as an Honorable Mention All-American. Then I went to McMurray University in Abilene and also was a First-Team All-Conference player plus an All-American my Junior year. I graduated

in 1979.

HSSM: What did you end up doing after college?

Gibson: I was hired as an Assistant Basketball Coach at McMurray University and was there from 1979-1983.

HSSM: When did you get your first Head Basketball Coaching job?

Gibson: It was in 1984 at Anahuac High School.

HSSM: I understand you went back to coach at the Collegiate level. Is that true?

Gibson: Yes I did. I became the Head Boys and Girls coach at Ranger Junior Col-lege in 1984 and was there until 1991. Then, I went to Texas A&M-Kingsville and became an Assistant Coach in 1991 and was there until 1994.

HSSM: Did you return to coaching at the High School level?

Gibson: Yes I did. I came

to Pace High School in 1994 and got a job and was there for 17 years before accepting the job at Brownsville Veterans in 2011.

HSSM: So what brought down to the RGV?

Gib-son: I went to recruit a kid at Hanna when I was as Texas A&M-Kingsville and I remember the gym at Pace high school, who Hanna was playing that night was packed. I really enjoyed the area here and wanted to get a coaching job here.

HSSM: Do you feel athletes in the Rio Grande Valley can ever compete at the state level?

Gibson: Absolutely.

HSSM: So how much lon-ger you plan on coaching?

Gibson: I would like to get three more years in if I can. (he laughs) ...we’ll see...

///////////34 HSSM/FEBRUARY 2013

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