High School Sports Magazine-March 2008 Issue

Volume 4 Issue 2

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March 19-April 20, 2008

>>District Golf Championships >>On the Sidelines with TDDAVE

<<<PLUS>>> Rio Grande City Stephen Saenz Destined to Win RGV Track & Field Results

<<INSIDE>> Softball Baseball Previews Top Teams

Basketball Playoff Results

TRACK & FIELD 2.99 U.S. Dollars

RGV Tracksters Making their Marks

2008 C copyright

March 19, 2008

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Volume 4 Issue 2 March 19, 2008

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Vol 4 Issue 2 March 19, 2008

Contents Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

TASO Member Carl Childress takes a good look at the batter from the pitcher’s mound.

(HSSM IMages)

9 Destined to Win Rio Grande City’s Stephen Saenz is nationally-ranked and the best in Texas. By David A. Amador

14 District Begins HSSM ranks the Top Ten Baseball Teams in the Valley.

17 Softball Top 10 Mercedes takes the top spot with La Joya Lady Coyotes closing in.

F E A T U R E S

19 Looking Back Harlingen South’s Cinderella Season in State 5A Finals.

By David A. Amador

21 Basketball Valley Teams end season in San Antonio Reg IV Tournament.

HSSMSPORTSTEAM

27 On the Sidelines Golf is not a sport?

By David A. Amador

28 Golf Tees Off Valley Teams Ready for district tournaments coming up.

On the Cover: Tricia Terry-McAllen Memorial; Mishak Rivas-Weslaco; Lorena Rios-PSJA; Stephen Saenz-RGC; Alyssa Sanchez-Sharyland/ HSSM IMages/Alec. Amador/David A. Amador

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New Location Coming in 2008. Bigger and Better!

Destined B Y D A V I D A. A M A D O R

H.S. TRACK & FIELD

To Win (Mission, Tx)-He’s soft spoken and sports that milliondollar smile. He’s dealt with two injuries while playing football and has called it quits since then. Now, he has his sights on winning a state title in the discus throw and shot put events this May 9-10th at the Mike Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. Stephen Saenz is only a junior at Rio Grande City High School. This 17 year-old says that he is “determined to win it all” and has dedicated his time to making sure he accomplishes his goals too.

Saenz started to discover his talent with the help of Rio Grande City head coach Larry Howell just a few years ago. Last year, Saenz qualified for the State 5A Track and Field Championships.

There, he placed fourth in the discus throw with a toss of 168’11” and then brought home the Silver Medal in the shot put event with a heave of 58’00”. “This was special to me because I was only a sophomore and I competed with the best in Texas,” says Saenz. Not only did Saenz compete with the best, he also went up against Michael Barbas of Jersey Nationally Ranked.

Stephen Saenz of Rio Grande City H.S. is setting high marks in the discus and shotput events.

(HSSM Images) HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE

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DESTINED TO WIN-H.S. TRACK & FIELD Village High School. Barbas, a junior last year, finished second in the discus with a throw of 173’0” and then Barbas took the Bronze Medal in the shot put with a toss of 57’03”. Maybe this is why Saenz remains focused on 2008. Saenz will go up against Barbas again, as anticipated, at the state meet.

The Rio Grande City native is drawing lots of interest from Division I schools like LSU, Stanford, and UCLA. “UCLA really wants me to sign with them. They keep calling, wanting updated information from track meets I attend,” adds Saenz. Not only is Saenz regarded a s Gem on the field, he is also a Top 2 0 student. “He ranks 16th out of a class of 600 students. His GPA is well above a 94.0 overall,” said Howell. His throwing coach also pointed out that this i s why Saenz i s d r a w i n g so

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much interest from Division I universities. “He made up his mind to practice. He works tremendously in the weight room. He also works 365 days a year. A student who ranks high in his class and then has the talent to achieve greatness on the field is considered priceless,” added Howell. On January 19th, Saenz tested his abilities at the Carl Lewis Invitational held at the Yeoman Field house at the University of Houston. Saenz finished third in the shot put event with a toss of 59’0” and Barbas was right there with him and would win the event with a mark of 62’4”. Barbas has since signed with Duke University of a track and field scholarship. A big improvement since last year’s Texas Relays held in Austin where the Rattler would throw 154’11” in the discus event, good enough for ninth. Barbas finished 10th with a mark of 153’11”.

According to Howell, Saenz currently ranks fourth nationally in the shot put by ½ inch and in the discus, he is ranked fifth. Saenz has been on a th tear since January 19 . “I’ve been coaching for 40 years and Saenz brought me back to coaching again, after retiring numerous of times,” laughs

portsmagazine.net

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE

Howell. Saenz will stress that he hates losing that’s why he practices so much.

He also mentions that speed and technique is so important when you throw either object. “You have to have strong legs,” he added. Howell believes Saenz is the best thrower he’s coached since he first began his career in 1966.

He stands six-foot-two inches and weighs 220 lbs. To date, Saenz threw a career best of 63’11” in the shot put at the McAllen Relays and then had his best throw of 179’7” in the discus at the Donna Relays. At the Stark Relays, Saenz wore a Rattler T-Shirt, which said, “Destined to Win”. Both throws this season have since, surpassed Barbas and now, Saenz wants to bring home the gold.

HSSM IMages David A. Amador

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Burger King Meet of Champions

March 28-29th

(McAllen, Texas)-The Rio Grande Valley Coaches Association’s Meet of Champions sponsored by Burger King-Hart Restaurants on March 28-29th with begin with the prelims at Sharyland H.S. and the finals at McAllen Memorial Veterans Stadium.

This meet will feature the best track and field players from the Valley. Senior Cassandra Larios of Harlingen South leads the way in three events: 100m hurdles 14.47; triple jump 37’5”; and high jump 5’5”. Another top athlete is junior Tricia Terry from McAllen Memorial H.S. The talented runner has been dominant throughout the season in the 1600m (5:09.31) and the 3200m (11:24.35). She expects to make another trip back to state with hopes of winning a gold medal in both events. Last year, Terry missed her gold medal by one second in the 1600m with a second place finish time of 5:03.13.

In the 3200m run, she finished fourth with a time of 11:05.59. On the boys side, Weslaco’s Mishak Rivas (Texas State recruit) will be favored in the long jump, 100m, and 200m run. Rivas will also run the leg in the 3200m run.

Top Hurdler. Cassandra Larios from Harlingen South will be competing at the Burger King/HRMI Meet of Champions on March 28-29th at McAllen Memorial Veterans Stadium. (HSSM IMages/Alec Amador)

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HSSM Baseball Polls

Chris Vela Weslaco H.S.

Bryan Garza Harlingen South H.S.

Adrian Leal McAllen H.S.

Top Ten Action

District Begins (McAllen, Texas)-Andre Rodriguez hit a towering homerun to lead the Sharyland Rattlers (16-1, 1-0) to their first victory in District 30-5A by shutting out McAllen Memorial 20-0. Rattler pitcher, Mike Medrano (3-0) held the Mustangs scoreless as the Rattlers came alive in the bottom of the fifth inning scoring seven innings. Medrano would finished the night with seven strikeouts and no walks. With the win, the Rattlers take the No.1 ranking in High School Sports Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top Ten Polls. Head coach Bart Bickerton is hoping that his Rattlers will make a strong statement early on with hopes of making it to the State 5A Tournament.

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HSSM Baseball Polls Last year, the Rattlers lost to state finalist, Harlingen South in a three-game series (7-8, 5-8. 5-4) in the area championships. That loss still haunts the Rattlers.

Other non-district wins have been against Laredo United 18-5, Brownsville Lopez 30, and Edinburg Economedes 24-3. South lost to Cypress Fairbanks in the state finals 62. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to make it to state this year,â&#x20AC;? says Medrano. The state tournament is slated for June 4-7th at Dell Diamond in Round Rock and Dish-Faulk Field in Austin.

At No.2, the 2007 30-5A District Champions, La Joya Coyotes will create havoc for the Rattlers because both teams are from District 305A. Recently, the Coyotes showed dominance by handing the No.1 Rattlers their only loss (8-6) of the season in the La Joya Tournament but the Coyotes know that district is a long season.

In 2007, La Joya eliminated Eagle Pass (11-0, 6-2) in the first round of the state playoffs and then knocked off highlytouted Brownsville Porter (2-1, 11-1), before falling to McAllen High School in the State 5A Regional Quarterfinals in three games

(12-0, 0-4, 9-1). La Joya junior pitcher Miguel Pena is already drawing interest from Major League Baseball scouts after finishing with an impressive 11-2 record and 0.59 ERA in 2007. He was also named Co-MVP in District 30-5A. Head coach Reuben Farias understands that his team will be getting a lot of attention from stands as pro scouts sit in with their MPH guns.

The No.3 ranking goes to Edinburg High School. After taking No.1 Sharyland to the limits, despite losing 5-4 in the PEN Classic last week, the Bobcats are for real and will be the team to beat in District 31-5A. Michael Barajas, Mike Kasprzynski, and Andrew Silva lead the Bobcats in 2008 with hopes of making it back to the playoffs.

Last year, the Bobcats were shutout by Brownsville Porter (3-0) in the first round. On the mound, Ricky Villarreal struck out 10 batters in their 18-3 district win over Edinburg Economedes (4-12, 0-2). Silva went 3-for-4 at the plate and scored 3 RBIs for the Bobcats.

Coming in at No.4 are the Brownsville Porter Cowboys. Pitcher Henry Garcia is already 3-0 for the

Henry Garcia Brownsville Porter H.S.

John Martinez Weslaco East H.S.

HSSM Baseball Polls

season and he was superb on the mound as he struck out 18 batters in their 11-1 win over Brownsville Pace. The Cowboys blanked Edinburg 3-0 in the first round of the state playoffs in Class 5A but fell to La Joya in a two game sweep in 2007.

At Weslaco, the A.N. “Tony” Rico Baseball Classic sent the Cowboys a strong message with Weslaco beating Porter 12-7 in the championship game. The Cowboys made it to the finals with wins over Edcouch-Elsa 6-3, Laredo Nixon 3-0, and Weslaco East 11-0. Since then, the Cowboys are 1-0 in 32-5A with Weslaco challenging for the title.

At No.5, the 32-5A runnerup Weslaco Panthers almost made the best of their magical 2007 season when they split 16

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games with state-finalists, Harlingen South in the State 5A Regional Quarterfinals (2-1, 4-5, 12-3), losing in the third game. “That was magical,” says head coach Eddie Serna of Weslaco. “I still keep wondering what would have happened if we would have beaten Harlingen South,” adds Serna.

In 2008, the Panthers have won two baseball tournaments, including their own Tony Rico Tournament by outlasting No. 4 Porter 12-7 in the finals. Junior ace Dylan De Leon leads the Panthers on the mound and in hitting too.

Against MMA, De Leon smacked a two-run homer over the right field fence to lead his team to a 17-1 victory. “Our bats are bigger this year and we are hitting

New Season-The Harlingen Cardinals will lineup (l-r) Jared Miller, JB Gutierrez, Jordan Sanchez, and John Valdez. (HSSM IMages) and scoring,” says Serna. So far he’s been right too. The Panthers have posted wins over MMA (17-1), EdcouchElsa (14-5), Edinburg North (10-4), and Laredo Nixon (12-2). Rounding our the

HSSM Top Ten Polls are No.6 PSJA, No.7 McAllen, No.8 Brownsville Lopez, No.9 Edinburg North, and at No.10 are the Harlingen South Hawks. For more, log on to: www.hssmonline.net

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HSSM Softball Polls

Mercedes, La Joya, Take Top HSSM Spots

(Mercedes, Tx)-Surprise, the Mercedes Lady Tigers are the new High School Sports Magazine’s No.1 team in the Rio Grande Valley and ranking that is much deserving for this Class 4A team.

Head coach Betty Morrell has watched her team come on strong by posting an impressive 16-4 overall record and most recently, a big win over Mission H.S. in 32-4A competition.

The win puts the Lady Tigers in first place, tied with Mission Veterans Memorial.

The three-time defending champs were solid on the mound with pitcher Jessy Cadena (nine strikeouts) and Sam Ramirez, who both went 2-for-4 on hits to lead the Lady Tigers in the 8-3 win.

But, it was Alyssa Posada’s homerun to left field that sealed the Lady Tiger’s victory.

At No.2, the La Joya Lady Coyotes will be favored to take the 30-5A title and so far they are 2-0 in district

and post an impressive 134 record. Last year, La Joya advanced to the Class 5A Region IV semifinals, losing to San Antonio Taft in two games. The Lady Coyotes

posted wins over Eagle Pass Winn (8-0), Weslaco (0-1, 94, 19-4), and Eagle Pass (1-3, 3-2, 7-0) to reach the regional semifinals in 2007. The PSJA North Lady Raiders should

be the team to beat as they return with a nucleus of players with experience, especially on the mound.

At No.3, the Lady Raiders were ousted from the state

Out!-The No.1 Mercedes Lady Tigers are the top team in the HSSM Polls.

(HSSM IMages)

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HSSM Softball Polls

Softball Aces.-Pictured l-r are Lorena Rios of PSJA; Jenna Montemayor, McAllen Rowe; and Nikki Cavazos of Weslaco. (HSSM IMages)

playoffs in the third round by Laredo Nixon in a one game series. Coming at No.4 are the Brownsville Porter Lady Cowgirls and head coach Luis Guevara feels that this could be the team that will get them back to the Class 5A Regional Tournament. The Lady Cowgirls made an early exit from the state playoffs, losing to Edinburg North (40, 11-3). The Cowgirls have district titles from 20042006 are are led by Abby Martinez, Rocio Valles, and Kory Flores. The Lady Cowgirls defeated the No.1 ranked team, Mercedes in the BISD Softball Festival 10-0.

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At No.5, San Benito (14-4) will give Porter trouble as they return plenty of starters from last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 32-5A title team. The defending champs knocked off Los Fresnos 21 to up their district record to 3-0 and head coach Elias Martinez feels that this game could have gone either way.

Sophomore JoAnn Herrera gave up three hits and struck out five batters. Blanche Trevino and Amanda Garza provide most of the fire power for the Lady Greyhounds.

The rest of the Top Ten teams are Los Fresnos, Sharyland, Raymondville, Edinburg, and Weslaco.

Looking Back-2007 UIL Baseball 5A Finals

We Made It!-More than 6,000 Valley Fans traveled to Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas to watch the Harlingen South-Cypress Fairbanks State 5A Baseball Finals in 2007.

(HSSM IMages)

Class 5A

Finalist!

The Cinderella Team-Harlingen South

The Cinderella team in 2007 had to have been the 31-5A Harlingen South Hawks, who made it, without expectations from the any poll out there in the state of Texas to the State 5A Finals. They played in Round Rock, Texas in a Triple AAA field called Dell Diamond. More than 6,000

By David A. Amador, HSSM Sports Director HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE

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For more sports: www.highschoolsportsmagazine.net fans, mostly, from the Rio Grande Valley filled the stands on this sunny, hot, summer afternoon to watch the Hawks take the field against Houston Cypress-Fairbanks in the state finals. No other Valley team had ever made it to the finals. This would be a first.

Head coach Tony Leal of the Hawks guided his Hawks to victory with a pitching rotation, led by senior Danny Gidora.

“That was sweet and unforgettable. I will never forget this

IV semifinals, the Hawks drove to Laredo, but destiny seemed to be knocking early on as their bus went down with mechanical problems. “Luckily, our parents and fans gave us rides to the Laredo SAC field. I thought that bad luck was about to start for us,” says Leal. The Hawks would defeat Austin Westlake in two games 6-0, 12-1 to advance to the Region IV finals against Corpus Christi Carroll.

The Hawks knew that the Tigers were coming off a tough

2007 State 5A Finalist! Harlingen South team members pictured wearing their UIL Silver Medals and Trophy are Joey Reyna, Randy Cavazos, Peter Maldonado, Logan Brown, Michael Johnson, Javier Torres, Sean Messick, Joey Garcia, Danny Gidora, Andrew Huerta, Kaleb Bryan, Adrian Ramon, Josh Martinez, Jonathan Salas, Steven Mata, Johnathon Lopez, Daniel Cardenas, and Cody Thompson. Coaches are Tony Leal, Jesse Landeros, Rolando Ruiz, and Ignacio Medina. (HSSM IMages) feeling. We just opened up the doors for other Valley teams to get here,” said Leal.

The Hawks started their playoff run to the state tournament by facing Laredo Alexander in the first round, winning 12-2, 10-1. Their next game would determined what destiny these Hawks would face, and sure enough, their destiny was met with victory by handing Sharyland a three-game loss. “That win was the critical point for both teams and we played hard in that series,” added Leal.

South would again, move on to meet another tough Valley team and the Hawks, again had to go three-games to beat Weslaco in the State 5A Regional Quarterfinals. In the Region 20

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third round three-game series against McAllen H.S. (4-7, 43, 5-1). Many Valley fans were waiting for the first Valley match-up between McAllen-Harlingen South, a match-up,that would have guaranteed a state tournament berth for either squad. The Tigers proved that they were tired as the Hawks won 7-1, 7-2.

At Dell Diamond, pitching ace Danny Gidora sat quietly and told HSSM “what a sight this was” and smiled as he watch from the left field stands before their game against Midland Lee. Gidora would pitch the game of his life, making history.

The Hawks had made it to the State 5A Finals. The Cinderella season was over. Cypress-Fairbanks won

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Class 5A Regionals SA Madison Slows Down Edinburg Bobcats

(San Antonio, Tx)- The Edinburg Bobcats just kept coming and coming, until the game clock ran out of time as the Bobcats lost to San Antonio Madison 7873 in the Class 5A Regional Semifinals played at the University of Texas-San Antonio Convocation Center. Edinburg ended its season at 32-4 while Madison (31-7) moved on to play Converse Wagner in the Region IV final.

Madison continued its bid for a state title with a win over Wagner (62-59) but the Mavericks would fall short, losing to eventual state champion North Tough Loss! SA Madison drove past Edinburg in the State 5A Regional semifinals. (HSSM IMages)

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State Basketball Playoffs-5A Regional Tournament Crowley 55-46 in the state semifinals.

If their was an MVP on this night, it would have to have been awarded to Edinburgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jonathan Chapa as he cut Madisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead to 61-58 with 6:26 left. He scored 13 in the final frame as Edinburg outscored Madison 21-17 in the fourth.

Chapa finished with a game-high 24 points and Noe De La Rosa added 14, Harper led Madison with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

SA Wagner 93 McHi 64 (San Antonio, Tx)-The McAllen High Bulldogs were glad to be there and vowed to be back despite losing to Converse Wagner 93-64 in the Class 5A regional semifinals at

the UTSA Convocation Center. McHi ends its season at 28-10. Wagner (35-3) advanced to face San Antonio Madison in the Region IV final and lost to the Mavericks.

The T-Birds had too much size and speed with a plenty of senior experience; the Bulldogs on the other hand, started five underclassmen, three were sophomores.

As a result, McHi was forced to 10 turnovers and Wagner hit seven 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes.

The Bulldogs trailed 6344 late in the third. Avila finished with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds, but scored just two points in the fourth quarter. Cory Pace added 13 points for McHi. Marlon Smith led six Thunderbirds in double digits with 16 points.

Aaron Thomas added 15 points.

Bi-District Champs! J.J. Avila Jr. of McAllen H.S. led the Bulldogs past the Laredo United Longhorns in the Class 5A Bi-District championships. The Bulldogs advanced to the Class 5A Regional tournament in 2008. (HSSM IMages)

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State Basketball Playoffs-5A Regional Tournament

Class 5A Regional Semifinals McAllen H.S. Blocked by SA Wagner (San Antonio, Tx)- “This win is awesome and they (McAllen) played their hearts out,” said San Antonio Wagner High School head coach Christina Camacho after their 65-43 win over the McAllen Lady Bulldogs in the Class 5A Regional Semifinals played the at University of Texas-San Antonio Convocation Center.

The second-year high school from the Converse-

Judson school district, Wagner, would go on and win the Class 5A Region Four Tournament to advance to the UIL State 5A Semifinals t in Austin.

The Lady Bulldogs could not contain senior posts Breanna Brock (6’2) and Amber Roberson (6’3) as they led the Lady Thunderbirds (36-1) to the state tournament.

Roberson led Wagner with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.

For McAllen, this was head coach Teresa Casso’s first trip back to the regional tournament in twenty-five years as she watched her players Rebecca Valdez, score 16 points, and grab 12 rebounds for McHi (355) and Andi Garza was held to eight points and was blocked six times.

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Blocked! San Antonio Wagner’s Amber Roberson, 6’3” and Breanna Brock (left) both block a shot by McAllen H.S. Rebecca Valdez in the Class 5A Regional IV Semifinals in San Antonio. (HSSM IMages)

Too Tall! San Antonio Wagner’s Amber Roberson, 6’3” guards McAllen H.S. Damaris Rodriguez 5’5”, as the T-Birds handed the Lady Bulldogs a 65-43 loss in the Class 5A Regional IV Semifinals in San Antonio. (HSSM IMages)

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State Basketball Playoffs-5A Regional Tournament

Class 5A Regional Semifinals SA Madison Too Much for Lady Hawks (San Antonio, Tx)-Head coach Dawn Engleman of the Harlingen South Hawks sat helplessly on the bench as she watched her Lady Hawks lose to San Antonio Madison 72-51 in the Class 5A Region Four Semifinals played at the University of TexasSan Antonio Convocation Center on Friday night before some three hundred Hawk fans.

Madison (30-9) caught Harlingen South off balance from the start with steals, fast breaks, a punishing defense, and more steals. Madison coach Tracy Hastings said, “We like to run, that’s our game; we’ve been doing this all year long,” she added.

The ironic part was that South head coach Engleman had a player with the Mavericks playing with the same last name. “No relation,” said Maverick player Monica Engleman who scored 19 points to lead her team. Teammate Charlicia Harper added 13 points, all in the first half as Madison led 50-21 at the half.

Bianca Torre led South with 23 points, but had only three in the first quarter when South was down 29-4.The Lady Hawks ended their season with an impressive record of 32-4 and a perfect 12-0 district record.

The Lady Hawks ended their season with playoff wins over Laredo Alexander, McAllen Memorial, and San Benito.

Get the Ball! Bianca Torre of Harlingen South tries to control the ball against San Antonio Madison’s Charlicia Harper in the Class 5A Regional Semifinals. (HSSM IMages) 26

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OnTheSideLines

For more on “Junior Golf,” log on: www.stpga.com After all, these children need extra coaching if they expect to play at the next level. Parents will take their children to football combines, basketball camps, baseball traveling teams, and yes, extra golf lessons. Local Boys b y D a v i d A. A m a d o r and Girls Clubs offer this type of training at a minimal fee for most of these sports so that our children can play year-round so that they may get that extra playing time .

Tiger Woods started playing golf when he was just three years old and his father, Earl Woods made the commitment to Tiger to do whatever it would take to make him the best. He did most of his training with the best tool of all, love. Woods was quoted saying after his father’s death, “My Dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply.”

Many say that, “golf is not a sport” and that, it’s boring to watch. However, those that know what lies down the fairways will see the roughs, the opportunities, and challenges, one must face alone. In the end, to find that little Parents are now investing their hole in the middle of a big green time and resources to get their will be the greatest satisfaction children all the training that they of all, when you can putt the ball will need to go to the next level. and say, “I made it in.”

Golf is not a sport?

T

iger Woods said it best when a reporter asked him about his record wins and the reporter smirked about it and asked if it was fair to the rest of the PGA players with him winning all the time? Tiger’s response was on the defense and he responded with a bite, “Every tournament I play in, I play to win. Why else would I want to play?” This was after he was being criticized by other PGA players on his ability to win.

Those words “I play to win” really stuck in my “everknowledge of what I know about sports” and has cemented itself at the top of my lists of what I know in sports.

“I play to win” are daring words of a challenger who wants to be challenged at any level. I have heard many times of how parents just want their kids to play a sport and start at whatever position is available for their child.

“My Dad was my best friend and greatest role model...”

Tiger Woods

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RGV Golf Championships Tees Off Sharyland, Hanna,and Harlingen South Boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Teams Favored for titles

(McAllen, Texas)-The district golf championships for all 2A-5A Rio Grande Valley schools will tee off on March 26th, beginning with 32-3A meeting at Llano Grande Golf Course in Mercedes according to Progreso head coach Rick Salinas. In District 32-5A,

teams from Brownsville, Weslaco, San Benito, and Los Fresnos will play

at the Tony Butler Golf Course in Harlingen. Head coach Jorge Benavides of

RGV High School Golf DistrictChampionships District 32-5A District 31-5A District 30-5A District 32-4A District 32-3A District 32-2A District

Dates Mar 31-Apr 1 April 8-9 April 7-8 April 2-3 Mar 26-27 April 7-8

Course Tony Butler-Hgn Tierra Del Sol-Pharr Martin Valley-Palmview Tierra Santa-Weslaco Llano Grande-Mercedes Alice Country Club

GOLF Tournaments-FREE to Public

2008 UIL State Golf Championships May 5th-9th Roy Kizer/Jimmy Clay Golf Courses Austin, Texas

Contender. Erik Cubriel of Edinburg North won the La Joya Invitational. He will challenge for the 31-5A Log on to: www.hssmonline.net title. (HSSM IMages)

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30-5A Challengers. John Paul Cordova of La Joya (left) and Brandon Reyna of Sharyland will both be favored to win the 30-5A district title on April 7-8th at Martin Valley Ranch Golf Course. The public is invited to attend. (HSSM IMages)

Edcouch-Elsa will take both boys and girls teams to Tierra Santa G.C. in Weslaco to try and win a record sixth boys title. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It would be nice to make it four titles in a row and a sixth,â&#x20AC;? says head coach Benavides.

In District 30-5A, players will travel from Rio Grande City, McAllen, Donna, and La Joya to play at Martin Valley Ranch G.C. on April 7-8th. In District 31-5A, all three Edinburg, Pharr, and both Harlingen schools will meet at Tierra Del Sol G.C. in Pharr for the title. And finally, Santa Rosa will travel up Hwy 77 to Alice for the 32-2A golf championships on the same dates.

In District 32-5A, winning the title will not come easy for Hanna and head coach Adrian Garcia knows that his team will be tested. The Eagles are led by Joseph Lu-

cio and Matt Cadriel. Lucio fired rounds of 69-72 at the Border Olympics played at the Casa Blanca G.C. in Laredo recently for second place individually. Hanna also placed second overall with three placing in the top ten.

Cadriel scored rounds of 78-79, to take seventh, while Anthony Lucio finished ninth with a two day total of 82-77. Brownsville Hanna Eagles and Weslaco Panthers will both be favored to make it to the Region IV State 5A Championships to be held at Peacan Valley in San Antonio, Texas set for April 21-26th.

In District 31-5A, Harlingen South, Edinburg, and Edinburg North will shoot for the two team playoff spots, while Sharyland, McAllen, La Joya, and McAllen Memorial will compete in 30-5A for team playoff spots.

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Edcouch-Elsa and Mission Veterans should be favored to clinch the team spots and make another State 4A playoff run.

Sharyland has been the hottest team off the tee boxes with juniors Brandon Reyna and Abraham Ancer leading the way. Ancer won the Sharyland Golf Tournament held at the Club at Cimarron on January 26-28th with rounds of 70-73, while Reyna took second place with scores of 77-70. Overall, the Rattler team won with a total score of 613.

The Rattlers will watch La Joya, McAllen, and McAllen Memorial fight for the final team spot.

The Coyotes will be led by sophomore John Paul Cordova, who transferred from Mission Veterans Memorial. Cordova won the Mission Boys Tournament on February 8-9th with rounds of 76-74 played at Shary Golf Course.

At the La Joya Invitational played at Martin Valley’s Golf Ranch, site of the 30-5A championships, Cordova fired rounds of 74-77, to finish tied for fifth with McAllen Memorial’s Daniel Naranjo. Overall, the Coyotes will need great rounds from Miguel Morales (82-84), Andres Samaniego (92-85) and Jesus Villarreal (87-79) after finishing fourth with scores of 331-325, if they expect to take the second place spot.Edinburg North won the tournament with team rounds of 321-303. The Cougars surprised the entire field with Erik Cubriel winning the individual title with two hot rounds of 74-70.

Harlingen South finished second with two round totals of 323-309.

South’s freshmen Roman Robledo

Golfing Challenge. Freshmen Roman Robledo of Harlingen South and David Pena of PSJA North (top photo) will both be vying for the 31-5A District title.

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took second place honors, tied with David Pena of PSJA North. Both shot overall round scores of 150.

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