Meet the RGVSports.com Athletes of the Week. Athletes are voted on by the RGVSports.com sports staff with input from coaches and organizations in each respective sport. RGVSports coverage ranges from Brownsville to Roma. Please send your nominees to [email protected] by 2 p.m. Monday for consideration.
FOOTBALL
QB Jaime Lopez, Senior, PSJA High: Lopez let it fly Friday, completing 22 of 38 passes for 405 yards and five touchdowns en route to this week’s RGVSports.com Football Player of the Week honors. Lopez’s big day resulted in the Bears’ first victory of the season, taking down the Brownsville Hanna Eagles 35-12. The senior signal caller set season highs in completion percentage (57.9) and quarterback rating (134.3) during the win, according to his MaxPreps profile. Lopez ranks among the top players in the RGV in passing yards through four weeks, airing it out for 1.096 yards and 10 touchdowns along with no interceptions.
VOLLEYBALL
Elaiza Martinez, Roma: Roma’s Elaiza Martinez averaged 17.5 kills and four blocks per match in leading the Gladiators to a pair of victories and a tie for first place in District 30-5A. The senior, one of the top hitters and middle blockers in South Texas, tallied 19 kills, 18 digs, six blocks and a pair of aces as Roma defeated perennial champion Mission Veterans, in four sets, for the first time. The win puts Roma and La Joya Palmview in a first-place tie in District 30-5A. She added 16 kills and a pair of blocks and aces in a sweep over Laredo Cigarroa earlier in the week.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Josue Cisneros, Mission High: Cisneros set a personal best during the Mission Veterans Patriots Invitational on Saturday, clocking in at 15 minutes, 58.4 seconds en route to a first-place finish. The junior distance runner shaved off nearly 10 seconds from his previous personal best of 16:07.9 set during the Pioneer Invitational on Aug. 26. The career-day led to Cisneros’ first victory of the season and second of his career, according to his Athletic.net profile, coming in first during the same meet last year.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Kenzi Ramirez, McAllen High: Ramirez set a personal-best time Saturday en route to a second-place finish during the Mission Veterans Patriots Invitational. The junior distance runner crossed the finish line in 18:11.0 during the race, finishing just four seconds behind her teammate, Dana Rojas Vasquez (18:07.0). Saturday’s personal best was 11 seconds faster than her previous mark of 18:22.4, set two weeks prior during a meet in San Antonio. Ramirez’s second-place finish marked her third top two finish of the year.
