The Rio Grande Valley’s best were honored for their strong performances throughout the 2020-21 athletic year during the All-Valley Sports Awards ceremony, held virtually Thursday night.
The event was hosted by RGVSports.com and AIM Media Texas in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame, and presented by co-sponsors DHR Health and Lone Star National Bank. The Brownsville Herald, Valley Morning Star, The Monitor, The Mid-Valley Town Crier and the RGV Sports Hall of Fame voted to determine the winners in the sports categories.
Brownsville Lopez junior Alejandro Martinez won the Tom Landry Award of Excellence, which is presented to a student-athlete for outstanding achievements on and off the field.
Martinez excels in football, powerlifting, soccer and track & field for the Lobos. He is ranked No. 9 in his class with a 4.52 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society and is expected to graduate high school with an associate degree.
“Being nominated in the top three from all the Valley was such an honor,” Martinez said. “And finding out that I won, and they included a $1,500 scholarship, was such a blessing. This is amazing. … Shoutout to all my coaches.
“I know what it is to struggle, and I know what it is to not have everything handed to you,” he continued. “I really want to build schools and be there for everyone, and once I’ve helped myself to my full potential, I want to help everyone else. That’s what drives me. This is only the beginning.”
The Landry award runners-up were David Cortez of Harlingen South and Kassidie Rodriguez of Mercedes. Both will receive scholarships for being finalists.
Harlingen High and McAllen High were among the biggest winners on the night, each bringing four awards to their schools and claiming top program honors.
Harlingen High was voted the Class 6A program of the year after winning seven team district championships, with two teams — girls basketball and baseball — going undefeated in District 32-6A. The Cardinals track & field team that won district, area and Region IV team titles and qualified two individuals and a relay for the 6A state meet is the 6A boys team of the year.
Harlingen High senior Jose Garcia won multiple gold medals at the district, area and regional meets. He won the 6A state title in record time in the 100, and took silver in the 200 and long jump. Garcia is the boys track & field athlete of the year and the overall 6A male athlete of the year.
“For the team and Jose to get recognized is an extraordinary honor and is the culmination of a tremendous season. The records and barriers they broke will be remembered for a long time. I’m so proud of these young men,” Cardinals track coach Efrain Ambriz said.
McAllen High won seven district championships and had numerous lengthy playoff runs, resulting in winning the Sub-6A program of the year award. McAllen High’s Lady Bulldogs soccer team that was undefeated in the regular season, won the District 31-5A championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 was named the sub-6A girls team of the year.
McAllen High had two individuals tabbed as the best in their respective sport. Nilton Dos Santos won three Region VIII-5A titles (100-yard fly, 200 free, 400 freestyle relay) and qualified for his third consecutive UIL state swim meet. The all-state honoree was named boys swimmer of the year.
Lady Bulldogs setter Madison Helmcamp won the volleyball player of the year award. Helmcamp led McAllen High to the Sweet 16 for a second time and was named the district MVP. She is the Lady Bulldogs’ record holder in assists in a season and a career, points in a career and aces in a season and a career.
“I’m honored to accept this award. Thanks to my teammates for being a big part of this and to (retired McHi coach Paula) Dodge for being an amazing coach,” Helmcamp said.
The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons’ softball team that won a co-District 32-6A championship and reached the Sweet 16 was voted the 6A girls team of the year. Their coach, Traci Blackman, was tabbed as the girls coach of the year. Sophomore pitcher Katelynn Perez is the softball player of the year.
“I just want to say thank you for this award. It means a great deal to me, but without this great team and this great coaching staff, this wouldn’t have been possible … so also thank you to them,” Blackman said.
Los Fresnos sophomore Jada Ashford was named the girls swimmer of the year. She won four gold medals at the district and Region VIII-6A meets in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay. Ashford competed in all four events at the state meet and finished 14th in both individual races.
“Thank you for nominating me for girls swimmer of the year two consecutive years. I’m thankful to be the recipient of this award,” Ashford said.
Weslaco High senior Amity Ebarb was named the 6A female athlete of the year. Ebarb, a Texas signee, finished fourth in the 800-meter run at the state track meet. She was the district, area and regional champ in the 800 and won district and area titles as part of Weslaco High’s 1,600 relay.
The sub-6A male athlete of the year award went to San Perlita junior Ely Terry. He was a basketball all-state honoree and offensive player of the year in District 32-1A after helping the Trojans win a district championship and reach the Region IV final. Terry also qualified for the state track & field meet as the Region IV-1A high jump champion and finished sixth at state.
“Very well deserved,” Terry’s coach, Nataniel Garza, said on Twitter. “I’m extremely proud of Ely. Team-first attitude and a very humble young man. Absolute blessing to coach him.”
Sharyland Pioneer’s Daisy Monie is the sub-6A female athlete of the year and the girls track & field athlete of the year. Monie, a Houston signee, won a silver medal at the state meet in shot put and finished fourth in discus. She also recorded 73 kills, 20 aces and 95 digs to help Pioneer’s volleyball team reach the playoffs.
The sub-6A boys team of the year award went to Valley View soccer. The Tigers won the District 31-5A championship and advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals. Junior forward Pablo Torre scored 37 goals to lead Valley View and was named the boys soccer player of the year.
Port Isabel basketball coach Mike Hazelton was named the boys coach of the year for his efforts leading the Tarpons to their first District 32-4A championship in 31 years and the first Sweet 16 in program history.
McAllen Memorial took home three individual awards. Agustin Salazar was named the boys tennis player of the year, Esteban Gonzalez was the boys golfer of the year and girls wrestler of the year honors went to Serenity De La Garza.
Salazar was 35-1 in 2021 and won the boys singles District 31-5A and Region IV-5A titles. Gonzalez finished sixth at the Class 5A state golf tournament and boasts the third-lowest scoring average in the RGV. De La Garza went 19-1 this season, winning district and regional championships, and claiming a bronze medal at the UIL Class 5A state wrestling tournament.
“It’s a great honor, and I will keep playing next year to get this award again and keep winning … and going for bigger goals,” Salazar said.
PSJA Memorial’s Williams Macias and La Feria’s Liana Navarro are the boys and girls cross country athletes of the year, respectively. Macias finished second at the Region IV-5A meet and 14th out of 122 runners at state. Navarro, a freshman, is the District 32-4A champion and finished third and 17th at the regional and Class 4A state meets, respectively.
“I’m honored to receive this award,” Navarro said. “I would like to thank my family for their unconditional love and support. I would also like to thank my coaches for pushing me to excel in all that I do.”
The boys and girls basketball athlete of the year awards went to PSJA North’s Elijah De La Garza and Edinburg High’s Daysha Tijerina. De La Garza averaged 26.2 points per game and eclipsed 2,400 career points during his senior season. He was named the most valuable player in District 31-6A. Tijerina averaged 15.4 points, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game as she led the Lady Bobcats to the third round of the playoffs.
Sharyland Pioneer senior and UTSA signee Eddie Lee Marburger is the football player of the year. He passed for 3,365 yards, rushed for 1,177 and scored 62 touchdowns in just nine games. Marburger was an all-state honoree, a finalist for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s Mr. Texas Football award and led the Pioneer to the fourth round of the 5A playoffs for the first time.
Edinburg Vela’s Taylor Campbell was voted girls soccer player of the year. Campbell scored 61 goals and led the Sabercats to an undefeated District 31-6A championship and the third round of the playoffs. Her 177 career goals make her the second-highest scorer in RGV history.
“I’m so thankful and blessed to be the 2021 girls All-Valley soccer player of the year,” Campbell said. “I’d like to thank my coaches and teammates for their enormous support. I’d also like to say congratulations to the other nominees, and they are amazing soccer players.”
The girls tennis player of the year is Rio Grande City’s Kayla Pena. She went 34-2 this season and was the girls singles champion in District 30-5A and at the Region IV-5A bi-district meet. Pena was the only RGV girls tennis player to advance to state after taking silver at the regional meet.
Edinburg High’s Madi Ozuna was tabbed girls golfer of the year. Ozuna boasted the lowest scoring average among RGV girls golfers for the second straight year. She was the District 31-6A champion and advanced to the regional tournament.
Cristo Sauceda of Brownsville Porter is the baseball player of the year. Sauceda was one of the best pitchers in Class 5A, boasting a 0.203 ERA and 106 strikeouts through 69 innings pitched. He also led Porter’s offense with 27 hits.
Mission High’s Dante Lopez was named boys wrestler of the year. The senior heavyweight won a district championship, took second at the regional meet and was fourth at the 6A state wrestling meet.
