The stage is set for the inaugural UIL regional tournament Saturday in San Antonio, where four Rio Grande Valley teams will be representing South Texas in the Sweet 16.
Two wins this weekend and Harlingen High’s girls, PSJA North’s boys, and both Harlingen South’s boys and girls teams can punch their ticket to the first UIL water polo state tournament Oct. 28-29.
“It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a learning experience, but the thing is my girls and my boys, they’re ready and they’re prepared,” Harlingen South head coach Hector Castañeda Jr. said at the start of the postseason.. “We want to go as far as we can and whatever happens, happens. The thing is we come in and do the work, we work together as a team, we put our heart out there and whatever happens, happens. The most important thing is we give 100% — that’s all that matters.”
The girls teams kick things off Saturday as Harlingen South faces San Antonio Brennan at 9 a.m.. Harlingen High’s girls then take on San Antonio Brandeis at 10:15 a.m.
The boys teams follow with PSJA North slated to meet San Antonio Clark at 11:30 a.m. and Harlingen South battles Boerne Champion at 12:45 p.m. All four matches will be played at Southwest ISD Aquatic Center in San Antonio.
HARLINGEN SOUTH GIRLS
The District 32-6A champion Hawks have soared into the regional semifinal round by playing lockdown defense. Through three rounds of the postseason, South’s girls are outscoring opponents 58-9.
Their defensive skills were on display in their regional quarterfinal as Brianna Robinson, Sophia Williams and Eliana Wainscott were instrumental in a 15-7 win over District 31-6A champion Mission Veterans.
“It’s important to have good defense and teamwork that sets up good shooters like Isabela Pereda, Mia Hinojosa and Mia Gonzalez, and our amazing goalie Eli,” Robinson said.
Wainscott relies on Robinson and Williams to prevent free runs at their goal while also defending other teams’ top threats. She then turns defense into offense by stopping shots and hitting teammates on the other end of the pool to create scoring opportunities.
“I feel like we have the best goalie here in the Rio Grande Valley. She’s got a cannon of an arm, and she can definitely pass to her teammates and block shots and all that good stuff,” Castañeda said.
Pereda led the Hawks with nine goals against Mission Veterans to advance to this weekend’s Sweet 16.
“This is insane. I never thought this was going to happen,” she said. “For all of us to be so young, this is crazy, honestly.”
HARLINGEN HIGH GIRLS
The Cardinals clinched their spot in the Sweet 16 thanks to clutch performances down the stretch to hold off PSJA High 18-17 in a regional quarterfinal thriller.
Head coach Danny Euresti was impressed with the way his team fought through adversity in the form of injuries and a late comeback by the Bears to advance to a regional semifinal.
“They’re playing their best ball right now,” Euresti said. “Three playoff wins, four deep in the playoffs, what can I say? It’s them, it’s all on them. True heart, that’s what it shows.”
Davina Gutierrez, the team’s lone senior, has led the Cardinals in scoring during each of their three playoff matches. She nailed the game-winner against PSJA High with 16 seconds remaining to keep Harlingen’s season alive.
“I’ve never been put in a position like that, so it’s great to put everything into something good and make it this far,” Gutierrez said.
PSJA NORTH BOYS
The District 32-6A champion Raiders have been a dominant force on the offensive end throughout the season by scoring 245 goals, an average of 18.8 per game.
The Raiders have a knack for putting the ball in the back of the net thanks to the connection between their three leading scorers: Jayden Ybarra (92 goals), Josue Rocha (59 goals) and Kaleb Dallas (55 goals).
PSJA North head coach Leslie Richardson attributed the offensive success to her team for building a strong foundation inside and outside of the pool.
“I think (the offense) has grown from the very beginning of the season. I wanted to make sure we had culture on our team, that we had chemistry, that we had positive vibes,” she said. “It was never about bringing anybody down. If they made a mistake or didn’t do something, it was about making sure that we adjusted and made a difference.”
Ybarra is a force around the net with a rocket launcher for an arm that can also finesse passes into his teammates for PSJA North points.
“We’ve been doing it for a couple years, and I can throw it to them and know they’re going to be there,” he said.
“We look for signals and we immediately know to pass it to each other. They’ll take the shot and they’ll score,” Dallas said.
The Raiders enter the regional tournament confident after holding off San Antonio Jay 15-11 in Round 2 and Harlingen High 18-11 in Round 3.
HARLINGEN SOUTH BOYS
Harlingen South’s boys squad finished the regular season as the No. 3 seed in District 32-6A, but head coach Hector Castañeda Jr. knew his team had what it takes to put together a playoff run.
“When we first started the season, we lost our first two games right off the bat. I told them those two losses don’t dictate the season,” he said. “We got to continue to fight, and look where we’re at now. We fought together, did everything we could together, and now we’re going to the Sweet 16 to play for the regional championship.”
Frank Pimentel has been dynamic leading the Hawks’ offense. South overcame an early deficit against San Antonio Holmes and emerged with a hard-fought 11-7 victory.
“I feel like we deserve it. This is a game that we feel like we should be in,” Pimentel said about playing in the regional semifinal round. “We feel like we’ve worked as hard as it takes to outlast these other teams, to beat them decisively, and we feel this is our spot and this is our time. We feel like we have all the athletic talent on our team, the talent, we have everything it takes.”
