Thirty-three awards honoring the best players, teams and coaches in Rio Grande Valley high school athletics will be handed out Saturday during the 2017 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet at Mario’s Banquet & Conference Center in Mission.
Former San Antonio Spurs forward Robert Horry will be the keynote speaker at the event, which is being put on with help from presenting sponsor Lone Star National Bank.
The Banquet, hosted by RGVSports.com and AIM Media Texas in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame, will highlight winners across all 12 UIL sports. The highly prestigious Tom Landry Award of Excellence will honor a student-athlete for outstanding achievements on and off the field.
The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, The Brownsville Herald, Mid-Valley Town Crier and RGV Sports Hall of Fame voted to determine the winners in the sports categories. While The Monitor, the Star and the Herald have previously named their All-Area teams in certain sports, the All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet will recognize the very best across all three coverage areas.
The catered banquet will run 6 to 8 p.m.
Horry won seven NBA Championships and earned the moniker “Big Shot Rob” for clutch performances during his 16-year NBA career that included stints with the Spurs, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.
Lone Star National Bank, first opened in Pharr in 1983, has grown to include more than 600 employees at 33 locations across South Texas. As part of its mission statement, Lone Star National Bank is committed to “helping our communities grow, and serving them with pride and integrity,” according to the bank’s website.
“Lone Star National Bank has a history of being a great community steward,” The Monitor Publisher Stephan Wingert said. “We are pleased to announce that Lone Star National Bank will be the presenting sponsor for the 2017 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet. Thanks to their support, we will be able to celebrate the Valley’s best and brightest student-athletes.”
2017 All-Valley Awards Nominations
Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Daniel De La Cruz, Donna North
Brandon Gracia, Rio Grande City
Tristan Pena, Edinburg North
Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Beth Ramos, Edinburg North
Brianna Robles, La Joya Palmview
Tina Sierra, La Feria
Volleyball Player of the Year
Jackie Kingsbury, Los Fresnos
Taylor Marburger, McAllen Memorial
Julia Monday, McAllen High
Football Player of the Year
Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans
Roy Pedraza, Weslaco East
Omar Silva, Port Isabel
Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Brianna Pena, Weslaco High
Jordan Rudd, Brownsville Veterans
Jayla Santa Maria, Edinburg High
Boys Basketball Player of the Year
Ryan Garza, Edinburg Vela
Leo Lara, Santa Rosa
Aaron Villarreal, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Boys Soccer Player of the Year
Manuel Castrejon, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln
Jose Echavarria, Brownsville Lopez
Hugo Guajardo, Progreso
Girls Soccer Player of the Year
Krysta Armstrong, Edinburg Economedes
Anna Hover, McAllen High
Tanya Prazelini, Los Fresnos
Boys Tennis Player of the Year
Joaquin Delgado, Sharyland Pioneer
Nick Martinez, Lyford
Jack Wang, McAllen Memorial
Girls Tennis Player of the Year
Grace Bell, Harlingen South
Chantel Lozano, Roma
Valeria Montero, Harlingen South
Boys Golfer of the Year
James Alfaro, Raymondville
Santiago Garcia, Brownsville Hanna
Jun Min Lee, Sharyland High
Girls Golfer of the Year
Julie Lucio, Brownsville Veterans
Isabel Prado, La Feria
Laura Rodriguez, Sharyland High
Boys Swimmer of the Year
Shaine Casas, McAllen High
Trevor Heath, Sharyland Pioneer
Luis Osuna, Los Fresnos
Girls Swimmer of the Year
Hannah Bradford, McAllen Memorial
Maya Athena Imperial, Brownsville Hanna
Ina Te, McAllen Rowe
Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year
Sydney Mock, Port Isabel
Tristan Pena, Edinburg North
Joseph Ian Torres, Port Isabel
Jordan Wilson, Sharyland Pioneer
Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year
Beth Ramos, Edinburg North
Brianna Robles, La Joya Palmview
Tina Sierra, La Feria
Valery Tobias, Edinburg IDEA Quest
Boys Wrestler of the Year
Guadalupe Rodriguez, Mission High
Diego Serna, Sharyland Pioneer
Dillion Toavalu, Edinburg North
Girls Wrestler of the Year
Alexis Altamira, Edinburg Vela
Amanda Alvarado, McAllen Memorial
Rose Ramirez, La Joya High
Class 6A Female Athlete of the Year
Taylor Marburger, McAllen Memorial
Jaida Muhammad, Edinburg Vela
Tanya Prazelini, Los Fresnos
Sub-6A Female Athlete of the Year
Jackie Howell, Mission Veterans
Jordan Rudd, Brownsville Veterans
Tina Sierra, La Feria
Class 6A Male Athlete of the Year
Adrian Bernal, McAllen Rowe
Trey Guajardo, PSJA High
Tristan Myende, La Joya Palmview
Sub-6A Male Athlete of the Year
Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans
Leo Lara, Santa Rosa
Omar Silva, Port Isabel
Softball Player of the Year
Mia Anzaldua, Brownsville Veterans
Audrey Escamilla, Weslaco High
Amber Reyes, Edinburg High
Baseball Player of the Year
Saul Garza, Edinburg North
Noe Guerrero, Brownsville Hanna
Noel Vela, Mission Veterans
Class 6A Girls Team of the Year
Los Fresnos Soccer
McAllen High soccer
Weslaco High girls basketball
Sub-6A Girls Team of the Year
Brownsville Veterans Memorial basketball
Brownsville Veterans Memorial golf
Brownsville Veterans Memorial softball
Class 6A Boys Team of the Year
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln soccer
Weslaco East football
Weslaco High basketball
Sub-6A Boys Team of the Year
Brownsville Lopez soccer
Progreso soccer
Santa Rosa Basketball
Boys Coach of the Year
Johnny Cipriano, Santa Rosa basketball
Amadeo Escandon, Brownsville Lopez soccer
Margarito Jimenez, Progreso soccer
Girls Coach of the Year
Rayner Cardenas, Brownsville Veterans softball
Mario Rodriguez, Weslaco High softball
Peter A Rodriguez, Brownsville Rivera soccer
Class 6A Program of the Year
Edinburg Vela
McAllen High
Weslaco High
Sub-6A Program of the Year
Brownsville Veterans
La Feria
Mission Veterans
