RGV Roundup: Lopez, Cruz playing big at Sul Ross State

Basketball season has erupted and two Rio Grande Valley girls chocking up a lot of playing time for their college club are Madalyn Lopez of Edinburg High and Rosa Cruz of Harlingen South.

Lopez (fr., 5-foot-7, post) and Cruz (soph., 5-2, guard) are competing for Sul Ross State University (Alpine). Lopez has rolled up 54 minutes of playing time in the Lobos’ first three games and is currently the team’s fourth-leading scorer with a 6.0 average. She also is tied for fourth on the club with six rebounds. Cruz, meanwhile, has tallied 42 minutes for the Lobos (0-3) and has scored seven points while nabbing three steals during that span.

WRESTLING

Rio Grande City’s Jenny Garza (fr., 5-1, 97 lbs.) and PSJA North’s Des Martinez (fr., 5-3, 158) are competing for Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Missouri) this season. The team was off to an 0-2 start heading into Friday and Saturday’s Canada-America Tournament at Jamestown, N.D.

Ronald Pratt, the head wrestling coach at RGC, also passed on information about another one of his former wrestlers, Arnaldo Caraballo. Caraballo, Pratt noted, is now a cheerleader at Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla., after “his wrestling career was cut short by a knee injury.”

FOOTBALL

Lindenwood, where McAllen Memorial’s Joseph Hanks stands out at defensive end, is still unbeaten on the season after cruising through the first round of the NAIA playoffs this past weekend. The Lions, 11-0 and ranked third in the NAIA, trounced No. 20 Langston University (Oklahoma) 42-14 Saturday to advance to this weekend’s quarterfinals. Defense played a major role in the win as the Lions didn’t give up a point until late in the game.

Hanks (6-1, 248) had two solo tackles and one sack for an 11-yard loss. The former Mustangs standout finished the regular season with 21 tackles — 14 of those solo — had three sacks for a total loss of 21 yards.

Lindenwood will host fifth-ranked Ottawa (11-0) this coming Saturday in the second round of the NAIA playoffs.

SWIMMING

Ashleigh Pratt of Rio Grande City is competing for Wheeling Jesuit University (West Virginia) this season.

A sophomore, Pratt’s best showing has been a fourth-place finish in the 200 Freestyle at the Baldwin-Wallace College meet on Oct. 17. Pratt also has competed in the 50 and 100 Free, 400 Free Relay, 200 Backstroke and 200 Breaststroke for the Cardinals. Wheeling Jesuit was participating in the John A. Pidgeon Memorial Invitational at Indiana University of Pennsylvania this past Thursday through Saturday.

SOCCER

Abigail Escobar, from PSJA High, concluded the 2009 season as one of the top offensive performers for Prairie View A&M. Although the team finished 9-10 overall and 2-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Escobar (fr., 5-5, forward) ended up second in points (14), goals (6), shots (46) and shots on goal (22). She also was third in game-winning goals and assists with two each. Escobar started in 17 of the Panthers’ 19 matches this past season.

Michael A. Pullen is a former sportswriter in the Rio Grande Valley. His column runs every Tuesday. College news can be reported to him via e-mail at rgvroundup@yahoo.com.