Sports awards a success

HARLINGEN - It turned out to be the year of the Pirates.

Hidalgo took home four of the seven awards given out at the Rio Grande Valley All-Star Sports Awards on Tuesday night at Yeckel Auditorium in Harlingen.

And a few days later, Hidalgo athletic director Albert Guerra was still walking on clouds.

"We had a state champion and another team get to the Final Four and this just puts the final touches on a great season for us," Guerra said. "It's something else to get recognized like this. And little by little, the Valley will be recognized at the state level."

Guerra sat amongst a large group of Hidalgo representatives Tuesday, including its boys soccer and girls basketball teams, both which were named teams of the year.

And the longtime AD said he can't wait to attend the third annual event.

"It's a nice way to showcase the Valley's talent," Guerra said of the event, which was presented by the Harlingen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and RGVSports.com, the high school Web site of Valley Freedom Newspapers. "It says a lot about the passion the sportswriters have for our kids down here. It's great."

Brownsville Pace football coach Rene Medrano was in attendance Tuesday to support Vikings hurdler Sergio Rios, who was nominated for moment of the year.

Medrano left impressed and like Guerra couldn't wait until the next one.

"It was good to reflect and relive the year's events," Medrano said.

As the curtain fell on the second RGV All-Star Sports Awards, plans are already in the works to make next year's awards bigger and better. In a meeting Friday, representatives from the Harlingen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and RGVSports.com met to recap Tuesday's event and already begin planning the 2010 RGV All-Star Sports Awards.

"We're committed to making this a first class event and those in attendance Tuesday night saw that," Valley Freedom Newspapers Executive Sports Editor Wade Baker said.

One item discussed Friday was adding more awards. Currently the awards given out are athlete of the year (girls and boys), team of the year (girls and boys), coach of the year, moment of the year and the Robert Vela Lifetime Achievement Award. Possible additions discussed during Friday's meeting were two awards for coach of the year (girls and boys), game of the year, comeback player of the year and sportsman of the year.

The location of the 2010 event also was discussed, with the organizers hoping to begin rotating the RGV All-Star Sports Awards to a different city across the Valley each year.

Organizers also plan to keep the annual awards in an auditorium setting.

"Our goal was to make this the Valley's version of the ESPYs (ESPN's awards show), and we're headed in that direction," Baker said. "We're going to keep the guest presenters and the cheerleaders involved, and we're going to see what else we can add to make this an unforgettable night each year for our athletes, coaches and the high school community."

The following is the list of winners of the 2009 Rio Grande Valley All-Star Sports Awards, presented by the Harlingen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and RGVSports.com:

Robert Vela Lifetime Achievement Award
Earl Scott

Male Athlete of the Year
Stephen Saenz, Rio Grande City

Female Athlete of the Year
Victoria Gonzalez, Hidalgo

Male Team of the Year
Hidalgo Boys Soccer

Female Team of the Year
Hidalgo Girls Basketball

Coach of the Year
Johnny Cipriano, Santa Rosa

Program of the Year
Sharyland

Moment of the Year
Jessica Olvera's two free throws, sending the Lady Pirates to the Final Four