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Eight individuals joined the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026.
The class includes Anyssa Olivarez Woods and Dr. Sonia Trevino, both from Mission, McAllen Memorial golf coach Celso Gonzalez, McAllen High girls soccer coach Patrick Arney, Joe Pena from PSJA, Pablo Almaguer from Weslaco, Robert Mangum from Edinburg and Toby Nivens from McAllen High.
Several teams were also honored. That includes five Brownsville Pace cross country teams, the 1991 La Villa and Mission state champion girls cross country teams and the 1986 Mercedes baseball team that finished as state runner-up.
The 1977 Brownsville Pace boys cross country squad finished in third place in state. The 1982 team took it up a notch, finishing in second place. Three years later, the Vikings completed the mission, lifting the 4A UIL cross country state championship trophy.
“It’s a dream come true,” 1977 Brownsville Pace boys cross country member Johnny Garcia said. “It’s something we did while we were in high school and we never thought it was going to end up like this, but we’re loving every moment of it. We cherish it being part of it. The association has done a great job. I always heard about it, thought about it, but never in my wildest dreams thought this was going to happen, but I thank god and praise the Lord and the RGV and everybody that’s part of this that made this happen for us.”
The 1986 Mercedes baseball team is one of five valley baseball squads that have reached the state title game, with the latest being Sharyland. Back then, Mercedes competed in 4A and made it all the way to the state finals.
“Never it was never a thought ever,” 1986 Mercedes second baseman Rene Guajardo said. “You know we played the game of baseball for the love of the game since we were little kids and it just catapulted into something very special. We started off as kids and then we became a band of brothers playing together as one.”
The 1991 Mission girls cross country team left its mark on the history books after capturing the 5A state championship in that year. The Lady Eagles were then lead by head coach Cathy Howell, who herself was inducted to the RGV Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
“Without her, this would not have been possible,” 1991 Mission girls cross country member Babie Sandoval said. “She was just amazing. She pushed us. She demanded perfection and we gave it to her. She busted our butts and we responded. We worked hard for her.”
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