By Brian Argabright [email protected]

Kailyn Lomas liked being a state champion so much that she decided to do it again. The Del Rio High School junior earned her second consecutive state championship in powerlifting, winning the 97-pound weight class at the Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association Class 6A State Championship held at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg in March. Lomas, making her third consecutive appearance at the state meet, not only took home a state title, but did so in dominating fashion. She lifted a total of 800 pounds including 350 pounds in the squat, 135 pounds in the bench press and 315 pounds in the deadlift.
The 350-pound squat set a new overall state record while the 315-poind deadlift and the 800-pound total were both 6A State records. Aside from earning the state title, Lomas also took home awards for Best Lightweight Squat and Best Lightweight Deadlift. She also becomes the first Del Rio powerlifter, male or female, to win back-to-back state titles since Michael Riemann achieved the feat in 2005 and 2006. But Lomas wasn’t Del Rio’s only state powerlifting champion.
Chloe Juarez, who finished fourth in the 105-pound weight class last year, took home the title this year with a total of 835 pounds lifted, 110 pounds more than her next closest competitor. Juarez had a 335-pound squat, a 175-pound bench press and a 325-pound deadlift. All three of her totals were the top weights lifted in her weight class. All three were also improvements from her showing at last year’s meet, including improving her deadlift total by 65 pounds.
​Three more Del Rio lifters competed at the state meet with two of them earning medals. “At the State level you do the best you can and live with the results. We had four medalists, one in each grade level. This was an amazing group of ladies with amazing skillsets and an even brighter future,” Del Rio High School head powerlifting coach David Gomez said.
Gabby Diaz finished as the runner-up in the 114-pound weight class, missing out on Del Rio’s third state title by 35 pounds. Diaz posted a 355-pound squat, which was best in her class; a 185-pound bench press, which was second overall; and a 300-pound deadlift for a total weight lifted of 840 pounds. Lomas, Juarez and Diaz were all regional champions. Wylie’s Thalia Gonzalez won the title in the 114-pound weight class with a total weight of 875 pounds. Had Diaz and Gonzalez finished tied, Diaz would have won state due to her weighing less than Gonzalez.
Isabella Valdez was fifth in the 181-pound weight class. She posted a 385-pound squat, a 200-pound bench press and a 375-pound deadlift for a total weight lifted of 960 pounds. Lynette Herrera of Edinburg won the state title with a total weight of 1,125 pounds. Kaisy Torres rounded out Del Rio’s state qualifiers, finishing sixth in the 195-pound weight class. She had a 390-pound squat, a 210-pound bench press and a 310-pound deadlift for a total weight lifted of 910 pounds. Areanna Marin of Los Fresnos won the state title with a total weight of 1,100.
As a team, Del Rio finished third out of 55 schools in Class 6A. “All the girls did amazing. They set goals and reached them. The goal was to get to State and do your best and that goal was achieved. It was a complete team effort,” Gomez said.

By Brian Argabright [email protected] Del Rio’s quest to reach the state soccer tournament is over. Both the Del Rio Rams and Queens soccer teams ended their playoff runs with the Queens bowing out in the bi-district round and the Rams coming up just short in the area round. The Rams moved into the playoffs after a successful regular season that saw Del Rio win the District 30-6A title after leading the district in goals scored and finishing second in goals allowed.
First stop for the Rams was March 20 in a bi-district match in Hondo against San Marcos. The first half of the match ended scoreless but both teams had their chances. It wasn’t until about midway through the second half that things began to heat up. With 18:25 left to play San Marcos began the scoring with a goal. Del Rio nearly took the lead just prior to San Marco’s attack, but a heads up play by the defender and goalie helped turn a stop into a scoring opportunity as the Rattlers surged down the field and took the 1-0 lead.
A few minutes later, Jose Fernandez was taken down from behind and awarded a penalty kick. Poised to strike, Fernandez fired left while the Rattlers goalie dove right, giving the Rams the tying goal. Del Rio nearly took the lead late in the match when an attack by the Rams led to a high shot on goal that struck the crossbar and bounced out of danger.
After a scoreless overtime, and a short rest, the teams’ best shooters returned for penalty kicks. The first round of kicks was best of five meaning that whichever team could successfully convert the most of five attempts would win. A tie meant the teams would move to a sudden death penalty kick period. San Marcos was successful on its first try. Del Rio’s Luis Flores was next and appeared to have been initially stopped, but after a brief discussion the officials deemed San Marco’s goalie came off the line early and Flores was given another chance. This time he found some space in the bottom right of the goal and was on target to tie the kicks at 1-1. San Marcos was successful on its second try, but Del Rio’s attempt went right at the goalie and was stopped. San Marcos went up 3-1 with its next kick, but Del Rio’s Aaron Reyes made it 3-2 with a shot into the upper left of the goal. San Marcos’ fourth shot was initially stopped, but again the officials ruled the goalie came off the line early.
However, the second shot was also stopped. Del Rio then tied the kicks as Estevan Saucedo hit home in the lower left of the goal, making the tally 3-3. San Marcos went ahead on its fifth kick, but the Rams tied it once more as Fernandez drilled his shot center high, just above the goalie, to bring an end to the first round of penalty kicks with a 4-4 score. In sudden death, San Marcos again shot first but this time their shot to the lower right of the goal was no good and the Rams had a chance to grab the win. Jose Vielma took his spot, aimed and connected with a blast into the lower right of the goal. He stripped off his jersey and ran to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates as they advanced to area with the win.
​The Area round took the Rams to San Antonio’s Alamo Stadium to battle Brownsville Veterans Memorial Tuesday. Like the first match against San Marcos, scoring in regulation was scarce as the teams battled to a 0-0 score in the first half and for much of the second half. Then late in the match, Brownsville Veterans was awarded a corner kick. The set piece allowed the ball to drop into the near side where it was headed into the goal for what turned out to be the match’s lone score. March 20 was also the date for the Queens’ bi-district match against New Braunfels Canyon.
Del Rio finished the regular season fourth overall but were looking for a fresh start in the postseason. The Queens played Canyon tough, ending the first half with a 0-0 score. But Canyon got rolling in the second half. The team’s first goal came less than two minutes into the second half. It seemed like that would be all Canyon would need, but New Braunfels scored again with 10:52 to play and then added a third goal with 1:17 to play after a Canyon play was unmarked and beat Del Rio’s goalie 1-on-1.

By Brian Argabright [email protected]
​Weather was the only thing that could slow down the Del Rio Rams baseball team at this year’s Border Olympics. The annual tournament held in Laredo was cut short by poor weather conditions. According to the Laredo Morning Times, temperatures were in the low 30’s-high 40’s for Saturday’s games with a 25 percent chance of participation.
The official cancellation notice came from Border Olympics Facebook page Friday. The post read as follows: “Due to the oncoming inclement weather and the projected forecast for Saturday, the 4th guaranteed baseball game scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, has been CANCELLED. Sorry for any inconvenience.” Up to that point, the Rams had been unbeaten in tournament play.
Del Rio was initially supposed to start the tournament against Corpus Christi Moody on Thursday, but Moody announced it would not attend the tournament due to the poor weather. That delayed Del Rio’s debut until the Rams faced Laredo Nixon. The Rams took a 1-0 lead against the Mustangs in the first inning after Matt Sandoval singled and drove in JR Bustamante.
Nixon tied the game in the bottom of the first inning, but Del Rio reclaimed the lead in the top of the third inning after Adan Villarreal stole third and later scored on a single to right field by Luis Faz. Del Rio broke the game open in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Diego Rosales scored on a single to right by Mike Soto to make it a 3-1 lead.
Villarreal followed with a single of his own that scored CJ Mireles to make it a 4-1 game. Soto made it 5-1 after he scored on a single by Alex Richter. Soto wasn’t done. He drove in Sandoval and Jesse Mojica with a double to left in the top of the fifth to help make the final 7-1 in favor of Del Rio. Richter picked up the win for Del Rio. He allowed three hits over five innings of work, walking two and striking out two.
Game two of the tournament for Del Rio found the Rams taking on Edinburg North. Del Rio jumped all over North, scoring 14 runs in four innings as the Rams picked up their second win the Border Olympics, 14-0. Richter got the scoring going in the first with a sacrifice fly to right that brought in Villarreal with Del Rio’s first run on the game.
Del Rio scored five runs in the second to begin the rout. Tyler Madera scored on a groundout by Juan Delgado to make it 2-0. After Aydin Torres and Bustamante reached base, Villarreal cleared the bases with a single to right to push the Del Rio lead to 4-0. Del Rio then took advantage of Edinburg’s pitching struggles, scoring on a passed ball and an error by the North catcher to make it a 6-0 game. Del Rio scored six more runs in the top of the third to put Edinburg in a 12-0 hole. Tres McCrea started the scoring with a run off a single by Bustamante.
Delgado eventually scored on an error on the play to make the score 8-0. Bustamante scored on a double by Torres to put Del Rio ahead 9-0. Torres would eventually score on another catcher’s error to give the Rams a 10-0 advantage. An error by Edinburg’s left fielder on a fly ball struck by Sandoval allowed Madera and Soto to score and make the score 12-0.
Del Rio closed out its scoring in the top of the fourth with two more runs. Mireles scored on a single by Bustamante and Richter drew a bases load walk to score Torres and complete Del Rio’s 14-0 win. Aaron Sanchez and Frank Buitron combined to shut down Edinburg North.
​Each player threw two innings, allowing just one hit and one walk between the two of them while they combined to strike out eight batters. This weekend the Rams travel to the SA/Comal Classic Tournament that begins Thursday.
Del Rio’s next home game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 when the Rams host San Antonio Cornerstone at 7 p.m. at The Bank & Trust Ram Field.

By Brian Argabright [email protected]
Del Rio’s boys and girls soccer teams returned to the pitch Friday night to kick off their district schedules and mark what would hopefully be the first step in the return to the playoffs for both teams. The Queens soccer team was at home Friday night hosting the Laredo LBJ Lady Wolves. Del Rio jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals by Noelia Ibarra and Layla Mendez, with an assist by Keliana Turner, before LBJ cut the deficit to 2-1 by halftime.
“We were winning 2-0 midway through the first half, but LBJ kept battling and caught us off guard on a long ball we missed. We then committed a PK. They got on the board and gained some momentum,” Queens head coach Wilber Rivas explained.

Del Rio sealed the win in the second half when Carolyn Valdez found the net for the Queens’ third goal in what was eventually the game winner.
“In the second half, (LBJ) kept coming and tied the game. We kept calm and continued to play our game, just a bit more aggressive and with purpose. Carolyn Valdez received a ball from the middle and was able to outrun defenders on the right side of the field and scored on a one-versus-one against their goalkeeper,” Rivas said.
It was a clean sweep for the Queens as their junior varsity team took care of business, handing the sub-varsity Lady Wolves a 10-2 defeat. Del Rio has its eyes on a deep run in the playoffs this season. The Queens reached the postseason last year as the runners-up in District 30-6A.
They took on the San Antonio Warren Warriors in bi-district and were knocked out of the playoffs with a 3-1 loss. It was the second straight season the Queens finished second in the district and ended the season in the first round of the postseason. Del Rio’s girls fell 5-0 to San Antonio O’Connor in bi-district in 2023.
The Queens’ last playoff win came in the 2022 season. Del Rio won the district crown and took on San Antonio Harlan in bi-district. They beat the Hawks 1-0 to advance to the Area round, but the Queens suffered a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to Edinburg Vela to bring an end to a successful girls soccer season. The Del Rio Rams soccer team was also victorious in its district opener, handing the LBJ Wolves a 2-1 loss on its home field in Laredo.
Del Rio took a 2-0 lead behind goals from Luis Flores, with an assist from Josue Fernande, and Rodolfo Pina, with an assist from Jose Vielma. LBJ scored in the second half to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Rams defense clamped down and made sure the Wolves could get no closer and secured the win. Like the Queens, the Rams are looking for some playoff redemption this season. Last season the Rams reached the playoffs as the fourth place team in 30-6A and were knocked out in the first round by Harlan, 6-0.
​The Rams’ last playoff win came in 2023 when the team beat San Antonio Brennan, 4-0, before losing in the area round to Harlingen, 3-2.

To say Del Rio Rams head football coach Rod Taylor is excited about the upcoming season might be an understatement.
Entering his third season as the head coach, Taylor knows that he and his team have a lot to live up to in the 2021 season. The Rams are coming off a season in which they remained in the hunt for a district championship until the final week of the season. And while they got knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, just making it back to the postseason was an accomplishment that Taylor and his coaches feel they can build off of going forward.
In April the team began its spring football practices. This time is more crucial this year than in years past due to the majority of sub-varsity players not having taken a meaningful snap since the fall of 2019 after COVID wiped out their season in 2020.
Taylor is looking to build a new foundation for his team, but that means getting the players to become a family not just on the field, but off it as well.
After one recent practice, Taylor was walking off the field at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium when he saw his son, Zachary, speaking to another player. Taylor asked his son how his arm was feeling, and after learning it was fine he turned his attention to the other young man, a recent arrival to the football program.
The young man was soft-spoken but friendly. In short order, other members of the team began speaking to him and asking for his contact information to ensure he was kept in the loop in regards to activities going on after school. Taylor said seeing that was what he meant by “building a family.”
“That builds unity. They want to include him and make him feel like he belongs here and that’s what we want,” Taylor said.
Taylor won’t be empty-handed as he builds his new team. All-district linemen Joey Huizar and Diego Garcia anchor the offensive line and all-district honorable mentions Jovahn West, Abel Ortiz and Arnulfo Ramirez should help shore up the offense and special teams. Add to that group 2020 contributors like running back Luis Pablo Galaviz and Zachary Taylor, who took some snaps in the playoffs.
On defense, Jesus De Luna leads the unit. He’s the sole first team all-district returner for the defensive side of the ball, but he will be joined by second teamer Diego Piña and experienced returners Nathan Mayes, Fabian Venegas and Lonnie Green.
For now the team is working towards this year’s Spring Game, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, May 28, at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.

The accomplishments of this year’s Del Rio High School soccer teams did not go unnoticed by the community.
When KWMC 1490 put out the word they were encouraging folks to vote for the station’s inaugural Del Rio High School Soccer Awards, the hope was for a turnout similar to the previous awards for football and basketball.
Instead, the poll, which honored players from both the Rams and Queens soccer teams, broke the record for votes cast as more than 2,600 votes were cast for the top offensive, top defensive and the rising star for each team.
The awards were presented by a bevy of local Del Rio High School sports supporters including representatives of the Del Rio Rams Soccer Booster Club, Lopez Roofing, Ashley Home Store, Cecil Atkission Ford, Offroad Recovery and Buffalo Wings and Rings.
Queens Soccer
On the Queens’ side, senior Ema Rojas was named the Offensive Player of the Year. Rojas was a scoring machine for the Queens, racking up 13 goals in 12 district matches. She was one of three Queens to have at least four goals during the district season and a key reason for Del Rio advancing to the playoffs after missing out last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior Jocelyn Martinez was named the Defensive Player of the year. Martinez has been the rock in the Queens defense since she joined the program. She was a first team all-district selection the last two years and her work in the classroom was also recognized as she was an academic all-district and academic all-state honoree.
Freshman Andrea Sauceda was presented with the Queens Rising Star award. Sauceda did not get to play any sub-varsity games due to COVID-19 guidelines, so she was thrust into the varsity scene almost immediately. She did well enough to score a goal and earn an all-district honorable mention selection.
Rams Soccer
The Rams Offensive Player of the year was senior Angel Aldrete. Aldrete was the key to the Rams machine, leading the team in goals (8) and assists (9). His work wasn’t unrecognized by the district’s coaches as he was named the 30-6A Offensive Player of the Year.
Senior Noe Trujillo was voted the Rams Defensive Player of the Year. Trujillo could easily have been the offensive player of the year, scoring six goals, but his work as a defender was invaluable, often tasked with shadowing the best player on the opposing team. Like Aldrete, Trujillo also earned all-district honors as he was named the district’s Defensive Player of the year.
Junior Roberto Garza was voted the Rams Rising Star. Though Garza didn’t the publicity his teammates did, he was a steady defender who was another big part of the Rams sharing the district championship. He was also a first team, all-district selection this season.
San Felipe Del Rio CISD Athletic Director Ric Smith was also recognized at the awards ceremony as he was presented with the KWMC Alfredo Garza Lifetime Achievement Award.

Playing sports at the next level isn’t an easy task for any high school athlete.
According to the official NCAA website, ncaa.org, the odds of a high schooler playing sports collegiately are typically less than 10 percent. In the sport of girls soccer, the number sits around 7.2 percent. According to a survey conducted during the 2018-19 school year, of the 394,105 girls that played high school soccer, 28,310 went on to play in the NCAA.
It breaks down as follows:
2.4 percent went onto play NCAA Division I, which is the more famous schools like the University of Texas or Texas A&M or schools such as those.
1.9 percent went onto play NCAA Division II, which includes schools such as Angelo State, St. Mary’s and University of Texas-Permian Basin.
2.9 percent went onto play NCAA Division III, which includes schools like Concordia, Hardin-Simmons and Sul Ross State.
One Del Rio High alumnus is finding success at the NCAA Division III level with the Texas A&M International University Dustdevils. Freshman Leianna Jimenez, who initially signed a letter of intent to play with Hardin-Simmons University in February 2020, is seeing significant minutes with the Dustdevils and already has her first game-winning goal, which came in overtime against St. Mary’s University March 10.
According to a report from the official Dustdevils website, the goal came off a free kick when the ball was struck by Valeria Macias into the St. Mary’s box. From there, Vivian Martinez was able to find Jimenez who nailed the goal less than three minutes into overtime.
Though the goal was her only tally of the season thus far, Jimenez has seen action in all six of the Dustdevils’ matches this year. She’s played at least 20 minutes in every match and played a career-high 63 minutes against the University of Texas-Permian Basin on March 17.
Though her final season at Del Rio High was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jimenez still made a big impact. She was named the District 29-6A Offensive Player of the Year. It capped a career in which she was an all-district selection each of her four years with the Queens including being named the district’s Newcomer of the Year in 2017.

By Brian Argabright
Del Rio has spoken, and the community loves its high school football.
More than 1,100 votes were cast in the inaugural KWMC Football Awards and the first three award winners were announced in a small ceremony at the radio station’s studio Dec. 26.
Del Rio Rams running back Aiden Huerta was named Offensive Player of the Year while defensive lineman Jaden Talamantez was named Defensive Player of the Year and overall Most Valuable Player. Both Huerta and Talamantez are seniors at Del Rio High School.
This is the first time in more than a decade that a local media outlet publicly presented any kind of sports award. Javier Martinez Jr., sales manager at KWMC, said it made sense to honor Del Rio’s student-athletes and said the football awards were just the beginning.
“We felt this was something that needed to be done. We wanted to show these players some recognition for all the hard work they’ve put in, from Pee Wee all the way to their senior year,” Martinez said. “This is the first year we’ve been able to reach a lot of people through our coverage of the Rams football games due to the coronavirus. A lot of negative came out of 2020, so we felt there needed to be something positive to cap this year off.”
Huerta and wide receiver Ricky Haynes were nominated for offensive players of the year. Talamantez was nominated for defensive player of the year along with linebackers Andrew Garza, Alejandro De Luna and Jesus De Luna. All six players were eligible for the MVP award.
The awards were decided by votes cast by the fans through the Internet. Voting took place over three days.
The awards were presented by a trio of community leaders. Community activist and advocate Claudia Lopez Cruz presented the Offensive Player of the Year award, 830 Times Sports Editor Brian Argabright presented the Defensive Player of the Year award, and Val Verde County Commissioner, Precinct 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez presented the MVP award.
Due to the holiday travel, Talamantez was the only player on hand to receive his award on the day they were presented.
The awards were the first for Huerta and Talamantez, but not the last. Huerta was later named District 30-6A First Team running back via a unanimous vote, and Talamantez was named the district’s Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman.
Martinez said he hoped the awards would become an annual tradition for KWMC and said he hoped football would be the first of many sports to be recognized.
“It’s not much but it helps people know that we were watching and I hope it serves as a motivator for these kids next year and going forward,” Martinez said. “This is just the start. We have plans for basketball as well and hopefully other sports to follow.”

By Brian Argabright

Forgive Del Rio Rams head basketball coach Joe Nieto if he seems a bit frazzled.
Now in his sixth year as the head man of the boys hoops team, Nieto has never seen a season like the one he’s facing right now. He’s lost a handful of returns due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, including the latest one this week, and earlier this month his team had its own brush with the coronavirus when San Antonio Cornerstone, the team they had just played days earlier, announced two of its players had tested positive for the virus. That meant all of the Rams that played in that game had to be tested.
The good news is all the players and coaches tested negative, and the team was able to get back to work just before Thanksgiving.
The bad news is the testing and required safety precautions pushed back the Rams’ home debut to Saturday, Dec. 5 against Pleasanton at noon.
Leading the Rams this year are a pair of all-district returners in senior Luis Arteaga and junior Juan “J.J.” Cervantes. Both were honorable mention selections in 2019, and Nieto said Cervantes was averaging a double-double in Del Rio’s first few games this season.
Joining them are returners Nick Rivera and Eli Webster and first-year varsity player Will Proffit, who was part of the Del Rio High tennis team in the fall and played on the Rams junior varsity basketball team last season.
The Rams will play 27 games this season. Masks will be required when on the bench or during timeouts, but players have the option to wear them or not when in the game. They’re encouraged to wear them during free throws, though. All of those are UIL recommendations. Nieto said the masks, usually in the form of gaiters, are mandatory during practice. The other big change for the program is no sub-varsity teams.
As for district play, which begins Dec. 18 at home against Laredo United, Nieto said this will be another competitive season for the Rams as teams like United, Laredo Nixon, United South and others return much of their starters.
“It’s a deep district again this year. We have to continue to get better and fill our roles, but with the right attitude and willingness to learn we can succeed. Once our guys learn the style they have to adapt to to be competitive I believe we can do it,” Nieto said.