A small crowd cheered Monday night as members of the San Benito High School chess team climbed off a bus as the new state champions.

The 17-member team won the district’s first Texas Scholastic Chess Championship in Dallas on Sunday with a victory over Brownsville’s Porter High School and Bellaire High School, the team that reigned five years as the state’s champions.

The team will now move to the national championships in Minneapolis, Minn., in April.
“It’s an honor to be the state champions,” Superintendent Antonio Limon said Monday. “This isn’t something that happened overnight. It’s something we’ve been working on for 10 years to come to fruition.”

San Benito High School finished with 20 points, while Porter and Bellaire each took 17.5 points; Veterans Memorial Academy finished with 13.5 in the two-day tournament.
“The accomplishment is huge,” high school Coach Eric Villarino said. “It’s a pinnacle. All the work we’ve done paid off.”

The victory boosts the team to the ranks of Brownsville’s powerhouse teams that have dominated the region since the 1990s, said Luis Gonzalez, assistant director of the district’s After-School Program, which pushed to build the chess program launched 10 years ago.

“It sets a standard for other teams,” Gonzalez said.

Strong finishes by other San Benito teams helped hone the talents of younger players who will fuel the high school team in years to come, Villarino said.

“Our San Benito teams did very well overall,” Villarino said. “We’re going to keep building on that.”

The top two finishes by the San Benito and Porter teams show the strength of the Rio Grande Valley’s chess programs, Villarino said.

“The top two teams in the high school division came from the Valley so that speaks a lot of our Valley programs and our commitment to chess,” Villarino said.

In the high school division, Veterans Memorial Academy, the district’s ninth-grade campus that won the United States Chess Federation’s ninth-grade national championship in 2010, took fourth place in the high school division.

In the middle school division, Miller Jordan Middle School finished in third place, while Riverside Middle School took fifth place.

In the elementary school division, Dr. Cash Elementary School finished in third place, while Ed Downs Elementary School took fourth place.

San Benito senior Simon Vasquez took a fourth-place finish among the tournament’s top scorers.

“It’s a great victory for our team,” said Vasquez, the team’s anchor who developed his talent with the district’s chess program since first grade.

Across the state, the team has risen to become a powerhouse, Karlos Ramos, a senior who began playing chess in fourth grade, said.

“When we’d go to state, the other teams didn’t know who we were,” Ramos said. “It’s really important to win and represent the Valley.”

Sophomore Brandon Flores was one of the players who joined the high school team after helping Veterans Memorial Academy win the ninth-grade championship in 2010. He has been playing chess since the fifth grade.

“It gave us experience and a lot of confidence,” said Flores.

The championship comes on the heels of the high school team’s victory last month in the Region 8 tournament held at Veterans Memorial Academy.

Jack Garcia, director of the district’s After School Program said, “I think we can play with anyone in the country. It’s extremely tough at the national level. They’re in for some tough competition.”

Jonah Barrera, right, holds up a a sign that reads “State Champs” as he waits for his brother, Joel Barrera, to disembark a charter bus. The elder Barrera, along with classmates from San Benito High School, were returning from a state-level chess championship. By Dina Arevalo/Valley Morning Star

February 20, 2012 10:40 PM
fernandodv@valleystar.com
956-430-6278

Article taken from Valley Morning Star on Feb. 21, 2012

PRESS RELEASE:
February 15, 2012

San Benito, Texas — Oscar Medrano, a member of the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees, was awarded 2011-12 School Board Trustee of the Year by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA) during the organizations awards banquet on Thursday, February 9^th at the Westin Galleria in Houston, Texas.

TCTA presents trustee awards annually for outstanding service to education, students and the community. Medrano was selected based on a nomination submitted by the San Benito CTA, a local affiliate of the statewide TCTA. Founded in 1927, TCTA is an association for Texas teaching professionals and serves 50,000 members across the state.

In nominating Medrano, the San Benito CTA praised him for regularly visiting school campuses “where he meets with teachers, custodians and paraprofessionals to show support and address concerns. On a weekly basis, he reads to children and attends school functions such as concerts, plays, athletic events and club meetings.” In choosing Medrano, awards judges were impressed with his involvement not only at the local level but also at the state and national levels. During the last legislative session, Medrano was part of a delegation of statewide school board members who rallied to “Make Education a Priority.” Recently, he traveled to Washington, D.C., for the 2012 Federal Relations Network Conference, where trustees gathered from around the country along with congressional representatives to discuss key federal education issues.

“The accomplishments and success achieved by our students reflect the hard work our teachers devote in creating lifelong learners and making San Benito a better place to live and learn.  I am extremely humbled and thankful to the San Benito CTA for nominating me for this prestigious award.  It is an honor to represent the community that I so much love.  I dedicate this award to all our teachers and the school district, and I thank TCTA for this honor,” said Mr. Medrano.

Medrano was elected to the San Benito CISD school board in 2008, having previously served a term from 2003 to 2005. During his tenure, he has held the positions of secretary, vice-president and president. Medrano graduated in 2010 from the Texas Association of School Boards Leadership TASB Program becoming the first school board member from San Benito CISD to earn “Master Trustee” status.

Medrano just completed his 16th year with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, where he serves as the patient advocate and volunteer services coordinator.

The San Benito School Board of Trustees will honor Mr. Medrano with a reception during the February 21^st regular scheduled meeting.

King and Queen:  Cadets Joshua Jaso and Lizeth Gonzalez
Prince and Princess:  Cadets Gustavo Guevara and Nashvill Huerta
Duke and Duchess:  Cadets Armando Vela and Lizbeth Gonzalez
Lord and Lady: Cadets Alonzo Chapa and Nahomi Rodriguez

Students interested in joining NJROTC should talk to their counselors or call LT Rolando Gonzalez or Chief Richard Williams at 276-6075.

San Benito NJROTC Drill Team ready for Personnel Inspection at a Drill Competition

They are, seated from left, Monica Muñoz, Holly Ann Parrish, Victoria Guzman, Lorena Roque Martinez, Kristina Garcia, Esther Anahi Peralez; standing, from left, Andres Nava, Kassandra Ramirez, Lauren Ashley Herrera, Carlos Alberto Luna, Jorge Medina, Hilario Bernaldo Garcia, Miguel Angel Aguilar, Mario Enrique Contreras, Karlos Ramos and Estevan Gonzales.

This year’s selected theme is a Hollywood theme. Parents are welcomed to attend the Coronation Ceremony, which will be held at the San Benito High School Cafeteria from 7-8 PM.

Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children under 10. Student Council invites all San Benito High School and Veterans Memorial Academy students to the dance, which will follow the Coronation Ceremony. Admission to the dance is $10 for singles and $15 for couples.

Formal wear is required for the dance. The dance will be held from 8-12 PM. Picture packages will be available at a cost ranging from $20-$40.

For more information please call 361-6500.

KSBG-TV 17 has partnered with Athletic Director Spencer Gantt and local sportscaster Clay Williams from KGBT-TV Channel 4 to create a powerful video that sheds light on the rivalry that exists between San Benito and Harlingen.

The video production shows candid interviews with Coach Gantt, Williams and football players and contains “Battle of the Arroyo” footage. The video has been entered in the 2011 Nike High School Rivalry Tour Contest.

The public is being encouraged to vote on the Battle of the Arroyo/Nike Rivalry Contest video.

Nike will name nine finalists–three finalists per state (Illinois, Ohio and Texas). Winners will receive one uniform for each member of their varsity football team and one cheer uniform for each member of the varsity cheerleading team. The first phase of the Texas contest is public voting, which starts November 11 and ends December 17.

Winners will be announced via a public announcement at each State Championship Game according to the following dates:

•November 27–Illinois
•December 4–Ohio
•December 18–Texas

Go here to vote: http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/usnikefootball/en_US/rivalryuniformcontest

Watch video from within district at: http://elearn.sbcisd.net/misc/movies/Battle%20of%20the%20Arroyo_Nike%20Rivalry%20Contest.mp4

From outside the district, you can access the video directly from YouTube at http://youtu.be/zNQL-fYbwj4