By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past October, former Port Isabel Alumni Christa Remi Valdez wrapped up her 2nd season playing Australian football with the Austin Crows women’s team. In 2023, she helped her team win last year’s USAFL National Championship in Women’s Division II. The team awarded Valdez Most Improved Player for the 2023 season for her efforts on the field.
The Austin Crows organization had an outstanding season in which all three teams, the Austin Crows, Austin Reserves, and Austin Crows Women’s team, won the 2023 USAFL Nationals Championship held in Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida.
Mr. Kirk Watson, Mayor of Austin, Texas, acknowledged an unprecedented feat in his presentation of a plaque to the Austin Crow Football Club commemorating November 11, 2023, as Austin Crows Day in honor of their Exceptional Achievement.
Valdez, who graduated in 2018, was a multi-faceted student-athlete who participated in Band, Tennis, and Softball while attending Port Isabel High School. As a starting Varsity pitcher, she earned All-District honors in her three years playing softball, finishing with a 32-4A 1st team All-District, All-Metro 1st Team and All-State 1st Team All-Academic selections in her senior year.
Excelling on and off the field, Valdez graduated in the top 10 of the 2018 class. Valdez had committed to playing softball at the University of Dallas but went to Texas A&M Kingsville instead and graduated in 2021. She currently lives in Austin, where she works in the physical therapy field.
Founded in 1997, the United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is a non-profit amateur sports organization with over 1,000 registered players playing in 48 member clubs (47 men’s and 25 women’s teams).