Before Valery Tobias took to the track Saturday at the Knights of Columbus Relays in Mercedes, her coach pulled her aside for a moment of clarity.
While the Edinburg IDEA Quest sophomore has hopes of winning a second state medal in as many years, Tobias began the year in uncharacteristic form. While she cooly won silver in the 800-meter run last year at state, Tobias began the season bitten by nerves and exhaustion from soccer season.
Looking to correct his middle-distance runner’s early season struggles, coach Robbie Cruz spoke with Tobias before competing in the finals for the girls 400-meter dash.
“She feels like everybody is on her because of what she did last year,” Cruz said. “Everybody expects her back. We do, and I know she expects herself back. … ‘I told her, ‘You go out there and run for you. Don’t worry about your times or the critics. Just do it for you.’”
Tobias responded to the personal pep talk by taking first in the 400 run with a time of 59.8 seconds, dropping 20 seconds from her previous run at a Port Isabel meet where she ran against the wind. Tobias holds the Valley’s fourth fastest time in the 400 run.
“We like coming out of nowhere,” Cruz said. “We like being the underdog. Whenever they announce our athletes on the podium, everyone looks at them like, ‘Who are these kids?’”
Though Tobias excels at middle distance events, she will also compete in the 1600 run. The move was made by Cruz in order to maximize the number of events she can qualify for in the run to state. Tobias is also competing in the long jump and with teammate Jillian Terry in the high jump, a state qualifier in the event a season ago.
SURPRISING SERNA
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s goal of winning back-to-back district titles will be a dream deferred if the Huskies fail to find the proper relay lineups. Finding the right mixture of speed, strength and endurance is the mission for coach Horacio Garza, who changes relay units with each meet.
But amidst the roulette of Juarez-Lincoln’s relays, the individual talents of Carlos Serna have flourished. The senior has been a utility athlete for the Huskies, competing in the hurdles and field events in addition to competing in the 800 and 1600 relay — two events in which he did not compete in 2015.
Serna’s strongest individual showing is in the 300 hurdles, where he holds the Valley’s second fastest time of 39.15.
“He’s been a big surprise for us this year,” Garza said. “He’s improved by leaps and bounds. It’s amazing how much he’s improved. He is completely blowing us away as far as the way he’s been able to improve. He made up his mind after football season. He said he really wanted to run in earnest and he’s really shown it to us in his workouts.”