By JOSHUA McKINNEY,Staff Writer
So the theme to Gaby Garza’s summer track program is to have fun and relax.
Garza, who’s entering her junior year at St. Joseph Academy, will wrap up her summer by competing in the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships on today through Sunday in Sacramento, California.
She’s slated to compete in the 15-16 girls division for both the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles in the USATF Nationals for the second straight year.
The fledgling track star admits her expectations are higher after what she’s accomplished so far in her career.
“This is the first summer where I’ve felt pressured, so I think about my past summers and how I felt, how I just ran because I loved it, because I was good at it,” Garza said. “I just try to ignore it.”
Garza concedes that the pressure to do better doesn’t come from anyone but herself.
Long-time St. Joseph Academy track and field coach Meme Garza knows his young athlete has the focus to block out whatever pressure she’s placed on herself.
“She’s very mature for her age,” he said. “I’ve probably learned more from her than she’s learned from me. She’s definitely talented at many things. She’s an outstanding dancer. She could do a lot of things if she wanted to. She got connected with track and hurdling. She loves it. She loves to compete. She’s not afraid to compete and she enjoys the competition.”
In last year’s USATF Junior Olympics, Garza finished fourth in the 400 hurdles (1:02.01), missing out on a podium finish in the 400 hurdles by .02 seconds. She made it the finals in the 100 hurdles.
Combine that with the two silver medals she won in the TAPPS state meet this spring and her second-best 400 hurdle time in the Rio Grande Valley, 43.51 seconds, and you get a high standard of success.
“She kind of jumped into the Valley stage right away,” coach Garza said. “I think she’s got a bigger picture than that so she understands that there’s a lot of talent out there and there’s work to be done, so that kind of keeps her grounded in terms of what she can do or what she wants to do. We’re going to go to Sacramento and the stadium’s going to be bigger, the athletes are going to be faster, but for her, the hurdles are the same size and the distance is the same. Just run your race and everything else will take care of itself.”
The most important lesson Gaby Garza is trying to learn this summer is to relax and enjoy the moment, which she hopes to do in California this week.
“I expect tough competition, but I’m also trying to have fun, not stress as much like last year … enjoy it,” she said. “I know there’s going to be girls who want it as much as I do.”
Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.