NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
AUSTIN — After sprinting the final 150 meters of the Class 6A 3,200-meter run at a breakneck pace, PSJA Memorial’s Cruz Gomez knew he had pushed hard enough for a silver medal despite sitting in the middle of the pack for a large chunk of the race. What he wasn’t sure of was who finished behind him.
Sure enough, it was Edinburg North’s Tristan Peña, who ran a similar final lap to earn his first state medal during his senior season.
“We did start in the front of the pack,” Gomez said. “When we started, I was telling Tristan, ‘Let’s go. This is our race.’”
The eight laps around the course featured many changes in positioning. Peña and Gomez started near the front, but Gomez fell toward the center of the pack during the middle laps, while Pena was in the rear.
During the final two laps, coaches started to yell, and the Valley runners realized it was now or never to make up ground.
“I told myself, ‘I’m not going to come here just to get fourth or get fifth,’” Gomez said. “This is my third time (at state) — my second time running the 32 — so now I have to get on that podium. It was a hell of a year, and it would have been sad to not get on that podium.”
He finished the race nearly two seconds better than his previous personal best by posting a 9:13.83, while Peña mirrored that accomplishment, trimming his personal record by a couple of seconds with a 9:15.18 at the state track meet Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
“We push each other all the races, and we just became friends from there,” Peña said. “People would think, ‘Wouldn’t you guys be enemies? Oh, wouldn’t you guys be enemies? Because he’s faster than you. He’s a junior’ No. He’s a great competitor. He has great talent, and I respect him for that. And he’s just a great friend — really humble — and he motivates me.”
In Gomez’s evening race, the 1,600, he again surged late to nearly claim his first career gold medal. He finished in 4:13.64, while Dereck Elkins of Stony Point won in 4:13.19.
The Wolverines junior was smiling after the finish, but he said he also felt he could have completed the comeback.
“I got a medal, but it’s not a gold medal,” Gomez said. “He was just right there. It’s bittersweet. I knew the pace was off. I still wanted to run fast. It feels amazing. I didn’t think I would be at this level. Coming from middle school, my favorite sport was soccer. Those guys are great. They’re fast. Hopefully, one day, I can be in the state champion spot.”
GOLD FOR GRULLA
Grulla thrower Abigail Flores led the entire competition in the Class 4A discus throw. Even with a sizable lead, she knew the tide could turn quickly. She wore a towel over her head while her opponents’ last two attempts fell short. The worrying turned into celebrating as she put her arms around her coach, Jesseca Carrera, as a state champion.
“I was worried at first, because you never know when girls can go out there and throw their best PR,” Flores said. “In finals, I was more relaxed. I knew I just had to go throw it.”
The junior’s desire to improve was evident after the win, when she explained she was slightly disappointed that she didn’t win with a personal record.
“It was exciting, but at the same time, I wanted to go out there and see how much I could throw before I could get first place,” Flores said.
PSJA Southwest shot putter Diego Treviño didn’t throw the sphere past 60 feet, which was his goal, but his 58 flat was enough for a fourth-place finish, falling just half an inch short of the podium. Treviño finished two spots ahead of Harlingen South’s Andrew Ott. Both are juniors and will be looking to return to state in a year.
In the girls 3,200 run, La Joya Palmview’s Brianna Robles ran a 10:54.68 for sixth place — two spots better than she ranked at state a season ago. In the 1,600 run, she took sixth again with a 5:00.1 thanks to a powerful finish. She made up ground late to nearly claim fifth place.
“It’s been a good experience, meeting people and just being able to progress as a runner, because before I was never able to run these times,” Robles said. “I’m just looking forward to hopefully getting better and hitting those times I want to hit in college.”
She’ll continue her career at Adams State University in Colorado. On Saturday, she took the time to acknowledge her teammates who have looked up to her and supported her along the way.
“It means a lot, because I know that a lot of them look of me. They train with me and push me through the hardest times,” Robles said.
Progreso’s Everardo Esparza was quick for three laps of the Class 4A 1,600 run. However, he couldn’t keep up the pace in the final lap and got passed by the field. He finished ninth with a 4:36.33. La Feria’s Reyes Rodriguez took fifth with a 4:29.83.
La Villa’s Robbie Sue Espericueta took silver at her first state track meet with a time of 2:22.00 in the 800 run.
Rodriguez of La Feria took control of the final lap and didn’t let anyone catch him with a 1:54.81 to earn a gold medal in the Class 4A 800.
Weslaco High wheelchair athlete Joe Solis competed admirably in his last of four high school state track meets, finishing sixth in the 100 and fourth in the 400. He was pleased with his growth over the years.
“I started with I think 22-23 seconds. I’m down all the way to 17-18 seconds. It’s a great feeling,” Solis said. “I couldn’t do it without my coaches pushing me. The mindset of me going out there, practicing and coming to state. It pushes me more out of high school.”
The next generation of RGV wheelchair representation, McAllen Memorial freshman Suzannah Swanson, was also strong in her first state meet. In her 100, she finished in 22.18 and initially crossed the line third but was awarded a silver medal due to a lane violation. In the 400, she finished third of four competitors. After the events, she needed an ice pack for the soreness but was happy to perform well.
“Very exciting getting medals in both my events and… tiring,” Swanson said before explaining her surprise silver. “I found out when I was up on the podium. They were like, ‘No, you’re in second,’ and I was just like, ‘What?’ It’s definitely very exciting and surprising.”
Edinburg Economedes’s Gustavo Vasquez jumped a 47-04.25 to take sixth place in the triple jump. In the jumping pit next door Weslaco’s Eleanor Arndt finished with an 18-09.25 to take seventh.
Mission High’s Alex Cordova ran a 49.15 in the 400 while overtaking two runners to claim seventh place.
In the 1,600 relay, Weslaco High’s girls ran a 4:03.30 and finished in ninth place. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln finished in 3:23.90, also taking ninth.
Los Fresnos junior Brianna Alex finished in eighth place in the Class 6A 100 hurdles with a time of 14.98. Her and Santa Rosa’s Alex Ayala, a 3A bronze medalist on Friday, were the Valley’s only hurdles representation.
McAllen Rowe’s Lorena Rios took eighth place in the discus throw with a 126-09.