BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
SAN ANTONIO — The 2019 UIL Region IV meet is the singular focus of any program with talented athletes like Edinburg Vela.
Regardless of a singular event, the preseason goals were to find a way to qualify for regionals in San Antonio and find another way to qualify for the state meet in Austin.
The SaberCats’ focus changed Wednesday. Nick Larsen, a senior who would have competed Friday in San Antonio after becoming a District 31-6A and 31/32-6A area champion pole vaulter, suffered a head injury that rocked the local track and field community.
Larsen fell on his head during a vaulting attempt. The skull injury required emergency surgery on Wednesday night. Larsen is currently sedated and is expected to be taken out of sedation within the next 48 hours.
“I was there when it all happened,” Edinburg Vela senior Noah Treviño said. “It really affected me, but I had to stay positive because I know that he’s in good hands. We’ve been praying for him. Nick’s a fighter and I know he’ll make it through this.”
The SaberCats made the trip north to San Antonio on Thursday, but their hearts and minds were with their injured friend and teammate back in the Valley.
Treviño, a high jumper, earned his spot in San Antonio when he won the area championship with a personal-record tying jump of 6 feet, 4 inches. Despite the stiff competition of Region IV and understandable double-mindedness, Treviño qualified for the state meet with a second-place finish Friday afternoon.
He set two personal records in the process when he cleared separate jumps 6-6 and 6-8.
“I’m still trying to process it,” Treviño said. “I’m happy I PR’d twice and I’m happy I qualified for state. I’m trying to catch my brother right now (former Edinburg Vela jumper Brendon Rivera). He has the Valley record at 7 feet, 3 inches, but all of this is for Nick Larsen. All of it is for him.”
“I was concerned about Noah because he witnessed it (Larsen’s injury),” Edinburg Vela boys track coach Hernan Figueroa said. “We kept on praying to pull through it. I applaud his character. He stayed calm. As he cleared the 6-6, we were so happy for that. But when he cleared 6-8 on the first attempt, I knew that God had opened a door for us. The track community came together for Nick. That has been huge. Noah came out like a samurai today.”
A VALLEY SWEEP
The best Class 5A throwers from the Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and Coastal Bend all fell short of Valley throwers in the discus and shot put finals.
PSJA Southwest senior Diego Treviño won the discus (155 feet, 4 inches) and shot put (60 feet, 4.25 inches) competitions while two athletes from Mission split gold medals. Sharyland Pioneer sophomore Daizy Monie won the discus (133-8) and Mission Veterans junior Charlee Salinas earned a gold medal in the shot put (41-10.5).
“Sometimes I get into my own head and focus on what other people throw. I just said, ‘God, help me to do my best,’” Salinas said.
Treviño now owns the gold medals in the discus and shot put at this year’s district, area and regional track meets.
“This is what we’ve expected since the start of the season,” Treviño said. “(Throwing) Coach (Eloy Garza) and I had high expectations. That’s what we were aiming for. I want to go first in the shot (put) and first in the discus again at state, so we can sweep them all.”
Garza believes Friday’s performances from Treviño, Salinas and Monie reinforce what he already knew about Valley athletes.
“If you talk to any coaches at big schools across the country, they know who we are,” Garza said. “They come down here and recruit in the Valley. At the root of our amazing throwing tree in the Valley is Coach (Larry) Howell. He coached all the great throwers and coached all the great coaches. The coach I had in high school was a former athlete of Coach Howell’s. We’re taking what he built seriously. It’s a source of pride for me and many of us in the throwing community.”
FUTURE LONGHORNS SET FOR ANOTHER RUN IN AUSTIN
PSJA Memorial runner Cruz Gomez, along with McAllen Memorial twins Trevor and Evan Williams, qualified for the state meet in separate 3,200-meter runs on Friday morning. All three will be running at the University of Texas next year.
Gomez won the Class 5A race when he heard the final lap bell and left the competition in the dust. He recorded a personal-best 9 minutes, 13.36 seconds Friday, which is nearly half a second faster than his previous personal record he set at the 2018 state meet (9:13.83).
“Around three-quarters into the season, we start what we call ‘tagging’ the last lap,” PSJA Memorial boys track coach Lee Roy Perez said. “Whether it’s the last 200 meters or 400 meters, we try and simulate the end of the race when you’re fatigued and have to go all out. Today, we had him (Gomez) at a 59.9 (seconds) in the last lap, so it looks like he’s ready to run with almost anybody.”
Trevor Williams (9:24.97) and Evan Williams (9:25.26) took first and second place in the Class 6A race. The state meet will be Trevor’s first in track and field.
“This means the world to me,” Trevor Williams said. “All four years have been leading up to this point. The fact that Austin’s going to be my home next year and run at my soon-to-be home track is pretty phenomenal.”