McALLEN — McAllen High’s Sabrina Garza spent the last week doing what she does best, running.
This time, however, it wasn’t running on a track. It was running everywhere else. It began with final exams, most at 8 a.m., a food science project that turned into a delicious egg casserole, an official visit to Texas A&M and a stop in Houston for a Cold Play concert. It all concluded Tuesday — after the nails were done, the speech was written and some graduation photos were taken — with Garza signing her national letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic career with the Texas A&M track and field team.
“I was watching Cold Play,” Garza said. “And less than 12 hours later I was taking an AP Calculus exam. It was probably one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.”
That’s a lot of running.
In front of family, friends, McHi teachers, coaches and administrators, Garza — with her mother and father on either side of her wearing their Texas A&M shirts as Aggie alumni — thanked the supporters and talked about attending her dream school.
“I was going there either way,” said Garza, a long-distance runner who owns the school’s 1,600 record, dominated in the 800 all season and was part of the record-breaking 1,600-meter relay team. “We went for the official visit and had a whole day full of tours and meeting coaches and athletes and getting a feel for what it truly is like to be apart of the program.
“It confirmed that it’s exactly where I want to be. It feels like a second home already and I haven’t gotten there yet.”
Along the way, Garza also met with former A&M world-class runner Athing Mu who, at 19, won a gold medal in the 800 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She also set the world under-20 record in the women’s indoor 800 in early 2021 in 1 minute, 58.40 seconds.
“It was cool to talk to maybe the best 800 runner in the world and get advice from her,” Garza said. “That was really, really cool.”
Garza set personal records in the 400, 800 and 1,600 during her senior season. The timing, however, of her 800 PR couldn’t have been any better. She ran a 2:15.92, five second faster than her previous PR and won the Valley’s biggest event, the Meet of Champions, breaking the tape by nearly 5.5 seconds over second place. No other runner broke the 2:21 mark.
That day should be circled on the Garza family calendar. Immediately after that performance, the college calls, emails and letters came flooding in.
“I was getting very nervous,” Garza said. “I started accepting the reality that I might have to give up running. I had gotten offers from other places but I didn’t even take notice of them. All I cared about was hearing from A&M. I was set. I already had my apartment and I was preparing to just be a normal student.
“Being able to be here today though, and sign to my dream school makes it all worth it. It makes me know I made the right decision.”