By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
It was only a matter of time before Jaleah Calvillo of Los Fresnos signed the dotted line to compete in track & field at the college level.
When she committed to the Universityof California-Davison Tuesday, years of hard work came to fruition.
“It was a huge sigh of relief,” she said after she penned her signature. “I was stressed leading up to the decision, and now it’s like my hard work paid off and I’ve been given the opportunity to extend my career in college, and I’m getting another four years to reach my potential.”
When she joins the Aggies next season, Calvillo will compete in the heptathlon, which is a combination of seven different events — the 200-meter run, the 800-meter run, the 100-meter hurdles, the high jump, the long jump, the shot put and the javelin.
Her ability to compete in such a versatile fashion stems from more than one decade of training.
She was in third grade when she’d compete in summer track, which eventually led to middle school and high school, where her love for the sport grew. It didn’t take long for her to realize she had the ability to go places.
“When I got first place in the high jump the summer before my sophomore year, I jumped 5 feet, 6 inches,” Calvillo said. “That’s a collegiate height and first place in some conferences. That’s when I opened my eyes and said, ‘I think I have what it takes to be a collegiate athlete.’”
It didn’t take long for her coaches to recognize Calvillo’s potential either.
“She’s out here every day during track season on time, early, putting in extra hours,” assistant coach Josh Wood said. “She came in early a couple times during the year, and we worked together on the long jump and triple jump. She’s definitely put in the time and the work to get where she is, and I know she’ll continue to do that at the next level.
“After seeing what she did her sophomore and junior year, she showed us she’s got a career in track.”
Long-time high school coach and current Los Fresnos assistant coach Cindy Trevino echoed those sentiments.
“(Calvillo) is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen,” she said. “I’ve been coaching for 30 years in track and other sports, and of all the athletes I’ve seen, I have to put her in the top five kids with the best work ethic. And not only that, she’s one of the best kids ever. She’s always supportive of everybody. It’s always about team, it’s never about herself.”
With several offers from other universities on the table, she was unsure where she would best fit. That was until she received a call from UC-Davis with an offer she couldn’t turn down.
“I got a lot of offers from schools for hurdles and high jump, but UC-Davis’ coach specializes in heptathlon,” Calvillo said. “They’ve got a group of heptathletes, so I’ll have teammates to train with.”
Two weeks ago, when she returned from visiting the UC-Davis campus, she immediately knew it was where she wanted to be.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.