Kevin Narro | Staff Writer
SAN BENITO — The Lady Hounds are sending another wrestler to the college level.
Thursday afternoon Miriam De La Garza became the latest San Benito athlete to sign their name on the dotted line as she will continue her wrestling career at Schreiner University in Kerrville.
De La Garza is the third San Benito athlete to sign a letter of intent at Schreiner joining basketball star Miranda Vallejo and De La Garza will also join fellow teammate Camron Rodriguez who signed his letter of intent last month.
“I’m a little nervous, but I’m ready,” said De La Cruz. “This wasn’t a goal of mine until this year. I visited campus and I liked the environment and it’s a small school and I like that. I plan on majoring in pre-med and Schreiner has that available for me.
“I’m excited to join Camron. I’ll have someone that I know and we are excited to go up there together and we are looking forward to helping each other out.”
De La Garza spent three seasons on the team and went 21-5 during her senior season. She also served as one of the team’s captains.
“Our program is getting attention state wide,” said San Benito coach Crispin Lopez. “We have been successful and have made trips to regionals and state. It’s a great opportunity for our athletes to get a chance to compete at the college level and to take advantage of a scholarship.”
This year De La Garza fell one win shy of qualifying for regionals, but served as a regional alternate.
“My best advice to Miriam would be to budget her time,” Lopez said. “These opportunities don’t come around too often, so it’s important for her to take advantage of this opportunity, not only for herself but to open doors for other athletes in our program.
“She led by example, she was very stable and reliable. The fact that she is signing today is a plus for our program and it says a lot about her character.”