She rewrote Rio Grande Valley track & field history and set multiple personal records during competition.
Now, she will take her talents to the Division I collegiate level after officially inking her national letter of intent on Monday to run at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
“It was a emotional experience and their were tears of joy, but finally I’ve accomplished my dreams and now it’s official,” Pena said during a signing ceremony on Monday afternoon.
This year, Pena won the 32-6A District title in the long jump, 100- and 200-meter dashes, and was on the winning 400-meter relay team.
In that same meet, Pena set the Valley record for the 100-meter dash with a fully automatic time of 11.97.
At regionals, she qualified for the UIL state meet by taking silver in the long jump with a mark of 17-04 and the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.44.
With so much success, the offers from schools were coming from several institutions, but Pena decided that UTSA is where she wanted to be for reasons that go beyond athletics.
“I had offers from schools from different conferences, including the Big 12 and Pac-12,” Pena said. “I picked UTSA because it was the perfect fit for me in academics and athletics. Their facilities were nice and they’re growing. It’s a great environment and San Antonio is a great place.”
Pena will start school in the fall where she will major in kinesiology, and minor in health and nutrition. She eventually hopes to get her doctorate in physical therapy.
Before the next chapter, however, Pena will compete in this weekend’s state track & field meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
“I need to get out to the track and fix the small things so I can hopefully reach the top,” Pena said. “I have motivation right now to keep going. I need to work hard and try my best to represent the Valley at state.”
Pena will compete in the long jump at 4 p.m. and run the 100-meter dash at 7 p.m. on Saturday.