By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
Senior Lemuel Leija’s evolution in the Lopez track program is perhaps the best example of what coach Mike Gonzalez and the Lobos have been building toward — finding a niche for each of their athletes to succeed.
Leija began his preparation more than two months before the track season officially began, and his dedication continued with early morning workouts of four to five miles before school.
“I wanted to put in work because it was my senior year and I wanted to make it count by hopefully advancing to (the area meet),” Leija said. “As time went on, we started pushing ourselves more.”
Gonzalez said Leija was “by far the most improved athlete in our track program” and that his ability to switch from distance events — the 3,200-meter run and the 1,600, to the 800 and 400, and the anchor of the 1,600 relay — was a testament to his work ethic.
“I definitely started doing way better than I was doing in longer distances,” Leija said. “I definitely had some sprinter speed in me, we just needed to bring it out more. I had specialized workouts to improve my speed.”
Earlier in the season, Leija set a personal record in the 800 with a mark of 2:03. He placed sixth at the BISD City Meet with a time of 2:06.18.
“It did cross my mind,” Leija said about the city meet being his last high school competition. “When I was running I did manage to push myself, and I ended the season with a personal record and I’m very proud of that.”
Cristobal Gonzalez, another runner who competed in both distance and middle distance events, also was a soccer player for three years. He passed on his final soccer season to focus on his track season.
The senior was the Lobos’ best performer in the 800, recording a mark of 2:05.84, and finished second in the 1,600 with a time of 4:48.01 at the city meet. His best time in the 800 was 2:02.
“(Cristobal and I) were very close friends, but at the same time we were very competitive with each other,” Leija said. “We just wanted to push ourselves and see who was going to get the fastest time.”
Junior Julian Juarez will look to be the top distance runner for Lopez in 2021. The three-year letterman in track & field and cross country has posted a personal-best time of 10:40 in the 3,200 meters.
Senior Jonathan Gracia was one of the Lobos’ leaders in the field events, excelling in the long jump and triple jump.
Gracia will attend the University of Texas at Austin, where he will major in chemistry, and said he plans to return to Lopez to volunteer as a coach next track season.
Mike Gonzalez and Gracia both credited former coach Robin Pyle, now at Porter, for his work in developing Gracia’s technique as a freshman and sophomore. Gracia’s best mark in the triple jump was 42 feet, 7 1/2 inches, moving him to third place all-time in the Lopez record books.
“(Gracia) never hesitated, helping and coaching the younger ones when he could,” Gonzalez said. “He would help whenever he could. He was very unselfish.”
But Gracia said he did struggle to find consistency with the jumping coaches that followed after Pyle left.
“It was very tough on me,” Gracia said. “I practiced on my own. … But I was still lacking that extra push. I tried not to depend on a coach, as an independent athlete I just tried to go above and beyond with my jumps.”
While Gracia and his teammates were unable to get an opportunity to try to earn a spot at a regional or state competition in 2020, he hopes he can mentor future Lobos to blaze their own trail to success in the sport and fully realize their potential.
“I’ve always thought about my senior season,” Gracia said. “You know what, it’s my last year, I’m going to make something of myself and make this program stay strong. I wanted to have jumpers that will represent Lopez at a higher level after I’m gone. They have so much potential. I’m going to try to be there every day or every moment that I can to help them get further.”
One athlete with ambitions of taking such a leap is sophomore Jonathan Muñoz, who has also lettered in football and basketball. Like Leija and Cristobal Gonzalez in their running events, Muñoz and Gracia battled back and forth in the triple jump and long jump.
Muñoz bested Gracia at the city meet with a long jump of 19-7 1/2, in what was just his second time competing in the event. He also won the triple jump with a mark of 41-5 1/2, and competed in the 110-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles.
“(Muñoz) is going to be an outstanding athlete,” Mike Gonzalez said. “He was just starting to get his steps and his timing down for the hurdles, and he excelled in the triple jump in a matter of three weeks. … In the next couple of years, we’re going to have some good jumpers at Lopez.”