BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Aniah Chaleff-Reyna first visited the campus of Baylor when she was in elementary school, but her family’s history in Waco goes back decades.
With her coaches and teammates nearby, Chaleff-Reyna signed to compete in hurdles for the Bears track & field team.
She will compete at the same school her grandfather, Walter Reyna, won a three-mile Southwestern Conference championship in 1968.
“ He’s always taken me to meets there, and games, so I’ve always been very into Baylor,” Chaleff-Reyna said. “I always just wanted to go there, even if it wasn’t to run track. I just wanted to make him proud; my grandpa is a huge part of my life.”
The McAllen High senior said despite being around the sport of track for many years, last season was when her dreams started to become within reach.
“ I realized that I could actually compete at the college level last year,” Chaleff-Reyna said. “My sophomore and freshman year, I messed around a lot. Never really tried. Last year we got a new coach, and she was really hard on me.”
She set her personal mark of 15.21 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and ran a 46.90 in the 300-meter hurdles — both at the RGVCA Meet of Champions finals. Last season as a junior, she also set new personal bests in the high jump and long jump.
What could have been a long junior campaign was cut short. The future Baylor runner is using everything as motivation.
“ I fell at area and I was predicted to probably win regionals and go to state,” Chaleff-Reyna said. “From that point on, until now, I was just training. Outside of school, I was just running in the summer, going to hurdle practices a few times a week.”
Walter Reyna was beaming, dressed in all green at the signing ceremony. The former collegiate athlete said that the sport has always been a bond between himself and Aniah.
“ I’ve always kept up with the Big 12 now and with the world on the internet,” Reyna said. “I’ve taken her since she was a kid to all the big track meets — the NCAA’s, the Olympic trials — so it’s been a big part (of the family).”
“ It’s unbelievable,” Reyna said. “I never dreamed this would happen. I thought maybe a smaller school, but this is pretty special. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, but the most important thing is that she uses this as a means to an end to get her degree.”
“ Her mom, who raised her, she ran track here at McHi, that’s where that came from,” her father, Daniel Reyna, said. “My dad is just a bigger lover of track. It’s kind of come full circle now, seeing her grow up, doing hurdles in junior high and here at McHi. It’s been a great blessing.”
Chaleff-Reyna is the second Bulldogs track athlete with a signing ceremony in recent weeks. High jumper Hannah Kelly signed to Duke a week prior.
McHi girls coach Luis Cantu said the two standouts signing to well-known NCAA Div. I teams will work wonders for his younger athletes.
“ It’s a huge stepping stone for those freshmen and underclassmen that we have to see seniors. Obviously Hannah going to Duke, and now Aniah going to Baylor, it’s huge for our program, for the development of our program,” Cantu said. “Six years ago, there were maybe 30 girls in the program. Now there are 70 girls in the program.”