BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Nyla Vela relished success and experienced failure by the slimmest of margins Saturday. During an afternoon of up-and-down jumping competition at the McAllen ISD Invitational, diminutive distances made all the difference.
First, the bad news. Despite ranking among the best in the Valley in the girls long jump, the Mission Veterans Memorial sophomore scratched each of her three attempts in the event for the first time in her high school career — stepping over the line by a quarter of an inch on two occasions.
Now, the good news: During the triple jump, Vela won gold and set a new Valley’s best in the event with a mark of 36 feet 3.5 inches, just a quarter of an inch better than McAllen Rowe’s Jovanni Solis.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Vela said of the close competition. “As soon as you get to the line, you make sure you don’t want to scratch. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into your jumps.”
During the early part of the season, Vela is picking up where she left off after an impressive freshman campaign wherein she demonstrated her athleticism on the hurdles in addition to her duties in field events.
But Vela’s success comes with a sense of cautious optimism as she is just a few months removed from nerve decompression surgery in her lower legs. Vela says she has limited feeling below her knees and her left ankle has little to no mobility. Such conditions are less than ideal for a jumper with a trip to the state meet on the brain.
“The surgery was supposed to remove or fix whatever was blocking the nerve endings in my legs,” Vela said. “It has a recovery time of six months to a year. It hasn’t worked so far, but I guess it’s just something I’ll have to live with.”
Vela, who wears an ankle brace during competition, says she is contemplating an additional surgery that would take place once the track season is over, but admits missing her sophomore year was never an option. In the meantime, she takes extra precautions while preparing for events. Since her left foot doesn’t move very well, she does extra calf workouts to keep her muscles as relaxed as possible.
Despite the shoddy nerves and uncooperative ankle, Vela’s coaches notice an athlete not only succeeding, but improving despite her medical shortcomings.
“When she takes off in full stride and at full speed, she jumps like a dream,” Mission Veterans jumping coach Joe Espino said. “We don’t change anything for her in terms of her mechanics, it’s still the same. We’re just always asking her how she feels.”
When Vela is pressed about her health by coaches, her answer is always the same. “I’m fine.”
But her numbers will sometimes indicate otherwise. When Espino and head track coach Kathy Howell notice Vela’s distances dip or fail to see the same lift in her jumps, they shut her down to avoid unnecessary strain on her lower extremities.
“She’s getting comfortable with her body again,” Espino said. “She’s learning to trust her instincts. The mechanics are still there. They never left. It’s more a deal of mind over matter for her right now.”
SALINAS VAULTS TO NEW PERSONAL RECORD
Weslaco High’s Sydney Salinas won the girls pole vault with a new personal best of 11-06 on Saturday, eclipsing her previous record by five inches. In doing so, Salinas also set a new Valley’s best, beating her own mark of 11-00.
“I just felt good coming into this meet today,” Salinas said. “I’ve been jumping at (11 feet) for a while now. When I jumped 11-06, I felt like I had enough of a hump to clear 12 feet.”
Salinas attempted to clear 12 feet just once, failing to do so.
Among other athletes to set new Valley’s bests at the McAllen ISD Invitational were McAllen High’s Joshua McGowen, who won gold in the boys long jump with a distance of 23-07, and Mercedes’ Jacklynn Flores, who took home first in the girls long jump with a mark of 17-07.