By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
A relentless dedication to her craft finally has paid off for Gabby Torres.
The Port Isabel track & field star signed her national letter of intent to compete in the heptathlon for the University of Texas at San Antonio on Wednesday in front of family, friends and coaches at Port Isabel.
“It’s an amazing feeling to see all the hard work payoff,” Torres said. “There’s a lot of emotion.”
Torres chose UTSA for a number of reasons, but the proximity to her home, athletic staff and facilities swayed her decision.
“One of the main reasons I chose UTSA is because of the coach, Adam Hudson,” she said. “He’s a phenomenal coach. He believes in me and is excited to help me work and get better.
“UTSA is an extremely nice campus, and San Antoniois beautiful. It was just a good fit for me, away from home but not far away from home.”
Coach Monty Stumbaugh praised Torres before the signing, highlighting the aspects that put her in this position.
“She put in the things that make it happen,” coachMonty Stumbaugh said. “She was there in the mornings. She did summer track. She put in all the extra work and time. Those are the kind of kids that get these types of offers.”
Though she has been running since seventh grade, it wasn’t until recently that Torres and her coaches recognized she had the potential to continue her career at the collegiate level.
“Last year, I started improving my (personal records) by a lot,” Torres said. “I started working hard and started hitting good marks.
“A few colleges started sending me letters. Especially after I went to state I thought, ‘Wow, this could really be something.’”
For coach Julie Breedlove, it was the hard work in the weight room that made the difference. Breedlove recalled one particular incident that showed her Torres had what it took.
“When I saw her work start to pick up in the weight room is when I knew,” she said. “There was one day we were trying to max out, and she didn’t hit the max she wanted. You could clearly see that it upset her, and that was the day we knew she was going to really start fighting for what she wanted to do.”
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.