By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The arrival of May typically means someone from Port Isabel will be advancing to the UIL state track & field meet.
At least it’s been that way for a few track seasons now.
This year, the Tarpons are sending three athletes to the state meet at University of Texas-Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium. The event starts today and runs through Saturday.
They are Natalie Garza in the 400-meter run, Joseph Ian Torres in the shot put and Sydney “Trey” Mock in the discus throw. Mock competes at noon Friday, while Torres’ event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday. Garza runs her event at 7:45 p.m. Saturday.
Torres and Mock are seniors and making their first trips to state. Garza, a junior, is returning to Austin a second time after placing fourth in her event at state a year ago.
It took finishing first or second at the Region IV-4A meet in Kingsville on April 28 to earn a trip to state. Mock placed first, while Torres and Garza were each second.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished something because of the hard work I’ve put in to go to state again,” said Garza, who holds this season’s Valley-best time for her event at 57.79 seconds. “It’s pretty amazing (for three of us from Port Isabel to be going) because we’re a small town. Trey, Ian and myself have shown others that we can achieve anything if we put our minds to it.
“I think going up there and watching all the other girls race before I run (Saturday night) should calm my nerves a little bit,” she added. “Hopefully I can see other competitors run (before my event) and feel more comfortable.”
Added girls track coach Julie Breedlove, “For Natalie to make it back to state is kind of a feat in itself. There’s a lot of pressure on an athlete trying to go back, so we’re real excited about her doing that. I’m so proud of her. She’s put her heart and soul into her season. It’s neat to see us take three people up there.”
Earlier this month Torres signed an athletic scholarship agreement to throw the shot put for the University of Houston, so doing well at state would just add to his accomplishments.
“I’ve been wanting to make it to state since I was a freshman, so this is a great feeling,” said Torres, who recorded a personal best of 51 feet, 5 inches in his event at regionals. “A trip to state has been my main goal. The other years didn’t go the way I wanted (by not making it out of area competition). This year is special because it’s my last year.
“My main goal at state is to throw a personal best and the second goal is to win,” he added. “Everyone goes (to state) to win. No one goes just to place. It’s very good to be representing our town and the Valley as well.”
Mock owns the Valley’s top mark in the boys discus this year with a distance of 172 feet, 3 inches. It’s the top qualifying throw for state in his class.
“I’m real proud of our whole team because we finished second at District (32-4A),” Tarpons track coach Joe Gonzales said. “These young men helped get us there. It shows that we have some real hard workers here at Port Isabel. These athletes know what this trip to state is all about and they’re working hard to get that medal.”
Added assistant coach Al Senteno, “Getting to state has been the goal since the first day of practice for these athletes. I think they’ve been peaking since the Meet of Champions. They’ve been getting ‘PRs’ almost every week since then, I believe. Our expectations are we’re going up there to win it. We’ve talked about it already. One of those nine competitors in each of the events at state is going to win it, so why not us?”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess