BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
PHARR – Diego Trevino stepped into the throwing ring in front of the softball fields at PSJA Southwest on Monday morning like he has countless times in the past. It couldn’t hurt to get a few more reps in before competing in the most prestigious meet in his life this week: The USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Lawrence, Kansas.
The topic of most esteemed field Trevino took part in before this week could foster an evenhanded debate. The USATF Region 12 Junior Olympic Championships Trevino won earlier this month was major in its own way, but there’s no denying the magnitude of throwing against the best in Texas at the 2016 UIL 5A State Meet in Austin while still a bright-eyed freshman.
Trevino began his sophomore season winning four consecutive meets, including the Meet of Champions in Weslaco. As the calendar turned to April and the home stretch in track and field, Trevino was effective but not his typically dominant self in the shot put and discus. He did enough to advance through the district and area rounds, but a fourth-place finish at the regional meet in San Antonio was the moment that brought him back down to earth.
“I think about missing State (in 2017) very often, actually,” Trevino said. “I know I could have taken first place at regionals. I scratched two 58-foot throws, which would have given me first, but I couldn’t put it together.”
Fast forward to July 8 at the USATF Region 12 Junior Olympic Championships in Humble, and it appeared Trevino was beginning to right the ship again. His shot put throw wasn’t a personal best (53 feet, 3 inches) but was nearly 6 feet longer than his counterpart in second place (47 feet, 5 3/4 inches). The margin for error was much more thin in the discus competition. But Trevino turned in another throw that was good, but not his best (148 feet, 9 3/4 inches) to capture the title in that event, as well.
“My mentality in every meet is to try to PR (set a personal record),” Trevino said. “I’m not really looking to finish first. I just want to PR. That’s been my goal ever since I started throwing.”
Trevino, a rising junior, and PSJA Southwest throwing coach Eloy Garza were driving back to the Valley following the meet in Humble. They were somewhat satisfied with taking first in the shot put and discus but dissatisfied with the distances not being where they both knew the marks should be.
“We both knew more could have been done,” Garza said. “At some point while we were driving back, we stopped, and I tried to look at things objectively. I said, ‘Diego, you won regionals. You’re like, the best in Texas. You’re on your way to the Junior Olympics. Let’s enjoy this.’”
Athletes who are as physically gifted as Trevino may not always strive for improvement. Garza has seen firsthand that Trevino isn’t one of those athletes.
“His work ethic is unmatched,” Garza said. “The young man wants the opportunity. He wants to better himself, and he shows that through his hard work and dedication to the sport. I wish a lot more young people had the same drive. They’d realize that a lot of their problems wouldn’t be problems had they did.”
Garza remembers an eighth grade district meet as the moment he saw what Trevino could be.
“There are a lot of components that come together when you see an athlete perform a certain way. You can see a potential there,” Garza said. “A potential for opportunities, for greater things to happen. ‘Wow, this guy could get committed’ was a thought I had. It’s funny, because Diego was one of three athletes that I felt could be that at that eighth-grade meet. For whatever reason, he was the only one that wanted to take the sport seriously.”
Trevino will be competing among other 15 and 16-year-olds from across the country at the USATF Junior Olympic Championships at the University of Kansas’ track and field facilities.
Hearing the words ‘national’, ‘junior’ and ‘Olympic’ side by side is still a lot to take in. But Trevino won’t simply be happy to be there.
“It’s an honor to be able to compete at the national level,” Trevino said. “My goal is to break the national record in the shot put, which is 62 feet, 3 inches. I haven’t gone that far at a meet, but I’ve hit 62 feet before in practice. If I can get some good throws at the beginning, I’ll feel a lot better about getting that record.”
Garza, Trevino and his father plan to take the 12-hour drive up to Lawrence today, rest and spend Wednesday preparing for the competition on Thursday and Friday.
“I know I belong there,” Trevino said. “I’ve work hard for everything I’ve accomplished.”