By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
One of the best discus throwers in the Rio Grande Valley will continue throwing at the college level.
Rivera’s Angel Espinoza officially made his decision to compete for the University of Texas A&M-Kingsville during a signing ceremony Friday at Rivera.
Espinoza will throw discus for the track & field team and will try to walk-on to the football team at the NCAA Division II school.
The Rivera senior set this season’s Valley-best distance of 182 feet, 5 inches in the discus at the Meet of Champions and won both the district and regional titles in the event.
He plans to study chemical engineering, so it was a good fit both academically and athletically.
“It’s a small school, but Corpus Christi is right there,” he said. “It’s a couple hours from home, so I can come down and visit often. It was the perfect location.”
This recruiting process came together in the last month or so. Espinoza wasn’t sure where he wanted to go to school, but Javelinas coach Ryan Dall was interested in the Raiders senior.
“(Dall) came to see him at the state meet,” Rivera throwing and football defensive line coach Edward Garcia said. “Everything kind of fell into place. It’s been all positive.”
Espinoza’s interest about Kingsville was piqued even further when the track coach told him about the recent athletes that advanced to the national meet.
“I wanted to be a part of that team, maybe go to nationals myself,” Espinoza said. “They have a really good track team and I wanted to be a part of that.”
The Raiders senior will mainly compete in discus but would like to learn how to throw the hammer as well.
Garcia is happy that Espinoza found a place that fit him so well.
“I wanted him to go somewhere for track,” Garcia said. “He has untapped potential, he hasn’t even reached his potential. So for him to continue on to the collegiate level, it’s an honor for me to have coached him, but the sky’s the limit for him.
“I’m very proud of him.”
Espinoza said he plans to hit the weight room all summer to continue to get stronger before he heads to Kingsville.
The Rivera senior will receive a partial athletic scholarship to cover some of the costs of tuition.
Even though the process happened very fast, Espinoza felt he made the best choice for his family and himself.
“It seemed like the perfect school for me,” he said.
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.