BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
MORE: Complete results from Region IV field event finals
SAN ANTONIO — Fabian Garcia showed up Friday at Alamo Stadium with a plan, albeit a tricky one: compete, but remain rested and relaxed.
The will to beat the clock contrasted by the need to conserve until the finish is a tug-and-pull often experienced by distance runners, and the Mission Veterans Memorial senior is no exception.
During the Class 5A boys 3200-meter run, Garcia executed an eight-lap plan, running 71 second splits for every lap during the first mile, giving his legs enough slack to carry him the rest of the way to a first place finish with a time of 9 minutes, 30.36 seconds.
Garcia, and all other athletes to place in the top two in their respective events, automatically qualify for the UIL state meet May 12 – 14 in Austin.
“I just wanted to end my high school career with a bang,” Garcia said. “I was nervous, I was scared. When I came to the race, I just got ready, and when the gun went off, it was all or nothing. I had a lot of nerves and a lot of pressure on me.”
But Garcia’s triumph was just one of several for Valley athletes in the 3200. Of the eight automatic state bids up for grabs across 6A and 5A boys and girls events, area runners claimed five.
One of those was Mercedes’ Soledad Cruz, who won silver in the 5A girls 3200 in 11:18.90. Despite being a freshman, Cruz is quickly establishing herself among the Valley’s elite distance athletes, claiming some of the Valley’s best times in the girls 1600 and 3200 runs.
But Cruz’s success almost didn’t happen. She may have never attempted the sport were it not for an invitation from current teammate Dominic Cavazos when Cruz was in seventh grade.
“They just had an extra spot on the girls team at the time and he asked me if I wanted to join,” Cruz said. “I had never done anything like that before, but it came to me pretty quickly. I realized it was something I could be good at, and it made me work harder to get to where I am now.”
As for Cavazos, he will venture to Austin along with Cruz after finishing second behind Garcia with a time of 9:37.82. Though Cavazos is a sophomore with several seasons’ worth of mileage on his body, this year has seen him blossom into his own, after spending his freshman year under the shadow and tutelage of teammate and cross country standout Jonathan Reyes.
“This year, you could just tell that Dominic was tired of being No. 2,” Mercedes boys coach Pete Martinez said. “He’s really taken his abilities to another level, you can just see it in the work and the effort he puts into what he does. He wants to be the guy out front now.”
Other Valley distance runners to advance to state include Edinburg North’s Beth Ramos, and PSJA Memorial’s Cruz Gomez. Ramos, a sophomore who placed second in the 6A girls 3200 with a time of 11:03.39, will make her first trip to state for track and field after an injury-plagued freshman campaign. Gomez, a freshman phenom for the Wolverines, took silver in the 6A boys 3200 with a time of 9:19.56. Both will look to qualify for state once more today in the 1600 run.