BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Sharyland Pioneer’s Malaya Pistokache is one of the best throwers in the Valley. She placed second in the shot put at the regional meet in San Antonio last month, earning the right to compete at this week’s state meet in Austin.
Pistokache’s athletic career has never been better. All after she started her track and field journey intending to run.
“I was at a summer track practice one time when I had first started,” Pistokache recalled. “I wanted to be a runner. And not a long-distance runner, because I thought I can’t do that. I would die. So let me try short distance.”
That day, her mother gave her the loving criticism third-grader Pistokache needed to hear.
“I was going for it, and then my mom pulled me aside in the middle of the practice,” Pistokache said. “She said, ‘Malaya, I need to talk to you. I need to tell you something, mijita, but don’t be mad.’ ‘What is it, Mom?’ And she says, ‘You’re really not that fast.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ ‘You’re not a good runner, Malaya, and I don’t know why.’”
Pistokache’s mother saw some kids on another part of the field throwing a ball and suggested Malaya join them.
“There were only guys throwing,” Pistokache said. “I went over there, picked up the ball and I threw it farther than all of the guys. As soon as the coaches saw me, they were all saying, ‘You need to compete in this.’ I didn’t even know what this was. They told me all I had to do was get in a circle, throw the ball and step out. I thought, ‘I could do that.’ So I went to the next meet, and I haven’t put a shot or discus down since.”
Pistokache is peaking at the right time. Before this season, her longest shot put throw was 35 feet, 3 inches — a mark she set in 2015. This season alone, the Pioneer senior has thrown longer than 35-3 eight different times. That includes a new personal record throw of 40-11 at the Class 5A Region IV meet.
“Over the years, I’ve had hard experiences with failures, but they’ve been things to learn from,” Pistokache said. “I’ve taken those things that happened — every time I practiced or went into the weight room — I thought about what it felt like whenever I didn’t make it as far as I wanted to. I knew this year was going to be my last year, and there was nothing that I could lose. I put everything I had into this year, and I could really see the improvement.”
Pioneer English teacher Bobby Olvera became Pistokache’s personal throwing coach before her senior season began.
“This year has been bittersweet,” Olvera said. “Sweet, in the sense that she is doing well. Bitter because I don’t get to spend a lot of time with her. While she’s in her athletic period, I’m in my English class. It’s hard to come in and coach a senior who has their routine and things like that. Sometimes, staying away and me saying every now and then, ‘Hey, do this here,’ is enough to help them. She already had it.”
Pistokache will be a field athlete on a partial scholarship at the University of Houston this fall, a reality she did not think would be hers a few short months ago. She will sign a letter of intent after the season concludes.
“I never thought I would have the opportunity to be on that team (at the University of Houston),” Pistokache said. “I just didn’t think I would end up at a school that big. When the coach reached out to me and went on a visit, I asked him, ‘Coach, am I going to have to walk on? How is this going to work?’ And he said, ‘You’re not going to walk on! I’m going to put you on a little bit of scholarship.’ I wanted to scream, ‘There’s no way this is really happening!’ and burst into tears and fall on my knees, but I didn’t.”
Track coach Sandra Guerrero worked with Pistokache during her first season at Sharyland High and then at Pioneer over the last three years.
“She’s always loved the discus over shot put, actually. That’s always been her ‘baby,’” Guerrero said. “Once she threw a shot really far, she tried a little harder, and now that’s her state qualifying event.
“Her goal had always been to make the state meet. To finally realize that dream in her senior year was very emotional for the both of us. This whole year, I’ve hugged her a lot. I’ve come to the realization that this chapter of her life is going to be over.”
Pistokache’s first state meet brings her excitement and the chance to face the top throwers in Texas. Her shot put event will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.
“I’m looking forward to competing with girls who are better than me, because they are the ones who will push me,” Pistokache said. “You’ve got to challenge yourself. If you don’t challenge yourself, you’re not going to get any better. That means I’m competing with the best girls in the state. These girls will be competing collegiately, and if I see them in the years to come, I’m able to say that I competed against her. That’s what I’m excited for.”