NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — This race weekend feels like a long time coming for McAllen Memorial junior Sean Skaugen.
During practice at Boxer Hernandez Stadium, Skaugen is an imposing figure. He’s almost reached 6-foot-3, and his upper-body strength is visible. According to Skaugen, that’s why his season has been so successful. Being healthy in the postseason helps, too.
He’ll line up at the Region IV-6A meet today and Saturday at San Antonio’s Alamo Stadium hoping to leave as a state qualifier.
During his first varsity track season, as a sophomore, Skaugen was coming into his own as an elite hurdler. He won gold in the 110-meter hurdles at the Meet of Champions and set his personal record of 14.55 seconds in his second-place finish at the District 30-6A meet.
However, a late-season injury — a pull of the sciatic nerve in his lower back — gave him fits and factored into his fourth-place finish at the 29/30-6A area meet, where he ran his only time slower than 16 seconds. Any of his previous times as a sophomore would have qualified him for regionals, but instead he finished behind three seniors.
This season, even as Skaugen has gotten stronger, he is cautious to make sure he avoids injury. Hurdles coach Cynthia Oyervides has been managing his specialized workouts.
“(Oyervides) is doing a very good job on the workouts, making sure we don’t peak early and making sure we don’t strain our body, either,” Skaugen said. “That’s what hurt me last year. I got hurt at the end of the season. We had to engineer our workouts to keep my body healthy and also improve.”
As a three-sport athlete, Skaugen rarely has a down period, but he said he benefits from the constant competition and training. He starred on the football field, using his size, speed and strength to add another layer of running offense to a prolific ground attack. He scrambled and rushed for 1,108 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.
He also played on the basketball team, helping the Mustangs qualify for the second round of the postseason.
“I honestly feel like in one year I got a little taller, that helped, and I got a little stronger,” Skaugen said. “And when you get a little stronger, the speed carries over, too. We lift a lot here at McAllen Memorial. Everybody knows that. Especially in the hurdles, it’s all about strength and getting off and getting back down. I think as I get stronger, my times will get better.”
He’s stayed constant with sub-15 second times, running the top time of his junior year (14.67) twice. He hopes to set a new mark this weekend.
One of his teammates on the gridiron and the track, Johnny Larson, also qualified in the 110 hurdles, even though he’s dealing with a calf injury. Larson said he is glad to be competing with Skaugen and pushing him forward. Larson is also running the 400 relay.
“This year, I haven’t been able to go as far as I could, because of my leg. I’ve been hurt pretty much all season,” Larson said. “For me, at least to push Sean to see how far he can go, because he’s probably the best hurdler in the Valley. I just want to help him.”
Kathia Nitsch has also shown perseverance and the ability to push through injury. In just her third meet since a knee operation, she ran her season-best time of 15.68 in the 100 hurdles to advance to the regional meet.
“We had to ease her back into it slowly,” Oyervides said. “Every week, she’s getting better and better. I just wish she would have been able to start earlier in the season. Right now, she’s where we were back in February. She’s a great athlete. Her heart is in it 100 percent. Every time she’s out here or at a meet, she gives it her all, and it shows.”
McAllen Memorial will compete along with many other Class 6A and 5A track and field athletes at the Region IV meet today and Saturday in San Antonio. The top two finishers in each event advance to the UIL state meet in two weeks at the University of Texas in Austin.