My Sport: Track and Field

    Now some of you may ask out of all the sports, why did you choose track & field? Believe me, I ask myself this every day at practice while we are running in 90-degree weather and experiencing lactic acid in our legs after a hard workout. 

    Growing up, my love for sports started in competitive cheerleading. For a long time, I thought I would do this sport in college. It was exciting to perform in front of thousands of people in a big arena. I loved tumbling and stunting. The feeling of hitting a perfect routine was exhilarating. If you have no idea what I am talking about check out the show CHEER on Netflix to get a sense of what cheerleading is like. Sadly, I had to give up this sport in order to participate in other sports in high school, but I am grateful I made this decision. 

Throwback to the Cheer days

    Like most students, I participated in a lot of sports in high school. I ran cross country, played volleyball, basketball and ran track. During my freshman year, I realized I really excelled and enjoyed participating in track & field. Track and Field is one of those sports where all of the pressure is on you and not other people. Yes, in the 4x4 you depend on your teammate's performance, but if you do not do your part, you can be a reason to let the team down. That's why I loved the sport so much. I didn't have to depend on my teammates to run my race well. It came down to my mindset, my passion, and my abilities in every race. At the end of it all, my performance and success came down to ME. 

    My events in high school were the long jump, the 400 and 200-meter dash, and relays. Freshman year, I was able to make it to regionals. Sophomore year, my season came to an end due to an ACL injury, which I will write about in another blog. Junior year was my make-or-break year if I wanted to compete at the next level. I needed to perform well enough for colleges to recognize me. Thankfully I did, I made it to the UIL State meet in the 400-meter dash that year. During senior year, I was able to make my return to the state meet in the 200-meter dash and long jump. I took a bronze medal in the long jump at the 3A UIL State Meet. 

2018 UIL State Meet 

Bronze medal in Long jump 

    The main reason I decided to stick to running track in college was that well for one, I was too short to play volleyball. Not only that, I truly enjoyed all the challenges that track & field put me through, whether it was finding the willpower to hit your time on the last rep of a hard workout or finding the courage to get out of your comfort zone. From pushing your body beyond your limits to the adrenaline you get after hitting a personal record, Track & Field has helped me learn and overcome so much over these past 8 years of my life. I am blessed to be able to do something that I love and for the experiences, this sport has brought me. I am excited to share my journey with you all. Stay tuned for the next blog: The Recruiting Process. I'll discuss the process of how I got recruited and why I chose UTRGV.