Harlingen's Bermea medals twice, sets new Valley record at state meet

AUSTIN — Just as Harlingen hurdler Randy Bermea crossed the finish line following the Class 5A 300 hurdles race, Bermea realized he’d finished in third place and not first like he’d wanted.

Disappointed? Maybe a little.

But just seconds later he glanced up at the giant scoreboard at Myers Stadium during the UIL State Track and Field Championships and saw his time of 36.46.

Bermea exploded with emotion now realizing he’d just set a new Valley standard in the 300s by breaking the 24-year old record of 36.55. The longstanding mark was held by none other than his coach Harvey Noyola, who set the record in 1987.

"There’s no one else I’d want breaking my record and there’s no better place to break it than here," Noyola said. "This is the big show. This is where he had to do it and he did it. I couldn’t be more proud of him if he was my own son."

Bermea’s bronze in the 300 was actually his second medal in a span of about 40 minutes. Bermea won silver in the 110 hurdles in a time of 13.79 just moments earlier. Bermea led near the end of the race but Port Arthur Memorial’s Jeylin Reed just won out in a time of 13.75.

With the record and both medals, Bermea was almost at a loss for words following his big day. Bermea’s time in the 300 hurdles was the fourth fastest in the nation this season. Northside Warren’s Gregory Coleman won in 36.34 and Desoto’s Kenneth Minkah was second in 36.43. They had the second and third fastest times in the nation, respectively.

"Before anything else, I have to give all the glory to God," a humbled Bermea said. "Without God, I wouldn’t even have this opportunity.

"When it came down to those last 100 meters (of the 300 hurdles) I knew I had to make something happen. I left it all on the track today."

Ever the competitor, Bermea pointed out that these were the first two races all season that he hadn’t won.

Still he took "the losses" in stride and realized he’d accomplished quite a bit in Austin.

For starters, Bermea had been eyeing Noyola’s record since he was in middle school. This season it finally became more of a reality that he could break it. He finally did it on Saturday.

Bermea also felt he had to represent Harlingen and the Valley on the statewide stage. A record 23 athletes qualified for state in 27 events this season.

"I couldn’t slack off," said Bermea. "I don’t think we get enough credit down in the Valley. We had a lot of guys up here like the Sharyland relays. They did a great job too. If you can run, you can run. And we can run in the Valley."

Bermea’s first race of the night was the 110s and he ran as clean a race as he’s run all year.

He exploded out of the blocks and took the lead at about the penultimate hurdle before Reed took over.

"I had one of my best starts all season," Bermea said after the 110s. "I’ve had good workouts the past couple of weeks and I was concentrating on getting up on that first hurdle. If you can clear that first hurdle, everything else falls into place."

Bermea was Noyola’s third athlete in as many years to compete at the state meet. Ryan McNutt ran the 800 in 2009 and Tyler Jackson competed in the pole vault last year. Bermea is the first athlete from Harlingen High School to medal since Michelle Wiesehan won bronze in the pole vault as a junior in 2003.

Bermea is the first male athlete from HHS to medal since Joe Correa did it in 1993 as a sophomore when he won silver in the mile and bronze in the two mile.

"His goal was to get two medals and he did it here tonight," Noyola said.