Saenz uses Valley record for motivation

RIO GRANDE CITY --- South Padre Island will be on the minds of many Rio Grande Valley high school kids this spring break, but the only thing Stephen Saenz likely will be thinking about is the Valley's all-time shot-put record.

Saenz, a junior at Rio Grande City, has his eyes set on the local record set in 1998 by Raymondville's Derek Solis with a toss of 64 feet, 4 3/4 inches. Saenz hopes to break that mark at today's track & field meet at Cats Stadium in Edinburg, but as of now, he holds the state's best throw this season at 63-11 1/2.

"I'm OK with my performance so far, but I'm not satisfied," Saenz said. "I want that Valley record.
"I want to do better than what I know can do."

In addition to being the state's top-ranked shot-put thrower, he is the Valley's top discus thrower as well. RGC coach Larry Howell believes Saenz is the best thrower he's coached since he first began his career in 1966.

"I've been coaching for a long time, and I have coached five state champions and out those guys he is by far the best," Howell said. "He works extremely hard and is getting better every day. The thing that sets him apart from anyone else is that he listens, and no matter what I tell him to do he'll try it."

One of the things Howell has asked of Saenz is to lift additional weights to give him another edge over his competition. Saenz travels to the Mission Fitness Center two to three times a week to work out with his strength coach Rey Alvarez, who is regarded as one the best weight lifting coaches in deep South Texas. Saenz's determination has paid off so far as he's gained five feet on his shot-put throw since the beginning of the season. Saenz has set his goal to reach 65 feet in the shot-put and 190 feet in the discus throw this year.

But with the lack of competition Saenz has faced in the Valley this year, his closest competitor is Michael Barbas from Jersey Village. Barbas, a recent Duke signee in track & field, is right at Saenz's heels, with a long throw of 63-8 this season.

"It's really hard to get competition down here, so I look to see what everyone else is doing around the state and try to compete with them," the RGC standout said. "That is what really motivates me to try and beat my own record every week and to hopefully break the all-time Valley record."