RGC's Garza settles for 2nd in shot put at state

AUSTIN — For most, a silver medal is more than enough.

Alex Garza wanted more.

The Rio Grande City thrower went into the UIL State Track and Field Championships heavily favored to win gold in the Class 4A shot put.

Of course the expectations weren’t unwarranted. As a sophomore last year, Garza won gold in the Class 5A event.

So anyone that followed Valley track and field knew that Garza was a favorite to bring home gold.

Garza thought so too.

Instead, Garza was second with a throw of 59-11 ¼. Hayden Reed of Orange Cypress was first with a throw of 62-8 ¾. At regionals, Garza won with a toss of 62-11 and regularly throws over 60 feet.

He just couldn’t do it on Friday in Austin.

"I guess I was kind of excited but I also got a little over confident," Garza admitted. "I learned something here tonight. I can’t get too overconfident because then this happens."

This is the third straight year that Garza qualifies for the state meet.

As a freshman, Garza and then teammate Stephen Saenz came to Austin as a pair. Saenz won his second straight gold then and Garza finished in the second half of the pack,

Last year, Garza represented Rio and the Valley solo and walked away with gold.

And despite his own disappointment, Garza was still only one of two Valley medalists on the first day of the state track meet.

At the moment, Garza wasn’t relishing in moral victories and was already counting down to next season.

"I’m just speechless right now," he said.

The Valley’s other medalist came in the first race of the day.

Port Isabel’s Armando Fierro won a bronze in the 3200-meter run finishing in 9:41.29.

Huffman Hargrave’s Harvinder Singh won the two-mile race in 9:29.85 and Lytle’s Sebastian Benavides was second in 9:33.95.

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln distance runner Emily Perez didn’t do too well in the morning’s two-mile run finishing in seventh place with a time of 11:11.08, which is a Valley’s best time this season. Willis’ Cali Roper won the race in 10:44.50

Perez came very close to winning her first medal at the state meet later in the day when she fought her way to the lead of the pack during the 1600 with about 300 meters to run.

But Perez got outkicked with about 200 meters to go and fell to fourth place where she finished in a very good time of 5:00.30.

Perez’s time at state is actually the third-fastest run ever in the Valley. Edinburg’s Sonia Sepulveda has the Valley record with a time of 4:54.58 in 1991. Perez ran a 4:58.89 earlier this season, which is only the second time under five minutes.

McAllen Memorial Tricia Terry has the third fastest time with a 5:01.09 in 2009 since only Perez’s 4:58.89 will be entered into the record books.

Kingwood Park’s Zahri Jackson won the mile race in 4:57.33 and McKinney’s Meghan Shea was second in 4:57.90. Canyon’s Arin Rice was third in 4:58.87.

In other races, Rio Hondo’s Tony Jaramillo finished in seventh in the Class 3A 800-meter run with a time of 1:59.45. After about 300 meters, Jaramillo got boxed out and ended up in the rear of the pack and never recovered.

Region IV champ Brandon Lacy won the race in 1:54.19.

In the Class 4A 110-meter hurdles, Weslaco East’s Jonas Gutierrez was also seventh in a solid time of 15.04. Canyon’s Michael Stigler won the race in 13.67.

In the Class 4A 400-meter dash, Hidalgo’s Andrew Espinoza also ran a solid race and finished in a time of 49.70 but the junior finished in ninth place.

La Feria freshman Danielle Rodriguez also took her lumps in her first trip to the state meet. Rodriguez came in ninth in the Class 3A mile run in a time of 5:33.58.