Brown reaches goal to make state

EDINBURG — Leigha Brown’s initial reactions when she realized she had qualified for the UIL state track and field championships were both relief and surprise.

After not making it out of the preliminaries at last year’s Region IV-5A meet, the sophomore at Edinburg Economedes made it her goal to get to Austin. And she did, in an event that she didn’t pick up until this season — the 100-meter hurdles. She said she put a little pressure on herself to get to the state meet and was relieved when it actually happened.

"I was amazed that I pulled it off and got through the season," said Brown, who qualified for state after finishing second in the 100 hurdles at the Region IV meet in San Antonio on May 3. "I was a little shocked."

Brown is set to compete in the Class 5A 100 hurdles on Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus. Brown’s qualifying time set at the regional meet (14.76 seconds) was a personal best. It’s the slowest qualifying time of the nine finalists, but in an event where technique is just as important as speed, Brown’s chances for medaling are as good as anyone else’s. At the Texas Relays last month, Brown entered the finals in the 100 hurdles with the eighth-fastest qualifying time and finished fourth.

Brown missed qualifying in a second event — the 300 hurdles — when she finished third at the regional meet with a personal-best 44.58, just 5/100th of a second behind Harlingen South’s Zariah Noyola.

Despite that, Brown had no complaints about her performance at the regional meet.

"My overall goal was to get back to regionals and lower my times, and I did that," Brown said.

The fact that Brown made it to state in an event that she hadn’t started until this season is a testament to her natural athleticism. Brown is a multi-sport star at Economedes. She was a second-team selection on the Valley Freedom Newspapers’ All-Valley volleyball team.

But fact she was able to conquer Noyola, the Valley’s hurdle queen, in the 300 at the District 31-5A, is a sign that she could assume that title after Noyola graduates this year. Brown credited Noyola for making her a better hurdler this year.

"I’d keep up with her times in the newspapers," Brown said of Noyola. "I really admire what she’s done, and I just wanted to work my way up and try to reach her."

But now, Brown has a chance to make her own mark at the state meet. And that’s all she ever wanted.

"I was sad (last year) because track season was over, and I really like track," Brown said.
"The goal this year was to extend the season and make it to state."

David Hinojosa covers high school sports for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442.