Sports & Life: WHAT A WEEKEND!

I made the trip to Austin with my cousin Eddie last Thursday following a pretty emotional week.
Eddie's dad, my Tio Lupe, had been in the hospital and Eddie came down from Austin earlier in the week to see his ailing dad.
All sort of emotions and fears gripped the family - immediate and extended - as the days passed. I even considered not going to the UIL State Track and Field Championships in Austin.
We didn't know what to expect. But I left it in God's hands.
And so on Thursday I decided to go.
Last year I dealt with a decision similar to this, although not as grave.
Another cousin, Lyle Garza, was running for school board in Harlingen and I'd have to miss election day to cover the state meet.
I opted for Austin instead of being with my family. Lyle won and I must have called home a million times that night.
I missed being home and with the family to share in the joy. But what unfolded in Austin made up for it. Raymondville's Andrew Hernandez won gold in the 800-meter run in dramatic fashion.
As I drove to Austin and even after I got there, I couldn't help but think about my Tio Lupe.
Ever the funny guy, he'd been bed-ridden for a while and physically resembles nothing the man I grew up knowing.
Mentally, however, his quick wit and one-liners remained.
So there I was in Austin, praying for him. But I was also there to work and with a responsibility to fully and appropriately report the weekend's happenings at the state meet for the readers back home.
And what a weekend it turned out to become.
Mercedes' Alex De La Garza ran a new personal best in the 1,600-meter run and won silver with a time of 4:12.28. Earlier that day, Weslaco East's Robin Torres won a bronze in the 800-meter run. He also ran a personal best with a 1:55.98.
But the story of the day came during the 200-meter dash, when Tigers sprinter Alex Treviño dashed to a bronze medal.
But it wasn't so much the place or the medal that made headlines.
When I looked up and saw his time of 21.10, I immediately called longtime track coach Carlos Vela.
The call was merely to confirm if Treviño had done what many couldn't the past 54 years.
Since all of the Valley's records are kept in hand time, Treviño's time would be converted by subtracting .24 from his time.
This is an equation used by the UIL for races of 200 meters or less. In races of 300 to 1,600 meters, the variable is .14.
So keeping that in mind, I knew that Treviño had just made history.
You see, his time became a 20.86, thus meaning he shattered Bobby Morrow's old record of 20.98, which he ran for the San Benito Greyhounds in 1954.
For a long time I've said that Morrow's records was the most coveted in all of sports in the Valley and I'll stick by that.
Watching Treviño run that night wasn't just exciting because of the enormous talent this young man possesses.
But to watch a 54-year-old record fall on that stage was definitely one of my career highlights so far.
After the race, Treviño was in tears when I told him he'd broken the record.
"I just got chills right now," he said.
I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't get chills either.
And that was only Friday night.
Saturday turned out to be just as memorable.
If watching Rio Grande City's Stephen Saenz win gold in the shot put wasn't exciting enough, watching Weslaco's Mishak Rivas sure was.
There's just something about this young man we all call Shak.
He's well mannered, well spoken and God-fearing.
With about 50-60 meters left in his 400-meter dash, Shak did exactly what he's done many other times whether it be football or track season.
He dug deep. He dug and dug until he found that little bit of extra that doesn't come about with athleticism or practice.
It's called heart and a desire to win.
Shak won a bronze and broke the Valley's record in the 400 as well.
And while many might say, "it's only a bronze." You didn't see Shak run the last 50 meters with his heart.
That itself was well worth the trip to Austin.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is this:
I love my family and I pray that my uncle gets better every night.
But I also thank the good Lord for blessing me with such a "cool" job.
I mean, I get paid to watch sports!
If my Tio Lupe or cousin Lyle had the opportunity, they'd probably had gone to Austin too.
And I wouldn't have blamed them one bit.

Eladio Jaimez is a sportswriter for the Valley Morning Star and can be reached at 956-430-6285 or eladioj@valleystar.com