State of Mind

Laura Ochoa of Rivera and Brandon Broden of Hanna share a common goal as they prepare for this weekend's UIL State Track and Field Meet in Austin.

The two athletes want to represent Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley the best they possibly can at state. Both are seniors and each will compete on Saturday. Ochoa's event starts at 2:30 p.m., while Broden runs at 7:30 p.m.

Ochoa qualified for state by winning the discus at the Region IV-5A meet two weekends ago in San An-tonio. At the same meet, Broden qualified for state by placing second in the 1,600-meter run.

"Brandon and I are going out there and we're both very excited and eager to come back and bring hap-piness and smiles to everyone," said Ochoa, who is expected to play volleyball with her sister Crystal at Henderson State University in Arkansas next school year. "We just want to represent our schools, our city and our Valley as well as we can. I wish Brandon the best of luck, and we'll see how things turn out."

Ochoa scratched on her first two attempts at regionals, but on her third try, she threw the discus 130 feet, 4 inches to capture first place and secure her first trip to state.

"The 130-4 was the best Laura has done in a meet, but she's thrown farther than that in practice," said Richard Guerra, Rivera's throwing coach. "We're excited. It's a great honor. There are other coaches who have been to state with their athletes, but for me, it's my first time and it's just an honor."

Both Broden and Ochoa were athletic standouts long before their senior track seasons began. Broden was a District 32-5A champion in cross country last fall and ran at regionals and state. Also in the fall, Ochoa was a 32-5A All-District MVP and All-Metro MVP in volleyball.

The two athletes are excellent examples of the best Brownsville has to offer as far as top competitors, Rivera track coach Jenny Schuster said.

"This is exciting for Brownsville, and especially for Rivera," Shuster said. "We're very proud of Laura. She's just an exceptional athlete.

"They (Ochoa and Broden) are perfect examples of kids who can take their abilities on to the next level," she added. "Laura is a standout in track and volleyball, and she could do just about whatever she put her mind to doing. And Brandon will do a superb job. He's got the heart and soul for it. You can see that when he runs. We're all proud of them."

Broden, who recently signed to run for the University of Houston, finished second in the 1,600 at re-gionals in 4 minutes, 21.76 seconds. That time ranks sixth-best all-time in Brownsville and fourth-best ever at Hanna, according to Jaime Vasquez, who coaches Hanna's distance runners.

"I've coached Brandon since he was about 8 years old and in third grade," Vasquez said. "Brandon has received help from a lot of coaches, including (Hanna boys head track coach) Mike Garza. That's what is so neat about this situation. Brandon's representing not just Hanna or myself, but all of the coaches from BISD.

"Helping an athlete get to state is always our goal," he added. "When it happens, it's always something to be excited about."

Broden said he felt that he gave everything he had in the 1,600 at regionals.

"Towards the end of the race, I felt really drained and my legs were on fire," he said. "I had to lay down (on the track) for a little bit, but I was overwhelmed with joy and with taking second place to qualify for state, which is a very big honor for me. I give all the credit and glory and honor to God.

"That race showed that what I run on is not distance and not speed workouts, it's mainly with my head," he added. "With your heart and with your mind, that's mainly what you run with. That's what I've learned, and I got to see the benefits of it (at regionals)."

This marks Hanna's second straight year to send an athlete to state. Bernardo Mayer went in the pole vault a year ago.

Garza said that it helps motivate other BISD athletes when someone like Broden or Ochoa makes it all the way to Austin.

"It's been a very positive experience for Brandon, our other athletes, and for all of us," Garza said. "I know a lot of kids are already talking about summer track. They want to get involved in track and in other sports. The more attention we bring to sports in Brownsville and the more exposure we get, the better we'll do and we'll start seeing our athletes going higher (in track) and going deeper in the playoffs (in other sports).

"I think our ultimate goal (as coaches) is getting as many kids involved in athletics as possible," he added.