Living the Dream

MERCEDES - Lady Tigers track and field coach Rob Robledo might have put it best when he said, "in Mercedes, track isn‘t a dying sport."
With the addition of team sports like soccer and softball in the past 20 years, more athletes are switching sports or doubling and even tripling up on their spring sports.
The end result? Fewer kids are coming out for track and field. And the ones that do sometimes are afforded limited practice time because of softball and soccer.
But in Mercedes, Robledo likes what he sees.
"A lot of people will tell you it‘s a dying sport," he said. "But here (Mercedes) we have a lot of kids out here and they love track. We have a strong summer track program. It‘s definitely not a dying sport here."
And Robledo isn‘t all talk either.
The Valley is now consistently sending a large contingent to the state meet in Austin. This year 15 athletes will represent deep South Texas.
Three of these athletes hail from Mercedes.
Junior sprinter Alex Trevino ran in the UIL State Track and Field Championships last year and won a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash. He was joined by distance runner Roberto Najera, who also grabbed a bronze in the 3,200-meter run.
This year junior Alex De La Garza and freshman Deandra Barroso will join Trevino in Austin.
Trevino qualified in the 100 and 200. The speedster won the 200 in 21.41 setting a new regional record. De La Garza will run in the 1,600-meter run, which he won at regionals with a 4:16.88. De La Garza‘s time was also a new regional record.
Barroso competed in five events and advanced in the long jump winning gold at regionals with a jump of 17 feet, 11 ½ inches.
"It‘s great," Trevino said of Mercedes sending three athletes to Austin. "We‘re representing Mercedes but we‘re also representing the Valley."
Trevino represented the Valley nicely last season and in the statewide track and field scene, Trevino is getting his due recognition.
Trevino broke the Valley‘s record in the 100 with a 10.23 during the district meet. That same night he ran a 20.99 in the 200 coming just short of Bobby Morrow‘s record of 20.99, which Morrow ran in 1954.
So at the regional meet in San Antonio, Trevino was no underdog. Everyone knew who he was and they were gunning for him. He won silver in the 100 with a 10.79 but he blew everyone away in the 200 for gold. Now he‘s ready for one more race.
"I‘m going for gold in both races," Trevino said. "But we‘ll see what happens."
After winning the 200 last week, Trevino pulled up with a sore left hamstring. But he‘s been working out and feels fine. He‘ll still run both races in Austin.
"I feel a lot better," Trevino said. "I‘ve been working hard for this and it feels great to be going to state again."
For De La Garza it‘s his first time competing at the state level in track and field. De La Garza‘s been there before in cross-country but this will be a new environment and he‘s looking forward to the experience.
Like Trevino, De La Garza also has high expectations.
He just missed out on qualifying in the 3200 finishing in third place despite running a new personal best of 9:19.89. But he made up for it by setting a new regional record in the mile.
"I‘m excited," De La Garza said. "I‘m looking for gold or silver but I‘m also going for the Valley record. I think I have a good shot. The weather should be good and the race is at night. It should be good."
It was a bittersweet moment for Mercedes boys track coach Epi Cruz last week at regionals. While he was looking after Trevino under the trainer‘s tent, De La Garza was running his race on the track. Cruz had one eye on Trevino and one on De La Garza for those four minutes.
But both are good now and Cruz is excited.
"I think they both expect to medal," Cruz said. "De La Garza‘s been working hard and he runs any chance he gets. And Trevino‘s rehab is coming along great. He‘ll (Trevino) will be going for the (Valley‘s) 200 record. That‘s been his goal all year."
And we can‘t forget Barroso, the fantastic freshman who came out of nowhere and made a splash on the Valley‘s track and field scene.
Following in the footsteps of Harlingen South senior Kassandra Larios and San Benito sophomore Tina Valenzuela, Barroso is holding her own as one of the Valley‘s top multi-event athletes.
Barroso competes in both hurdles and a leg on the 400-meter relay. She also competes in the long and triple jumps.
And while she had a good showing in the triple at regionals, Barroso jumped a personal best in the long to advance to the state meet.
"It feels good because all the hard work has paid off," Barroso said. "I‘m just excited. "I‘m going up there with my team (Trevino and De La Garza) and we‘re going to support each other up there. They‘re great athletes and I look up to them. I‘m looking forward to going to state with teammates and friends."