WESLACO — Track and field was never in the plans for Weslaco East’s Gael Romo. The senior had dedicated nearly 10 years of his life to basketball before making the permanent switch to sprinting as a junior.
In less than two years Romo has established himself as one of the top sprinters not only in the RGV, but in the state, holding top-10 marks in Class 5A in the 100- and 200-meter dash heading into this weekend’s Region IV-5A/6A track and field championships at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
Romo’s rise hasn’t come without struggle. Before getting to where he is now, he had to climb out of what he described as the “darkest moments” of his life.
Basketball was always Plan A for Romo. He was born into a basketball family with both his father and brother playing the sport.
Romo seemed destined to follow in their footsteps, beginning his career on the hardwood during the first grade. From countless hours in the gym working with trainers and numerous miles spent on the road competing with AAU teams, Romo was on the path to potential basketball stardom.
Romo’s hard work led to him earning a spot on the Wildcats’ varsity roster as a freshman. Though he didn’t see much playing time, Romo seemed headed in the right direction.
“I’ve known Gael since he was little,” Weslaco East head coach Zeke Rodriguez said. “He always played against my son in basketball at the Boys and Girls Club. He was always a really spunky kid and played with a lot of confidence. He was always very fast, as we all know. When I first got the job, I was coming off of my heart attack and (Gael) was hopeful I would have an opportunity to coach him. The job opened up at East, and it was almost kind of a godsend. As soon as I got in there, he told me whatever I wanted him to do he would do.”
As a sophomore, Romo’s high school basketball career seemed to be taking off. He took over as the team’s starting point guard midway through the season, helping Weslaco East capture its first playoff berth in four years.
His career was on an upward trajectory heading into his junior year.
Then, something changed.
“After making the playoffs for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was on the right track,” Romo said. “We played against a tough McHi team in the first round that went to the Elite Eight and only lost by, like, six points. I realized I was on the right track and then I got a snap back to reality.”
Romo began struggling on the court, no longer producing at the level he was accustomed to. His struggles sent him to the bench, seeing fewer and fewer minutes.
He began hearing people around campus talk. Romo also began to battle with his own inner thoughts.
“It changed everything for me,” Romo said. “In my mind, I felt nobody was working harder than me. It just didn’t translate to the court what I was working on. I’m not blaming the coach or anything. I understand I just couldn’t produce. It put me in a rough spot mentally.”
The culmination of outside noise and dealing with his own inner demons led Romo down a dark path. His academic and social life also began to take a toll.
He also began using drugs to cope with it all, Romo said, nearly overdosing at one point. Shortly after, he began contemplating suicide, a moment Romo describes as the “lowest” of his life.
“I started struggling really badly with my mental health,” Romo said. “I had loved the sport for 10, almost 11 years, and it felt like I had just gotten it taken away from me. It put me in a rough situation. My grades started to drop. I started getting into problems with my family and friends. It really took a toll on me. There were points where I really contemplated suicide. I’d just see the negative in every single thing. Then, I don’t know, I just found peace again.”
In his darkest moments, Romo found light. Sitting alone in his room during what he described as a “week-long self-quarantine,” he had a coming-to-God moment, thinking of how much worse things could be.
He thought about his mom, who had been dealing with her own personal struggles. He thought about himself and what he wanted to be. Then he just let go.
“I just realized things could be a lot worse for me,” Romo said. “The things we complain about, like being a bench warmer, it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. There are people out there without jobs or other real issues. I was alone in my room, like a quarantine, and just found God again. I finally accepted it was time to move on to the next chapter of my life. It was about me growing up and realizing that the sport had become toxic for me. I may have loved this for such a long time, but I knew it was time to let go.”
Romo officially quit basketball at the end of the 2022 campaign. After walking away, Romo felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, figuratively and literally, running his then-fastest time in the 100-meter dash the ensuing meet.
That is when he realized he could do something with the sport. Romo began focusing on correcting his form and cutting down his time, watching YouTube and TikTok videos for instructional advice.
The then-junior saw his time drop significantly, advancing all the way to the Region IV-5A finals. His season ended there with a fifth place.
“Gael dealt with some issues when he was with us,” Rodriguez said. “It is always tough going from being a starter then going to the bench. He definitely had a little more to give us, but with what he gave us on the court, he helped us establish a tradition on the court. We talked, and he knew it was going to be hard for him to walk away because it was the sport he loved. I said to him that sometimes God puts things in front of us that are going to be the best for us. He helped us and now he’s helping that track program.”
All things seemed to be going good for Romo before another obstacle presented itself. Going into this season, he felt an uncomfortable pain in his back. He tried to run through it during the offseason, but he could feel something was wrong.
Romo went to see specialists, where he was informed he had what he described as a crooked back. Appointments with chiropractors didn’t seem to help with the pain, leading Romo to believe his track career was over before it even started.
Romo didn’t sink back to what he once did. Instead, he embraced the battle with a new resilient mindset. Eventually, he began responding to the treatments, getting back to where he was, and then some, right as track season began.
“It was another tough moment realizing I was getting slower than last year,” Romo said. “The situation that had happened where I was contemplating suicide, it ended up helping me out this summer. I realized I was in a similar spot to what I was then, but this time I knew how to handle it. I was more mature and resilient mentally. I just kept my head down and kept grinding.”
Since then, Romo has been blazing a new path on the track. The senior opened the season with a hand-timed mark of 10.2 seconds in the 100 at the Bobby Morrow Relays in San Benito.
He’s reeled off 10 straight wins in the 100 and 200 against Valley opponents, including capturing the District 32-5A and Area 31/32-5A titles in both events.
Romo also set the second-fastest time in Valley history in the 100 this season, with his mark of 10.52 seconds ranking only behind Harlingen High’s Jose Garcia.
He enters this weekend’s Region IV-5A track and field championships as a favorite to win the 100 and 200, holding the top time in the region in both events, according to Athletic.net.
“You just wanted him to succeed,” Weslaco East track and field head coach Tom Owens said. “I didn’t know the whole story and I still don’t know the whole story, but you see a kid struggling like that and you just want to do your best to make him successful because he gave up a lot. Basketball was his love. He came out after last year with a competitive fire and wants to do more and more. How many kids ask for that?”
Romo couldn’t picture being where he is now when he reflects on where he was almost a year ago. Running helped him go from his darkest moment to an NCAA Division I athlete, signing to run collegiately at UTRGV next fall earlier this month.
While he has enjoyed winning gold medals and rising to the top, Romo finds true motivation in another place. The gold medals will fade and eventually his track career will end, he said.
Instead, he focuses on inspiring the next generation of RGV athletes, showing them that anything is possible. He shares his own story of his battle with depression and suicidal ideations in hopes of reaching out to those who are in a similar boat and showing them there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“I contemplated suicide and everything,” Romo said. “Now, I am honestly grateful for those days because now I can see the bigger picture. I can see the highs that came from the lows. I never pictured this then. I’ve seen myself happy and confident, but also at the very bottom. I just want to tell anyone going through it to look for their own peace and stick to yourself. If you’re in a rough situation, try to find some help and talk to people you really trust. Life takes bad days and good days, but it isn’t the end.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, text TALK to 741741 or visit https://988lifeline.org/.
