AUSTIN — La Feria’s Julian Dominguez had high expectations heading into his junior season last year. The Lions’ distance runner was fresh off a state track meet appearance as a sophomore in the Class 4A 800-meter run, winning district, area and regional titles along the way.
Before Dominguez could get off and running, however, adversity struck.
Just five races into his junior campaign, Dominguez shut it down for the year, dealing with a nagging left leg injury.
“When I first went to the doctors, they told me it was probably just liquid in my leg from straining something,” Dominguez said. “I thought I’d be good after a break. So I took a break and then tried to come back. I even made a comeback video with my friends to hype me up. It was still bad, though. I couldn’t even plant my foot.”
With the pain still lingering, Dominguez and his family sought a second opinion on the injury. An MRI scan from a second doctor revealed something none of them could have imagined.
“We ended up finding out I had a tumor in my leg,” Dominguez said. “That is why every time I planted it hurt. My leg was even swollen at points last year, but I thought it was just a strain. They think it is non-cancerous, but they told me not to run cross country because just planting it was going to hurt. I told myself I could call it quits and get surgery, but it wouldn’t be for six months. I didn’t want to wait six months because that would be my season. I wanted to run because I felt like I had it in me.”
Dominguez opted out of surgery heading into this season, battling through the pain during cross country season to help the Lions capture a second-place finish at the state meet.
He continued to push through during track season, capturing district, area and regional titles en route to his triumphant return to the UIL state track and field championships Thursday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
“I’m grateful that I got to be here even though it was a hard season,” Dominguez said. “A year ago I wasn’t here. A couple of months ago, I couldn’t even imagine being here. I just wanted to leave it all out there today. I got love for this sport. It is a love-hate thing. Sometimes I hate it and sometimes I love it, even the pain and the hard races. It is a beautiful sport. I just have to thank God for this and that I am still running.”
Dominguez’s return to the state meet featured the senior distance runner competing in two events, the most of any RGV athlete during Day 1 of the meet.
He opened the day by running in the Class 4A 800-meter run, the event for which he had previously qualified as a sophomore. Dominguez finished seventh with a time of 1 minute, 56.06 seconds.
Dominguez wrapped up his career at La Feria with a seventh-place finish in the Class 4A boys 1,600-meter run, clocking in at 4:30.14.
“This was about something bigger than me,” Dominguez said. “I knew I had to push through because nobody was going to do it for me. I trusted in the training I had. I know we’re all going to have bad races. I had some today, but I told myself whatever happens, happens. My coach told me to run without regrets. I don’t want to have regrets. I may have had a bad race, but I can’t do anything about it. I still had fun, though, having the lead for a little bit during my races.”
Dominguez was one of five athletes to compete during Day 1 of the state meet.
Lyford’s Oscar Martinez joined Dominguez in competing during the evening’s running events, taking the track during the Class 3A 200-meter dash. The McPherson football signee closed out his career with eighth in the race in a time of 22.80.
La Feria got things kicked off for the Valley during the morning’s running events, with a pair of distance runners taking the track during the Class 4A boys and girls 3,200-meter runs.
Junior Liana Navarro, who was appearing in her third straight state track meet, finished fifth in the girls race with a season-best time of 11:11.54.
Anthony Morales also competed for the Lions during Day 1 of the meet, running the boys 3,200-meter run. The freshman finished seventh with a time of 9:32.16.
“It was kind of crazy coming out here as a freshman,” Morales said. “When I woke up I was asking myself if this was really real. When I got to the UT stadium, it started to set in. I just took today in and it was glorious.”
Brownsville IDEA Frontier’s Ashley Olvera was the Valley’s only other athlete during the morning’s events, competing in the Class 3A high jump.
The senior jumper tied her personal-best mark of 5 feet, 2 inches for a fourth straight meet, finishing tied for sixth with Trinity’s Mariah Lewis.
The 2023 UIL track and field state championships continue at 9 a.m. today with Class 2A and 5A field events. The 3,200-meter run for both classes are scheduled for 9:30 a.m., with all other running events scheduled to follow at 5 p.m.
