Lasara’s Xiomara Rodriguez recalls walking into Mike A. Myers Stadium to compete in the UIL state track and field meet for the first time.
The Lions’ thrower describes it as a nerve-racking moment in comparison to competing at Lasara, a Class 1A school with an enrollment of 96.
“Here at Lasara, it is like home,” Rodriguez said. “You’re surrounded by pretty much just family members watching you. You feel like you’re on air. At Mike A. Myers I was really nervous. I only had my coach there. I was surrounded by girls that are out chasing the same thing as me.”
The nerve-wracking experience three years ago hasn’t affected Rodriguez.
The junior thrower has made Mike A. Myers Stadium her second home as she is set to return for a third straight year to compete at the state meet.
(Special To The Monitor / Photo By Edward A. Ornelas)
“It feels pretty good getting back, honestly,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been confident in my ability throughout the year. I’ve gotten more confident in my abilities from my freshman year to achieve the goals that I want.”
Rodriguez has found success at the state meet during each of her appearances. As a freshman, she nabbed a silver medal in the discus throw. She followed it up by winning the gold in the same event last year.
In the shot put, Rodriguez has just one appearance to her name, qualifying as a freshman, when she finished seventh.
The junior thrower enters as a favorite to win both events this season. Rodriguez’s personal bests of 37 feet, 6.25 inches in the discus throw and 144-9 in the shot put won her the Region IV-1A title and put her atop the Class 1A rankings according to Athletic.net.
The nerves haven’t faded for the Lasara product as she prepares for her third state meet. Her confidence, however, is on another level.
“I’m still as nervous as my first year, but my confidence level has increased a lot more since my freshman year,” Rodriguez said. “I feel really good about going for gold in both events, but I don’t want to go in overconfident. The game plan is to go in relaxed and focus on what I’ve been working on for weeks now.”
Rodriguez is joined by four additional RGV girls throwers at this year’s state meet, including two other regional champions.
PSJA Southwest’s Marcela Trevino and Rio Grande City’s Serina Ramirez each captured Region IV-5A titles to advance to state. Trevino won the discus throw with a personal-best mark of 147-10, and Ramirez took gold in the shot put with a PR of 46-2.
Harlingen High’s Jazmine Thompson and PSJA North’s Jaylah Martinez also earned state bids in throwing events. Thompson, a junior, finished second in the Region IV-6A discus and shot put to earn state bids in both for a second straight year.
Martinez captured silver in the Region IV-5A discus throw with a throw of 130-10, giving the RGV five girls throwers at the state meet.
“It is an honor to be there with this group and have this level of competition,” Rodriguez said. “It is amazing and empowering to compete with other girls beside me who have the same goals and mindset as I do, especially being a woman because people say it is a man’s sport. Being a woman, it is a little harder and more challenging, but it is about letting that go and just being who we are.”
The list of throwing qualifiers doesn’t end there, with three boys also nabbing state berths.
Sharyland ISD is home to two of those athletes, with Sharyland High’s Chukwubueze Ikondu and Pioneer’s Evan Thompson both winning Region IV-5A titles to qualify for state.
Ikondu, the Region IV-5A discus champ, has been on a tear during championship season, improving his mark by nearly 30 feet each time out. During the regional meet, the Rattlers’ senior recorded a personal-best mark of 193-2, ranking No. 2 in Class 5A heading into state.
Thompson added to the district’s hardware, bringing home the Region IV-5A shot put title with a mark of 60-1.5. He enters the state meet ranked second in Class 5A in the event with a personal-best throw of 60-10 according to Athletic.net.
The Sharyland ISD duo is joined by Edinburg Vela’s Kristopher Perez. The sophomore thrower finished third in the Region IV-5A shot put with a personal best mark of 54-7.25. The mark earned him the wild-card bid in the event, giving the Valley a total of eight throwers at the meet.
“We’ve always been pretty good at throwing in the Valley for quite a while,” Thompson said after the Region IV-5A meet. “Now we’re kind of sprouting and getting better year by year. We’re just constantly improving. It means a lot to see the Valley’s throwers improving all at once.”
The Valley also will be represented by a trio of jumpers during this weekend’s state meet, with each set to make their first appearance at the event.
Brownsville Veterans’ Gerry Gomez and Edinburg Vela’s Jacob Trevino earned silver medals in the triple jump and long jump, respectively, during the Region IV-5A meet, and Brownsville IDEA Frontier’s Ashley Olvera finished second in the high jump at the Region IV-3A meet.
The 2023 UIL state track and field championships begin with Class 3A and 4A events today at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. The meet continues Friday with Class 2A and 5A events, followed by Class 1A and 6A events Saturday.
For a full list of the RGV’s state qualifiers, visit www.RGVSports.com.
