BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville St. Joseph’s Alondra Loya knew she had to break her school’s discus throwing record of 127 feet if she wanted to bring home a state championship. Her closest rival threw 127 feet, 8 inches to take the lead on her third throw.
Loya did it, with one foot to spare, on her fifth throw. The sophomore is the TAPPS 5A discus state championship with a throw of 128-8.
“It feels good,” she said. “A lot of time, dedication and hard work combined. I do not think it is much about me, but about everyone else that helped me. I knew I would not be here if it was not for my coaches. A year ago, I had no idea what a discus was.”
Loya did not think she was going to break the school record this year.
“Sometimes I struggled believing that I could make it this far,” she said. “I am just really blessed to have this experience as a sophomore and to be able to have this talent. I am grateful to God and to all of my family who have supported me through everything.”
Seniors Elise Esparza and Ale and Lucia Gonzalez ended their St. Joseph track careers on the podium. Joining the seniors in capturing the bronze medal in the 800 relay was sophomore Amanda Hinojos.
“It was our goal,” Esparza said. “We wanted to medal in state for the first time in four years. Third time is the charm. The twins and I have made it to state since our freshman year. Our sophomore year was the COVID year, and this time we finally placed with a medal, something we always wanted to accomplish.”
The Lady ’Hounds’ athletes finished with a time of 1 minute, 47.65 seconds, only 0.08 seconds from earning a silver instead of a bronze.
“I was the anchor, so when I crossed the finish line I could not believe we got third,” Lucia Gonzalez said.
Lucia Gonzalez said she tried her hardest to finish second, but the girl she was running against was tall, giving her that extra advantage. The anchor was happy either way.
When Ale Gonzalez was handed the baton, the team was in fourth or fifth. She qualified individually for the 200-meter dash.
“It happened so fast,” she said. “When I saw Amanda reach the mark, I turned and I ran for my life. It was a good a handoff.”
Hinojos joined the team late in the season. The sophomore middle-distance runner enjoyed running with the seniors but likely will stay away from the sprint relays next year.
“I have known these girls my whole life,” she said. “It was nice to finally get a relay run in with them. I am grateful that coach Drew (Soto) brought me in, I just wanted to help any way that I could.”
The girls thanked Soto and coach Teddy Lopez for pushing them during their time at SJA. The girls said they are going to miss track and that they are grateful for their time at the school.
“I loved St. Joe’s and playing sports here,” Lucia Gonzalez said. “They made it fun but pushed me at the same time. I was able to actually enjoy playing the sports.”
Elise Esparza plans to head to the University of Texas at San Antonio to study cyber security. Ale and Lucia Gonzalez are planning to head to Texas A&M.
