HARLINGEN — For a second straight week, Harlingen High is sending a student athlete to the next level.
Senior golfer Dylan Martinez will take his talents to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
“I’m pretty nervous, but it is going to be a great experience playing at the college level,” Martinez said after a ceremony at Harlingen High on Thursday.
“I was able to get a lot of help this year to help me get to this point. The recruiting process was difficult because I had never done it before.”
Martinez is a four-year letterman and was named first-team all-district, first-team all-Valley and had quite the performance at the Region IV-6A boys golf tournament last month where he helped guide the Cards to a respectable sixth-place finish.
Through the two-day tournament in San Antonio, Martinez led Big Red with a 143, shooting an opening-round 74 and a 69 on Day 2.
Martinez knows the task may be tough, but feels he is prepared for the next level.
“I visited the campus and it was beautiful. There were a lot of trees,” Martinez said. “Every golf course is different, but it is the same goal and that is to get the ball in the hole. It wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year that I realized I can compete at the next level.”
Cards coach Chris Milligan had high praise for Martinez, who displayed strong leadership on and off the course.
“My advice (to him) would be to keep doing what he is doing,” Milligan said. “I believe he is prepared for the moment and it’s one of those things that you work so hard for that you may forget what a pleasure it is to be playing at the college level.
“I want him to enjoy himself and to go out there and have fun. Words can’t explain what he has meant to this program. As a freshman he immediately made an impact and led by example. He is truly a coach’s best friend and he did everything we asked him to do, and worked hard. He is one of those guys that the upperclassman respect and the underclassman look up, too.”
