There isn't much time to think during the roughly 40-meter stretch of the triple jump runway.
When Cristina Garcia is running toward the take-off board to launch into the sandpit, she isn't thinking about program records, rankings or how she'll fare in future meets.
"I try to not get in my head too much. I try to not freak myself out," the Alexander junior said. "We just rep it and rep it in practice so by the time I get there on the track, it's familiar. That reassures me and calms me down more. It gives me the confidence to know I know what to do and to trust in my training."
While practicing and training have led to a familiarity on the track, they've also led to a list of accomplishments.
Garcia already owns the UISD triple jump record, which she broke last year as a sophomore. She has extended that record to 39 feet, 3 inches, which currently has her ranked No. 1 by eight inches in Region 4 for Class 6A. She hit that record jump at the District 30-6A meet, when she became the district champion in the triple jump, long jump and 100-meter hurdles.
She followed that dominant performance with another one at the 6A Area 29-30 meet on April 9. Garcia won three area titles (100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and triple jump) and had a runner-up finish in the long jump.
"I'm feeling really accomplished, really proud of myself," Garcia said.
Garcia's sense of pride comes at the right time in the track and field season. She is one of multiple athletes who will represent Alexander at the 6A Region 4 meet in San Antonio on April 18-19.
She will compete in all four aforementioned area events at the regional meet. Garcia will be joined by teammate Fernanda Omana, who placed fourth in the high jump. On the boys side, Alexander qualified Anthony Gonzalez in the 800-meter and 1,600-meter runs, as well as the 1,600-meter relay team, Esteban Avena in the 400-meter dash and Rickey Carson in the 110-meter hurdles.
The top two finishers in each event at the regional meet will advance to the Class 6A state meet on May 3 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
Garcia is ready.
Records at Alexander
"It definitely helped before district and area being ranked No. 1," Garcia said about her ranking in the triple jump. "It just makes me want to prove that I can do more, especially with the triple jump. I want to keep breaking the record to where no one can break it once I leave."
While the triple jump record is all hers, Garcia has one name ahead of her in Alexander's record books for the two hurdle events: 2010 graduate Elvira Kristi Gonzalez. Garcia knows that name well.
Gonzalez's times of 14.40 in the 100-meter hurdles and 43.65 in the 300-meter hurdles narrowly lead Garcia's best times of 14.60 and 44.33, respectively.
"I do plan to take those down," Garcia said.
It only motivates her more to still have someone ahead of her in the record book. There's no sense of complacency for Garcia while competing as a Bulldog at Alexander.
"It just makes me want to get more exposure to Alexander," she said. "Put us on the map more. We have such a great program here with our coaches and team. They're super supportive. They put so much time, effort and care into us for us to be our best selves on the track."
Garcia trusts the support system around her, and that system believes in her.
"What sets Cristina apart is her work ethic," Alexander's interim girls track coach Mike Vigil said. "She is very aware of the talent that she is facing at higher-level meets and knows that when she is resting, others are working. She endlessly works throughout the year on the track and in the weight room, in town and out of town, trying to find any edge that will help her perform to the best of her ability week in and week out."
A chance at Alexander history
Garcia's No. 1 ranking in the triple jump for the eight-area Region 4 isn't something to overlook. She has a real chance to do something special.
It has been 18 years since a Bulldog in the girls program won a regional title. The last regional champion was Emalie Humphreys in shot put and discus in 2007. Humphreys went on to finish second at the state meet in discus, behind DeSoto's Skylar White, who was one of the best throwers in Texas history and eventually became an All-American at Baylor.
The most recent state appearance for Alexander in the girls meet was in 2019 with the 400-meter relay team, as well as Cynthia Emeremnu in the 100-meter dash.
Garcia isn't overlooking the chance she has to be a part of Alexander's lore.
"It would mean everything to me," she said about a regional title. "It would just make me feel like all that hard work, all the work behind the scenes that no one sees, that it was worth something. All the work I'm putting in is worth it. It makes me want to keep going, because obviously in this heat, there's some days where I'm like, 'Why am I even doing this?' but when I go out there and produce these jumps and times, it just reassures me that there's a purpose behind what I'm doing.
"That would be amazing to win a regional after so many years. Just for when I graduate to inspire the program after I leave to strive for that success."
While Garcia is ranked No. 1 in the triple jump, she also holds regional rankings of third in the 100-meter hurdles and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.
For all of 6A in Texas, Garcia's best mark in the triple jump is ranked eighth in the state. A state appearance as a junior would have her ready for senior season.
"It would make me more hungrier to come back even stronger to make my name known at the state meet," she said.
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