After Alexander’s Cristina Garcia crossed the finish line in the 100-meter hurdles at Mike A. Myers Stadium in the Class 6A State Track and Field Championships, she took a moment to look at the scoreboard. Garcia knew running against the top nine hurdlers in the state would push her to a level she had never reached before in her high school career.
After what felt like an eternity, Garcia’s name finally flashed on the scoreboard, showing she had placed sixth overall. However, the time she ran cemented her name in the Laredo track and field history books. Garcia ran a 13.86 to break her city record of 14.13, which she set at the regional meet two weeks ago.
“My number one goal coming to these events was to PR, to get better from my marks,” Garcia said. “It was not about the place but about my personal journey, my personal race, just worrying about my lane and letting these super-fast girls help me take my running to another level.”
Garcia could not contain her excitement when she realized she had run under 14 seconds—something she had worked for during the offseason. She trained throughout the summer, sacrificing time with her family and friends.
“All this was all worth it,” Garcia said. “All the hard work since last summer—I have not stopped working through the winter. This has been my best high school season. I am so proud of myself, but I am definitely not done yet. I really wanted to make my mark at state, and tomorrow I start to make a return trip.”
It was no secret Garcia was going after records, and on Saturday afternoon, she etched her name deep in the Laredo history books. Breaking the 100-meter hurdles record was the cherry on top of what proved to be a fruitful state meet.
Garcia was making her state debut at Mike A. Myers Stadium, a place where she had run earlier in the season at the Texas Relays because the goal was always to return.
As the lone Laredo representative at the state meet, Garcia began her state debut in the triple jump, another event she has dominated over the past two years. Garcia is already the UISD record holder in that event and broke her own record.
In her fifth jump, Garcia leaped 39 feet, 5.75 inches to place sixth overall and scored her first point at the state meet.
“In the triple jump, I started off with a 37-10—it was not a PR, but I was able to get out all the nerves,” Garcia said. “When I hit the 39-5.75, everything felt good, from my approach to my steps. After each jump, my coach was able to fix the little things that I was doing wrong. I was able to hit two 39s, so that means I am now being consistent, and that is important if I want to continue to jump further.”
With one event under her belt, Garcia was prepared for the 100-meter hurdles and was not nervous running that event.
“The fact that I was able to compete in an event before running the 100-meter hurdles helped me,” Garcia said. “I was not nervous, and this event was the first one for a lot of the girls. I just told myself before the race, this is it, just run for your life,’ and I was able to represent not only Alexander well but the entire city of Laredo. I knew that I had a PR in me, and I wanted to break 14, and that will open up so many opportunities to me.”
Garcia was elated with her performance at the state meet and wanted to thank all her family and friends who made the trip to Austin, along with her coaches.
“After the race, I just wanted to go hug my dad, my coaches, my family and friends who came to Austin to support me,” Garcia said. “All the hard work and time that they have put into me paid off. Some of my coaches spend more time training me than with their own families, and that does not go unnoticed. Thank you for your endless support.”
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