South Texas Walking Club

PLEASE click on Photo Albums to see the pictures of the 1st ever Elementary school competition in South Texas.

The four hundred sixty-nine students participated in seventeen 800 meter racewalks over the two day period with thirty-one coming back on Saturday for another three racewalks.  Over one hundred volunteers donated their time and energy to help make the twenty events as successful as they were.  Among the judge volunteers were officers of the Texas Department of Public Safety plus officers from the Pharr, San Juan and Alamo Police and Fire Departments.  Other volunteers included many high school teachers, parents and members of the track team. It was a joy to see three or four of the older South Texas Walking Club kids warming up thirty to forty of the elementary school kids while another three to four had another group of thirty to forty kids going through the drills and yet you could see another group of thirty to forty kids on the track walking their 800 meter walk at the same time.  Many positive comments were heard from parents and other spectators that had never witness a racewalk before.  The children looked very impressive.            

The top six schools, their coaches and the points earned by each were: 

 North Alamo Elementary School coached by Hector Rios, Maricella Ibarra and                                 Santos Flores ---- 119

Carnahan Elementary School coached by Eric Yanez and Arturo Gonzalez  -  7

2Bowie Elementary School coached by Eduardo Martinez, Gavino Villegas Jr. and Olivia Garza -- 58

Trevino Elementary School coached by Arturo Gonzalez and Tomas Martinez  -- 57

Longoria Elementary School coached by Jaime Chavana and  Marisol de la Garza  -- 53

Reed-Mock Elementary School coached by Maria Garza and Cesar Escobedo --49 

The schools with the most first place winners were North Alamo with three and Bowie, Carnahan and Palmer Elementary Schools with two each. The top winners, their school and times in each of the Tuesday racewalks were as follows:

8 year old girls – Fatima Flores – Longoria Elementary School -  5:17

8 year old boys – Marcos Martinez – Pharr Elementary School -  5:22

9 year old girls – Julisa Juarez – North Alamo Elementary School  - 4:43

9 year old boys – Angel Rodriguez – Bowie Elementary School -  5:14

10 year old girls – Briana Sanchez – Bowie Elementary School -  4:34

10 year old boys – Edgar Lozano – North Alamo Elementary School  - 5:11 

11 year old girls – Ana Vasquez – Ramirez Elementary School  - 5:06

11 year old boys – Isaiah Palomar – North Alamo Elementary School  5:11 

The top winners, their school and times in each of the Thursday racewalks were as follows:

8 year old girls (Heat #1) – Gisela Flores – Ford Elementary School  - 5:48

8 year old girls (Heat #2) – Shelby Johnson – Dr. Long Elementary School  - 5:37

8 year old boys – Sergio Archer – Carnahan Elementary School - 5:21

9 year old girls – Cielo Martinez – Napper Elementary School --  5:02

9 year old boys – Eduardo Uria – Palmer Elementary School  - 4:53

10 year old girls – Bianca Garza – Palmer Elementary School --  4:30

10 year old boys – Jorge Contreras – Doedyns Elementary School -- 5:20

11 year old girls – Crystle Florido – Carnahan Elementary School -- 4:16 

The top winners, their school and times in each of Saturday’s racewalks were as follows:

8 year old girls – Mariana Juarez – North Alamo Elementary School -- 5:49

8 year old boys – Carlos Rodriguez – Ford Elementary School --  6:36

9 year old girls – Julisa Juarez – North Alamo Elementary School  -- 4:40

9 year old boys – Jonathon Aguilar – Freddy Gonzalez Elementary School -- 4:25

10 year old girls – Bianca Garza – Palmer Elementary School -- 4:19

10 year old boys – Eduardo Uria – Palmer Elementary School -- 4:47

11 year old girls – Crystle Florido – Carnahan Elementary School -- 4:18

12 year old girls – Amberly Melendez – San Juan Middle School -- 3:50

13 year old boys – Abisai Aguilar – South Middle School --  5:34

 A Rio Grande Valley Children’s free 1000 meter (2 ½ laps) racewalk will now be held on Saturday May 22^nd at the San Juan High School Stadium followed by other walks during the summer.  The free walks will start at 9:00 a.m. and all Valley children are invited to attend and also consider joining the South Texas Walking Club.  Please call 956-821-6659 for further information.

DO NOT LET FEAR AFFECT YOUR RUNNING (or WALKING !!!)   By: Stan Popovich    Sometimes, fear and anxiety can get the best of us in running.  The key is to know how to manage that fear and anxiety. As a result, here is a brief list of techniques that a runner can use to help manage their fears and every day anxieties.  Occasionally, you may become stressed when you have to run in an upcoming event. When this happens, visualize yourself doing the task in your mind. For instance, you have to run in the championship  event  in front of a large group of people in the next few days. Before the big day comes, imagine yourself performing the event.  Self-Visualization is a great way to reduce the fear and stress of a coming situation. Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem. A person could read the newspaper, listen to some music or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. This is a great technique to use right before your next event. Another technique that is very helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that you can carry around with you. Whenever you come across an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you. Whenever you feel stressed, open up your small notebook and read those statements. This will help to manage your negative thinking. In every anxiety-related situation you experience, begin to learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what you need to improve on in managing your fears and anxieties. For instance, you have a lot of anxiety and you decide to take a small walk before your event to help you feel better. The next time you feel anxious you can remind yourself that you got through it the last time by taking a walk. This will give you the confidence to manage your anxiety the next time around.  Take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your fears and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future. Remember that it never hurts to ask for help. Remember that patience, persistence, and education will go a long way in preventing fear from becoming a factor in your running.  BIOGRAPHY:Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” – an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/

 

Chavez To World Racewalk Championship 

            PSJA sixteen year old High School junior Alex Chavez felt that being one of the top mile junior racewalkers in the country would not help him at Sunday’s 10K World Cup Trials in New York.  This was an endurance race where he was ranked forth and considered an underdog by more than two minutes to the 3^rd place ranked junior and only the top three would make the World Cup Championship.

            High school senior Trevor Barron of Pennsylvania, forth place at last years World Youth 10K Racewalk held in Italy, ranked 1^st going into this race.  Ranked second was Tyler Sorronsen of California, followed by Maine High School senior Mathew Forgues, all of which had been training at high altitude in Arizona during part of the past six months.  Alex longed for this type of training but the best he could do was to go up and down I Road and over and down the flood levies.

            Coach A.C. Jaime felt that arriving in New York a day before the racewalk was absolutely essential, for a new course, unfamiliar to all, had been selected by the race director.

            Nothing good was heard from Alex and the other racewalkers that arrived early to work out on the new course.  The two kilometer course started at a parking lot in one school with a turn around point at another schools parking lot with many turns in between.  It also quickly became apparent to Coach Jaime that New York’s heavy snows and recent torrential rains had taken their toll on the new course, for the roadway and parking lot were littered with pot holes.

            The top racewalkers from throughout the USA, led by two time USA Olympian Tim Seaman, started arriving early for the race on Sunday.  Juniors were to walk a 10K while seniors were attempting to qualify for the 20K racewalk championship.

            Trevor Barron immediately jumped out at the sound of the gun and soon proved to all that he expects to be a strong contender for the gold medal at next months Junior World Cup Championship in Chihuahua Mexico.  Tim Seaman’s intensions were soon evident as he began pacing Tyler, who is expected to be a top contender at the August IAAF Youth Olympics in Singapore, to a second place finish leaving Alex and Mathew to fight it out for the third place spot on the World Cup Championship 10K USA Team.

            Nineteen year old Mathew Forgues, a 2008 Junior World Cup participant who will be walking for an Ohio college on a full scholarship next year, had the upper hand on Alex when it came to 10K walks.  He had beaten Alex at all four prior 10K walks where he and Alex had competed together, the last one by nearly three minutes in Oregon last June.  On the other hand, Alex had proven superior to Mathew in the one mile walks having outraced Mathew on all previous three one mile encounters, but today was not a one mile walk and Alex knew it.

            The first casualty of the day among the sixty-three elite racewalkers was America’s top women 20K racewalker, Teresa Vaill, who pulled out with a swollen knee shortly after the first three laps followed by three others that were unable to finish their race.

            The one thing no one had even dreamed about was a slight incline that started halfway through the course that somewhat simulated the small floodway inclines that exist along I Road in Pharr.  Alex has walked that path many times in the past year and while he lost an average of eight seconds every time he went up the race incline today, he was nevertheless able to make up the time coming down.  It soon became evident that while many were complaining and unable to walk at their expected pace, Alex was not only walking well, but was well ahead of his pace.

            However, Mathew had no intensions of letting Alex win the race and, as evidenced from the racewalk video shown that evening after the race, the two good friends were walking together shoulder to shoulder through out the first eight kilometers.  They made their move at the beginning of their ninth lap with Alex gaining only four seconds on Mathew by the turn around point but Alex mile pace experience came into play on the last one kilometer.  He was able to bring his one kilometer lap time down from his race average 4:39 to 4:25 to outpace Mathew by twenty seconds at the finish line.  He came home with a personal 10K best time of 47:19 and earned the right to represent the USA at next months Junior World Cup Championship in Chihuahua, Mexico.

PRESS RELEASE effective March 19, 2010 From:  A.C. Jaime, Coach, South Texas Walking Club, Phone – 956-821-6659 

March 19, 2010

 Chavez Walks 2^nd Fastest Mile Ever by a USA High School Junior 

           

Nineteen time high school All-American Alex Chavez of PSJA High School walked the second fastest one mile ever walked by a high school junior in the USA this Saturday.  The event took place in front of more than two thousand spectators at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, the site of the Nike Indoor High School Championship.           

Alex finished second behind last years fourth place World Youth finisher Trevor Barron, a high school senior from Pennsylvania, and came to within one and one half second of breaking the existing USA high school junior record when he crossed the finish line in an amazing personal best time of 6:19.35.           

Alex will now concentrate on getting ready to attend the New York World Cup Trials on April 11^th and hopes to qualify to attend the May 15^th  2010 World Cup Championship to be held in Chihuahua, Mexico.  Chihuahua will be host to more than sixty of the world’s top junior racewalkers including the highly ranked racewalkers from Russia, China & Mexico.           

2009 thirteen year age bracket Junior Olympic Gold Medalist Geraldo Flores of San Juan Middle School was the only eighth grader to qualify to participate at this meet.  He crossed the finish line in seventh place, one place short of winning a high school All-American honor.  The thirteen year old also managed to come home with a personal best time of 8:14.46.           

2008 fourteen year age bracket Junior Olympic Gold Medal winner Diana Lee Flores of PSJA High School was not about to be out performed by the boys.  The now fifteen year old high school sophomore was the only girl team member to travel to a meet this week and she, like Alex and Geraldo, managed to also come home with a personal best time of 8:52.47 from the National Scholastic Indoor High School One Mile Championship held at the New York City Armory on Sunday.            

The team is now concentrating on recruiting children from eight to eighteen years of age from throughout the Valley.  Practice sessions are held daily from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the PSJA High School track field in San Juan.  Any parent interested in having their children join the team may contact Coach A.C. Jaime at 956-821-6659.