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Ricardo Vergara became the only youth to ever win the High School National Scholastic Indoor One Mile Race Walk Championship in New York for three consecutive years on Sunday, March 15th. Three other boys had won this high school championship for two consecutive years but never for three as did the seventeen year old Edinburg High School Senior twin.
Winning this race proved to be difficult for Ricardo. He had just won the High School Nike Indoor One Mile National Race Walk Championship in Maryland the day before even though he complained of having difficulty breathing due to a throat infection. That race had been won by his twin brother Roberto the previous two years but this time Roberto was the one struggling with excruciating pain to his joints which is a side effect of a prescription medication he is taking. Being able to walk at a six and one half minute per mile pace, as previously planned, proved to be too much for Roberto as Trevor Baron, a high school sophomore from Pennsylvania, went around him half way through the race. Trevor then went around Ricardo with two of the eight 200 meter laps remaining. Ricardo, seeing that Roberto was unable to respond to Trevor’s move, put on his after burners and overtook Trevor at the beginning of the last lap to win that Championship in a time of 6:34 with Trevor and Roberto three and ten second behind respectively. P-SJ-A High School freshman, Alex Chavez, finished the race in fifth place with a personal best time of 7:13 allowing the South Texas Walking Club to place three of its own on the top six All American Team for the forth consecutive year.
As it’s often said, “What goes around, comes around!” Coach A.C. Jaime had expected Ricardo to set a new record last year at the AAU National Junior Olympic Championship in Tennessee. However, because Ricardo was having the same problems then that Roberto was experiencing this time around, it was Roberto who stepped in and brought the existing 17-18 year age division record of 13:18 down to 13:15, hoping to once again break that record this year before graduation.
Trevor, being one of the many juniors coached by A.C. Jaime in the past, saw the condition the twins were in and planned to grab hold of the situation. “Coach, I beat Roberto today, and tomorrow, I also intend to beat Ricardo!”, he snickered to Coach Jaime over dinner Saturday night on their way to the New York race. He was not the only one wanting to out pace the country’s top two junior race walkers. Eleven of the top twelve junior walkers were in attendance and anyone of them would have been capable of outpacing the twins on a bad day.
Ricardo was well aware that Trevor knew what and how Coach Jaime trains his team since he had spent two weeks living with Coach Jaime and training with the South Texas Walking Club in Texas. Furthermore, Ricardo knew that Trevor was now being well assisted and advised by Vince Peters, the U.S.A. Track and Field National Race Walk Chairman and that he no doubt was going to be well prepared in the morning. The Club’s Assistant Coach, Anelle Chavez, R.N., checked Ricardo once again and had him gargle with medication several times during the day and night. Even though Ricardo never became febrile, his throat continued to worsen causing him more discomfort and difficulty with breathing.
The morning of the race, Ricardo and Roberto greeted Trevor and the rest of the contenders with the same “gusto” they’ve always had for each other. Since the majority of the top twelve juniors in the country have trained together with A. C. Jaime, Vince Peters and the other Race Walking coaches, they all see each other as a team and travel together to these meets. Each of them was introduced as they walked up to the starting line with Ricardo being introduced first. The boys jockeyed for position at the start of the race with Ricardo out front surprisingly followed closely by Tyler Sorensen, of California, who along with Chavez, were two of the two youngest in the group. Roberto was right behind Sorensen followed by Trevor who soon went around Roberto at the start of the second lap. It soon became a four man race each within striking distance of Ricardo who intended to and was setting the pace for all to follow.
Roberto took over third place at the start of the fifth lap, but Sorensen refused to fall back and lingered but one second behind him, just as Trevor remained behind Ricardo and Roberto behind Trevor. Sorensen began to fade a little at the beginning of the seventh lap as did Roberto at the start of the eighth lap. Trevor stayed with Ricardo throughout the seventh and part of the last lap but did not have the stamina to keep up to Ricardo’s riveting forty-five second lap finish. Meanwhile, Sorensen, who was three seconds behind Roberto half way through the last lap, was able to pass him during the last fifty meter stretch but was disqualified for lifting. This allowed Roberto and Alex to finish in third and fifth place respectively once again just as they had done the previous day in Maryland. Matthew Forgues and Tyler Campbell of Maine, finished in forth and sixth place respectively making up the All American Team.
Thirteen year old eighth grader, Diana Flores of San Juan Middle School, had a fantastic race finishing in twenty-second place in a field of forty high school girls. She, along with seventh graders, Ariana Guzman of Sharyland, and Nicolette Sorensen of California, were the only non-high school girls to qualify for this meet. Nicolette finished in third and forth place in Maryland and New York respectively. She raised many an eyebrow with her style and ability. She walked miles of 7:52 and 7:54 and will be one to contend with next year. Ariana had an eleventh place finish in Maryland behind tenth place contender Claudia Ortiz, a freshman from Sharyland High School.
The team’s only High School All American girl, Jessica Reybal of McAllen, could not compete well after recovering from knee surgery this past December, but is expected to return within a few months.
IAAF Racewalking Challenge in Mexico
Click the above link to see the start list for the IAAF Racewalking Challenge that both Ricardo and Roberto will be attending in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Also walking are Americans John Nunn, Philip Dunn and Susan Armenta.
