the race and he will hand off to senior newcomer Juan Cruz, followed by returnee Jerry Espinoza taking the hand off from Cruz and ending with junior returnee, Mishak Rivas running as the anchor. Garza knew that running the first leg had all the likings of a Super Bowl and doing it again this season would only demand more than just expectations. “We had to work harder,” says the Top 5% graduating senior who has maintained an overall grade point average of 97.0. “This is my senior year and I wanted to make sure that every second would count. Just my own motivation alone, helped me to work harder and encourage my teammates to do the same,” he adds. With last year’s teammate, Albert Rojas out for this year’s race, Fuentes had to make a choice to replace Rojas. He chose to go with Juan Cruz. “After we lost Albert Rojas to an injury recently, Juan was my next choice,” says Fuentes. “He has the most experience amongst our runners,” adds Fuentes. Cruz was part of the 2007 district championship relay teams in the 400m, 800m, and the 1600m. “He has run all the legs of every race. Our team is comfortable with him. Rojas is the captain of this team and he supports Cruz too,” added Fuentes. The next best time in state is 3:15.23 by Cedar Hill High School, followed by Baytown Sterling at 3:16.96. The Panthers rank fourth at 3:17.32. Do the Panthers have a chance to place in the top three? Fuentes thinks so. “Our team has been running in lane six all week long and I am pleased with our progress. It will be an exciting finish in Austin,” says the third year head track coach. Alternates for this year’s squad are Elizar Gaona and Pepe Cabrera. Four Legs. Running the first leg (top photo) will be Mike Garza handing off to Juan Cruz. In the second leg, (Middle Photo) Cruz will then hand the baton to Jerry Espinoza in the third leg. Mishak Rivas (Bottom photo) will anchor the final leg from Espinoza. (HSSM Images)
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