By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ JR.
Special to the PRESS
Before joining the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Port Isabel alumna, Natalie Garza, was a member of the PIHS varsity track team, starting her freshman year in 2015. She specialized in the 400m dash, making a name for herself by being the lone Tarpon to advance to the State Meet in Austin in 2016 and 2017.
Garza placed 4th in the state meet in 2016, with a time of 58.23, and placed 5th in the state meet in 2017 with a 57.62 time. The performance was good enough to get noticed by UTRGV, whom offered Garza a scholarship while she was a junior at Port Isabel High School.
As a freshman at UTRGV, from 2018-2019, Garza ran her 400m event and joined the 4x400m relay team. Garza helped set a new UTRGV indoor track record while running with the 4×400 relay team, with a time of 3:51.33 at the Texas Tech Open. Garza also set a new 4×400 relay UTRGV outdoor track record with a time of 3:44.67 at the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships this past May. Her track performances helped her earn All-WAC 2nd Team honors.
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