Verilu Infante 
The UTRGV Track and Field team has signed Brownsville Gladys Porter Highschool Senior, Estrella Medellin, a student athlete who’s been competing since the 7th grade.
“I barely had gotten a medal freshman year. It wasn’t until sophomore year, I started training more, cause I had gone in the summer. After that, I started progressing,” said Medellin.
The future Vaquero has had an athletic career full of achievements. During her Junior year of highschool, Medellin earned herself a spot in the University Interscholastic League Class 5A State meet in the Triple Jump. This was the first time a female from Porter had qualified at the state level in Track and Field in at least 32 years.
Though she was indecisive on choosing what University to attend at first, Medellin tells us that after talking with Track and Field and Cross Country Head Coach Darren Flowers, she decided to sign with UTRGV.
“Even after he had offered me a scholarship in January, I still wasn’t sure until April. What I like is that he still had the same offer for me. He still had a spot for me. It made me feel like he actually wanted me there, so that’s when I knew I actually wanted to run for them,” said Medellin.
We spoke to Flowers to discuss what factors played a role in recruiting Medellin, and what UTRGV looks for when signing incoming athletes.
“We went and recruited at the regional meet there in Corpus Christi, and that was really our first chance to see her in person. Just being able to see her and how she carries herself and how athletic she is. It’s exciting to see someone like that who’s probably not as experienced as some of the girls that we’ve signed but has just complete raw ability and potential,” said Flowers.
Flowers states that currently at least 70% of athletes signed to the program are from the Rio Grande Valley, and that they like to represent South Texas.
“Wherever we go people can look down here and say, hey there are some really great athletes down in this area and they’re hard workers, they’re competitors and every time that they step on the track that we need to be ready to compete with them because they’re gonna bring their best,” said Flowers.
Flowers believes that now that Medellin is signed, she can contribute a lot to the growing Girls Cross Country program and hopes to see her compete in many middle distance events within her first year.
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