Sonoraville junior constantly proves herself despite small stature
CT:
Heather Ortiz may look small, but her size doesn’t coincide to how big a role she has played in Sonoraville athletics in the past couple years.
The junior is currently finishing up a stellar track season this spring as she is competing at the Girls State Meet in Albany this weekend. And she didn’t just qualify to compete in one event. Ortiz will take part in the 1600 meter, 800 meter and pole vault.
A few months ago, she was the sparkplug off the bench for the Lady Phoenix basketball team and coach Stephanie Caudell, coming in to provide depth, energy and defensive intensity for the Region 5-AAA champions.
And this past fall, Ortiz ran down fly balls in the outfield and created problems with her speed on the basepaths for the Sonoraville softball team coached by Chad Hayes that made its second-ever State Playoff appearance.
But sports aren’t the only thing that keeps Ortiz busy as she keeps her studies as a Sonoraville High student as she plans to keep her academic career going after graduation as she pursues a degree in pediatrics in college.
Recently, the Calhoun Times caught up with Ortiz to talk about the current track season, qualifying for the State Meet in multiple events, last basketball and softball season, her memories as an athlete at Sonoravile, the influence her coaches have had on him and her plans for after high school, among other subjects.
Here’s what she had to say:
You’re getting ready for the State Meet this weekend. How excited are you and what are your expectations?
ORTIZ:
I always look forward to track and am excited that I get to spend the season with my teammates. I look forward to State because I like to prove to myself that I can achieve many things because I’m small and people don’t think you can do many things when you’re small. Since I’m down here, I’d really love to place and at least win a medal.
CT:
How much did it take to not just qualify for one event at state, but three?
To qualify for my running events I have to push through with different types of workouts and seeing what competition I have at practice meets. For pole vault, you don’t really want to think about it because when you think about it, it stresses you and you should just have fun.
ORTIZ:
Talk about this past basketball season. How successful was the season and how cool was it to play a bigger part in that than the previous season?
I loved playing this year. I loved the girls. We had a great bond. Coming off the bench, I just felt like coach Caudell let me go in so I had to do my part to help keep up the intensity, do my best and help out however I could.
CT:
ORTIZ: