Track: Ursuline's Negrete, competing for Honduras, sets U20 Central American shot put mark

Prizila Negrete stood in a stadium in Guatemala, listening to the Honduran national anthem — the anthem of her mom's homeland.

She'd heard it before. But now, with it being played in this special setting and with it being played for her, a question she'd pondered while watching years of televised Olympics and other international competitions was answered.

"I always wondered why everyone was so moved to hear (their) national anthem," the 17-year-old recent Ursuline grad said.

With a gold medal around her neck, the Honduran flag draped around her shoulders and teammates cheering, Negrete had chills as thoughts and emotions zig-zagged through her mind.

Included were thoughts of family. Of her mom, dad and brother, who looked on with pride.

And of her maternal grandfather, who'd regularly travel from Honduras to the U.S. to visit. He'd died when Negrete was in eighth grade but she'll never forget how "very proud" he was to have been Honduran.

He would have loved this moment.

His driven, athletically-gifted granddaughter's moment.

Saturday, Negrete not only won gold in the U20 women's shot put at the seven-country U18 and U20 Central American Games but did so while setting the all-time Central American U20 women's shot put mark at 41 feet, 3.75 inches.

The youngest of all the U20 throwers at the Games, she also won bronze that day in the hammer, hurling it 135-6, a nearly seven-foot personal best.

Sunday, she'd claim her third medal in her third and final event, discus, winning bronze with a 120-1 throw.

Devoted to her sport, Negrete, one of several American-born throwers at the Central American Games, who competed for another country through familial birth, has had to give something to get something during her final season of high school track and field.

She'd given up the prom to throw at the Loucks Games, where she was named female field MVP after winning both the shot and discus.

In going to Guatemala, Negrete, who competed in last Thursday's girls shot put at the Section 1 state championships qualifying meet to earn a spot at this weekend's state championships, had to fly out Friday. That meant missing the girls discus competition. She's ranked second in Section 1 and ninth overall in the state in the event and would have had a decent chance to medal after finishing eighth at last year's states. But while she had thrown far enough to achieve the so-called state super standard to automatically earn a spot in discus at states, that designation comes with a caveat that you show up at the qualifier to throw — even if that's only once and out of bounds.

And when Section 1 denied a request for her to make that throw during the qualifier's opening day in which boys discus was competed, that meant Negrete was out of the discus for states.

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But she took that in stride.

"At first, I was a little bit upset. It's my last state championship I really wanted (to throw the discus). But this was an opportunity I couldn't give up," she said, explaining she'd been invited to last year's U18 and U20 Central American Games but only after she'd committed to competing the same weekend in Philadelphia at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. She went to Philly, where she medaled in fourth place in shot and also finished ninth in discus.

The decision to go to Guatemala came with the knowledge that the trip would be a whirlwind with little to no time to see anything outside the throwing venue.

As it was, that even meant missing the opening ceremonies. They were held at a different stadium, where track events went on but where field events couldn't be held due to infield work. Due to the area's horrendous traffic, throwers couldn't go to the ceremonies and get back to their own stadium in time to throw.

But Negrete, who took an early flight back to the U.S. Monday and attended Ursuline's track and field dinner at the school soon after reaching New York, didn't care much about the ceremony.

There should be plenty of those in the years to come as she continues to compete for Honduras.

And that's one of the things she's keeping in perspective.

This weekend, Negrete, who won silver in the shot put at indoor states this past winter, will try to medal in the event outdoors.

There will be no discus medal but she's fine with that.

"Everything that happened this weekend makes up for it," she said.

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Track: Ursuline's Negrete sets record, wins gold in shot for Honduras