Littlefield senior, Omar Martinez, signed his Letter of Intent on Thursday, May 16th, to continue his track and academic career at Dallas Baptist University.
Martinez signed in the Littlefield High School Library, during a small ceremony surrounded by family, friends and classmates.
“It’s a blessing to know all the hard work and dedication is paying off,” Martinez said. “Knowing that I get to do it for four more years is a privilege.”
The senior talked about what the recruiting process was like for him, stating, “At first the recruiting process was difficult on me because I really had no idea what I was doing. But, once I finally got my name out there it was rewarding seeing all of the different coaches texting and calling.”
He added, “I had a couple other offers to go run around the country, but when I stepped foot onto the DBU campus I knew it was the one. I put the lord in everything I do so going to a college that represents him is my biggest thing.”
Martinez stared for the Wildcat track team during his senior year as part of the 4x400-meter relay team, 4x100-meter relay team, as well as the 300-meter hurdles and Long Jump.
As a senior, Martinez was the district 3-3A Runner up in the 300meter hurdles and an Area qualifier in the event, he was part of the 4x100-meter relay team that finished 2nd at the District 3-3A Meet and qualified for Area, he was a District Champion as part of the 4x400-meter relay team and qualified for Area in the event.
At the Class 3A Area Meet, Martinez finished third in the 300meter hurdles and was a Regional Qualifier in the event. He also was part of the 4x400-meter relay team that finished as the Area Runnerup in the event and qualified for Regionals.
In his prior three years in track, Martinez competed in the 400meter dash, 200-meter dash, 100meter dash, the 800-meter run and the 4x200-meter relay.
As a junior, Martinez was an Area qualifier with the 4x100-meter relay team and the 4x400-meter relay team, both of which finished as the Area runner-up, and were Regional qualifiers. He was also on the 4x200-meter relay team that finished third at Area and qualified for Regionals.
As a sophomore, Martinez was part of the 4x400-meter relay team that was a Regional qualifier. Martinez also earned the All-Wildcat Boy Award at the Academic Awards Ceremony during his se- nior year.
“After my sophomore year I knew my heart belonged on the track,” Martinez explained. “I’ve always dreamed of being a National Champion and one day running for team USA and I know I can accomplish that on the track.”
Martinez talked about how his time as a Wildcat and his coaches helped prepare him to compete at the collegiate level, saying, “I knew that playing every single sport as a Wildcat would get me ready for college no matter what sport I picked.”
He added, “When I ultimately picked track, I started running in the summer and that’s when I started seeing college times and that really prepared me for the collegiate level.”
The senior talked about his favorite memory from his time as a Wildcat, saying, “I’ve had ton of memories as a Wildcat, but I’ve got to say just the times spent hanging around the coaches and players and watching everyone become family around you, is my favorite memory of all.”
Lastly, Martinez spoke on the support he has received from his family throughout his career, saying, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my family, they took me so many places, whether it was for tournaments or track meets they were there, it didn’t matter.”
He added, “Whenever i wanted to give up they were in my corner and kept me going.”
Martinez intends to major in Kinesiology and minor in business.