EDINBURG – Senior jumper Kimberly Kuriata of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley women's track & field team loves the fact that she gets to be outside to enjoy the beauty of the Earth.
 
"I love that it is not air conditioned," Kuriata said. "I love being outside. You really get to see the beauty that the Earth gives back to you and you are still able to compete and be at a higher level mind set."
 
Kuriata grew up in Laredo, Texas and started competing in track and field when she was in the second grade. She also played softball, basketball and volleyball all the way into high school.
 
She hates to admit it but basketball is her favorite sport. She finds basketball easy to understand and likes all the nuances of the game. As far as track, there is something to be said about having control of your own destiny and not having to rely on anyone else for your own success.
 
"It was a sport where I depended on myself to succeed," Kuriata said. "I wasn't in any relays. I was a five-event athlete in track. I did the long jump, high jump, triple jump, as well as the 100-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles. It was something that I knew that I had to derive from myself. I really didn't have someone else to depend on for why I didn't succeed or why I did succeed."
 
While it was a sport that she depended on herself to get the results she wanted on the track, she still had support off the track. She had a couple of coaches that helped guide her through the rigors of learning how to high jump and then there were her parents who were always there to cheer her on.
 
Some of her favorite moments were those times her family was out there showing her support at her meets. Kuriata still goes back to look at the home videos her parents made and she gets a kick out of it every time.
 
"My dad was a very big fanatic," Kuriata said. "He was always there in the bleachers recording and I think the best memory I have are those videos. I go back to them and I can just hear my entire family yelling for me. That is probably the best thing about it, just having a crowd out there like in basketball. I don't have a specific memory but it would be hearing my dad's voice in the background."
 
Athletics runs in Kuriata's family as her five siblings also compete in various sports. Her dad used to play in softball and bowling leagues. Basketball and football were the two sports to bring the family close together.
 
Her family had the passion for sports and so did she. She realized that if you are passionate about something and you really work at it then you can get somewhere with it.
 
As she entered high school at Laredo United High School she realized that her passion was for track. She qualified for the regional meet all four years in high school and helped lead her team to a district championship as a senior.
 
Kuriata wasn't able to make it to the regional meet in her freshman season though, due to the fact that her dad passed away around that time. He was her No. 1 fan and the loss of her father had a big impact on her life but not once did she think about quitting the sport that he loved to see her compete in.
 
"After he was gone it was really hard for me because he was my No. 1 fan," Kuriata said. "Going into my sophomore year, it was quite a change but it never stopped me. In fact, it fueled me to keep going and to keep striving."
 
She kept striving throughout high school and wanted to keep it going into college. She had options of going to UTSA and other schools in lower divisions that were interested in her but in the end she chose to come down to the Rio Grande Valley.
 
Kuriata had high hopes for college, especially coming off of a great high school career. She was excited to become part of the RGV and for her new beginning.
 
Her college career didn't get off quite like she had hoped and it wasn't for the lack of trying. For student-athletes, there are always things that people don't always see that can affect them, whether it is positively or negatively.
 
"There is a lot of changes that people don't know about," Kuriata said. "I left my family back in Laredo. My mom departed on her ways to San Antonio so we were split up after everything. I was over here by myself and I didn't have a car at first. I was getting adjusted to the people. It took me a while but as I got the hang of it I realized that being here has been such a blessing."
 
Kuriata knows not many get the chance to compete at the Division I level and she doesn't take it for granted. She may not have the results she has wanted over the past four years but she knows she has given it her all.
 
Most importantly, the thing that has kept her going in track is the fact that she is happy doing it. It has been a great experience for her. No matter how it has played out over the last four years, Kuriata has had her fair share of great memories.
 
One of those memories came back when she was a sophomore competing at the conference meet. She finished in third place in the high jump that day but the way she found out was priceless.
 
"We were at conference in Utah," Kuriata said. "I had just got done jumping and they were taking forever on the results. I was so impatient and always looking over to coach Xavier Richardson. He just knew that it was killing me inside. He told me to go to the team camp and chill out. I was talking with some of our other high jumpers and coach walks up to us and hands me a paper. It was folded so it was very secretive, now that I think about it. I open it up and it is the high jump results and I ended up getting third place. It was just awesome the way coach Richardson told me. I grabbed coach and we started jumping around."
 
Kuriata has spent the last four years with coach Richardson. Many who have been coached by him have said nothing but good things about him and Kuriata is no different.
 
After losing her dad when she was in high school, she has grown to see coach Richardson as her dad over the last four years. He was not only there for her on the track but off the track as well.
 
"I kind of like to think of him as my dad," Kuriata said. "I have seen him as my dad figure on and off the track. When I needed something off the track, I just send him a quick text. If I needed an opinion I would just go to his office. He was always a person to stay on top of my life making sure I am fine and that I'm not sad about anything. He truly cared both on and off the track."
 
Kuriata has had some friends that she has been able to rely on along with coach Richardson. When she first started her collegiate career she came into the program with five other freshmen that were close.
 
After the years some of them have left but two others remained by her side. Those two are Jermica Lee and Dej'Onay Miles.
 
"If I don't see them, in a weird sense, I can feel alone," Kuriata said. "There is only a few seniors. Knowing that I have gone four years with them and they have gone through the same that I have gone through, I know that I am not alone with them there."
 
Kuriata is majoring in psychology with a double minor in kinesiology and health. She is unsure of what her future holds as far as a career but for now she is focused on helping her brother get his gym going.
 
She is also applying to different jobs and trying to build her resume. With so much time focused on track, she didn't realize it would be so hard to choose her next step. One thing is for sure for Kuriata. She definitely wants to give back to her community.
 
"I do know that I want to give back to my community," Kuriata said. "I love volunteering with non-profit organizations. We do that a lot with track. A lot of my health and kinesiology classes have done a good job bringing in guest speakers from health agencies and from other programs around the area. Essentially, that is what I want to do with my brother. God willing the business starts off well and keeps going where years down the road I am able to come back and start up a non-profit where I can give back to the community."
 
Kuriata has given it all her last four years at UTRGV. She has practiced hard. She has studied hard and looking back there isn't much she would change and she hopes that her younger teammates can do the same.
 
"To be cliché, give it your all or nothing," Kuriata said. "Notice that this is your love. This is your career for the next year, two or three years, whatever it may be. Take advantage and use your time wisely."

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