The Star is profiling Southern Arizona high school athletes whose seasons were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Each high school was asked to nominate an exceptional spring sport athlete who exemplifies greatness on and off the field, court or track.
To say that Nogales High School senior Dominique Acosta made an impression during her four years at the school would be an understatement.
A dual-sport athlete who shone on both the basketball court and track, Acosta earned accolades for both and broke school records for the latter pretty much right off the bat.
As a junior, Acosta hit a personal record in the high jump of 5 feet 7 inches and a season-best in the triple jump at 34-5. That same year, her first with the track team, she placed eighth in the high jump at state.
“She was well on her way to another red-letter year in both of these events, as well as becoming an integral part of the 4x100 relay team,” said athletic director Eric Sowle.
In fact, before the track season was cut short, Acosta had already earned a spot at state for the second year in a row, having qualified in the high jump during the season’s first few meets.
“She is a young lady of profound skill, both on the track and in the classroom, with a high standard set to meet her lofty academic and athletic goals,” Sowle said. “She has a good heart, a proactive attitude, and is going to become one of Nogales High School’s greatest success stories.”
So given all that, it’s kind of hard to believe Acosta’s immediate answer when asked how she’s been spending the quarantine.
“I’m pretty much lazy,” Acosta said, backpedaling a moment later. “But some mornings I do wake up and go for runs. After my runs, I work out, but usually at night.”
Not so lazy, by most people’s standards, which is no surprise to those who know the 18-year-old Acosta, who will be continuing her track career relatively close to home.
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“Now that she is going to run track at Pima College, We have every confidence that she will only improve, and we will see bigger and better things from Dom, competitively and academically,” Sowle said.
Acosta plans to study physical therapy and continue her track career at Pima, although she says basketball will always be her favorite.
“The intensity of the sport, it excites me,” Acosta, who was named the Class 5A Southern Offensive Player of the Year in 2019-20. “It’s a really long game, running back and forth and all the aggressiveness.”
Dominique Acosta is eager to get back in the routine of school, friends and Texas Roadhouse.
Of the three track events in which she competes, high jump is her favorite, and Pima is looking forward to having her on the team.
“We’re happy to add one of the best high jumpers,” Pima coach Chad Harrison said in April, when Acosta signed her letter of intent. “Dominique follows a solid lineage of Pima Community College high jumpers.”
A self-described people person, Acosta is looking forward to getting back into the routine of school and spending time with her friends, as well as making new ones.
“I’m really outgoing. I’ll talk to anyone, doesn’t matter who it is,” Acosta said. “I think that’s what people like: I’m honest with them and they can trust me.”
But her outgoing nature extends past just those who know her. For Acosta’s senior project, she organized a relay for life to benefit newly-diagnosed local cancer patients.
“That event was probably the best memory I had from high school,” Acosta said. “Cancer survivors walked around the track with their family members, and inside the field there were tables with food given out and a place where they could just have fun.”
With a “physically distant, but socially and emotionally connected” graduation ceremony in her immediate future and life as she knew it slowly returning to normal, Acosta is looking forward to getting a jump on her future.
But not as much as she’s looking forward to something a little simpler.
“I have no options on what to make for food at my house, so I just can’t wait to go out to a restaurant,” Acosta said.
Her first choice?
“Texas Roadhouse,” she said.
