Valeria Tokun Haga 
Mia Picazo is an exercise science sophomore from Santa Maria, a mid-distance runner for the UTRGV Women’s Cross Country Team and a distance runner for the UTRGV Women’s Track & Field. Picazo finished ninth in the 800-meter run with a personal record time of 2:14.79 at the 2025 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Houston.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
A: “I have two younger brothers and I’m the only girl.”
Q: Who or what got you into Track & Field?
A: “I think I would say my mom. Yeah, because my mom, her in high school, she would run track and [cross-country]. And she ended up putting me in, like, a summer track thing when I was younger, and I just ended up sticking with it.”
Q: Who has been your biggest inspiration or role model?
A: “I would say my mom. She’s always been very hardworking for work, being there for us, doing many things at the same time and still being a good mother and friend even.”
Q: Who is your favorite runner?
A: “I don’t think I have a favorite runner, but some runners I do look up to [are] Sydney McLaughlin [-Levrone] and then, one of my teammates, also because she’s very on point with all her stuff, Kaylee Salazar. I really look up to them, too.”
Q: How do you mentally prepare for running?
A: “I usually just stay confident because confidence is something I really struggled with, especially last year being a freshman. So, I would say my confidence. I have to tell myself, you’re good, you belong here, you can do it and just stay confident for my race.”
Q: What shows or movies do you like to watch?
A: “I really like shows like ‘Ginny & Georgia.’ A few movies I do like to watch are the ‘Scream’ movies. I think those are really fun and interesting.”
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: “I really enjoy making puzzles and building Legos. And I also enjoy doing other sports like basketball, volleyball, stuff like that.”
Q: Are there any sports that you like to play other than running?
A: “Yes, I would say volleyball and basketball. Cheer, I did enjoy it a bit, but volleyball and basketball were the main two other sports that I did also.”
Q: What do you like most about UTRGV?
A: “I would say the environment. I really enjoy the team and how we all are as one. I think it really showed in the summer because once we were apart from each other, coming back, you just miss the environment that we had all together.”
Q: What are your biggest goals?
A: “I would say to drop my time and hopefully place in the top four conference.”
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