THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Basha High School Athletics

They have great role models at home. Their father Jason Garcia has a blue collar background. Their mother Kara Brun-Garcia has a Hall of Fame background, making headlines in softball at Arizona State. They taught daughters Gabriella and Juliana the virtues of hard work. But they never pushed them. They didn't have to. The sisters want excellence in their lives, and they've found their own paths to get there. This spring, Gabriella, a junior, who already has committed to play softball at Oklahoma, is playing shortstop on Basha's 6-1 softball team, while getting in her javelin throws to try to defend her Division I state championship. She holds the second-longest high school throw in state history at 165 feet, 6 inches. Meanwhile, Juliana, better known as J.J., is working on the discus and shot put in pursuit of Division I state track and field titles in those events in May. She got fourth in the state in the discus and shot last year as a freshman and placed fourth in the discus at nationals in the emerging elite category against sophomores and juniors. Her personal records are 36 feet, 3 3/4 inches in the shot, and 123-9 in the discus. Last March, Gabriella had the nation's top high school female javelin throw at 163 feet, 1 inch at the Arizona Open, before capturing state and having the second-longest throw all-time. That came a year after finishing second in the state as a freshman in the javelin. She got into the jav as an eighth grader after frequently coming by her mom's softball practices and games at Basha. The javelin coach suggested she try the javelin once she got into high school. She was a natural from the start, taking her first five throws to establish a school record. Playing shortstop like her mom did, she is hitting .435 with 10 hits and five RBI during Basha's 6-1 start. She played for her mom as a freshman at Basha, hitting .383 with two home runs. Kara Brun-Garcia stepped down as Basha's softball coach after Gabriella's freshman season, because she didn't want to miss out on younger daughter J.J.'s track events during her first year in high school. She could also just play mom at Gabriella's softball games. This week, after coming home from their practices, Gabriella went outside to the batting cage on her own to get some extra cuts, and J.J. worked on some strength drills with her dad. "I always worried in softball, it's known, people know that I'm Gabriella's mom," Brun-Garcia said. "She hears it more than I do from outsiders. They always say, 'Are you playing because your mom's making you?' She always laughs and says, 'No.' "Me and my husband, we always tell our kids, 'You go out there and compete because you enjoy it.' I was a big advocate for both of my children that we don't play sports for scholarships. You play sports because you love to compete, you love to have fun. And the scholarship is the bonus. That's just our household philosophy." Gabriella loves that her mom and dad can be there for both her and her sister at their events. "We have a great supporting staff," Gabriella said. "Our family is at all of our sporting events. We have family friends who show up. Our support staff is amazing." Gabriella said she feels some pressure because of her mom's softball accomplishments from Glendale Deer Valley High to ASU. But her mom does her best to keep the pressure off. "There is that pressure, but she had her career and we're just trying to identify our own careers for ourselves," she said. Basha track and field coach Marcus Brunson, a former state champion sprinter in high school at Tempe Marcos de Niza who went on to track fame at Arizona State, said it feels like "hitting the lottery" to have the Garcia sisters attend Basha. He's able to balance the schedule of softball and the javelin with softball coach Kailey Pomeroy for Gabriella. "They are both walking champions," Brunson said. "Gabby already won one. ... J.J. is in hot pursuit of that. She will be a state champion before she's done with high school." J.J. was a pretty good softball player at the age of 10. But shortly after that, her desire turned from softball to track and field, particularly the discus and shot. She tried the javelin a few years ago, but suffered a UCL injury in her elbow. The shot and discus, along with the hammer throw, which she will also pursue in college, have less wear and tear on the elbow. "Track is so inviting," J.J. said. "It's a strong community." There is no sister-sister rivalry. One of the reasons Gabriella picked up the javelin was to be able to spend time with her younger sister during the spring track and field season, and they could watch each other throw. "My goal in everything is to be very technically sound," Gabriella said. "I do a lot of drills, before I even pick up the javelin. I also do a lot of PT (physical therapy) training, like work on those individual muscles around the UCL and shoulder." The motion is a little different than softball but both rely on momentum throws. In the javelin, the athlete locks out the front knee and throws from behind. "We're each other's biggest supporters," J.J. said. "When she succeeds, I'm just happy for her. When I succeed, she's the say way. We're the sister duo in track."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Basha High School Athletics

FLIGHT PATHS: BASHA SISTERS HAVE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP ASPIRATIONS IN DIFFERENT SPORTS

RICHARD OBERT

azcentral | 3/8/2023

PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Schumacher