Oct. 29, 2005
The University of Texas-Pan American men's and women's cross country teams both finished sixth overall at the 2005 Independent Cross Country Championships hosted by Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Saturday (Oct. 29).
"I think that this race prepared us for the NCAA Regional Championships, which has been our main focus since the beginning," said head coach Ricky Vaughn. "The showed us where we are at right now, and what we need to do in order to get better so I think overall it was a solid performance from both squads."
Freshman Luis Nava (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.) was the Broncs' top finisher as he crossed the end line in 25:46.58, placing him 12th overall at the meet. Nava nearly missed out on earning All-Independent honors at the meet as the top-10 finishers earned those laurels.
Newcomers J.J. Hernandez (San Juan, TX/PSJA North H.S.) and Alex Moncivais (Pharr, TX/Texas A&M - Kingsville) finished second and third for the Broncs as they crossed the finish line in 26:20.21 and 26:47.97, placing them 23rd and 34th respectively.
Senior Americo Ortiz (Pharr, TX/PSJA North H.S.) was 39th overall as he crossed the end line in 27:18.31 while freshman Angel Ramirez placed 47th with a time of 28:41.48. Freshman Juan Davila (Donna, TX/Donna H.S.) finished 50th overall with a time of 28:41.48.
"The men ran pretty well without Westly (Keating) and Hector (Gandara) competing today. J.J. had an outstanding race, and he really stepped up and had a breakthrough on the course. I thought that Luis raced extremely well, and he continues to get better. I really believe that Americo showed a lot of courage on the course because he was injured, but still battled and really stepped up for us," Vaughn added.
Brad Lowery of South Dakota State claimed the Independent Cross Country Individual Championship as he finished 14 seconds of J.R. Pulido of Texas A&M - Corpus Christi. With Lowery leading the way, South Dakota State was able to hold off Cal - Davis by two points to captured the Independent Cross Country Team Championship by a 56-58 margin. The Broncs finished the meet with a total of 154 points.
On the women's side, juniors Lorraine Garcia (Laredo, TX/Nixon H.S.) and Ashley Perez (Falfurrias, TX/Falfurrias H.S.) crossed the end line side-by-side for the Lady Broncs as they finished with times of 18:22.82 and 18:25.98, respectively. Garcia finished 28th overall while Perez was one-spot back in 29th place.
Junior Karla Hernandez (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg H.S.) finished the meet in 18:33.68, which placed her 32nd overall, while Sharon Toroitich (Eldama-Ravin, Kenya/Butler C.C.) notched 38th-place with a time of 18:51.48.
Freshman Rose Escovedo (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.) placed 41st overall with a time of 18:54.21 while fellow newcomers Sonya Rivera (Brownsville, TX/Hanna H.S.) and Sara Rodriguez (Pharr, TX/Valley View H.S.) placed 51st and 52nd with times of 19:30.44 and 19:41.63, respectively.
"Ashley and Lorraine each ran solid races for us. We obviously have more work to do in order to prepare for the regional championships, but I think today was a solid showing for the women," said Vaughn.
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi held off South Dakota State for the Independent Cross Country Team Championship by one point, 45-46, while IPFW (63), Cal - Davis (66) and Utah Valley State (142) rounded out the top five. The Lady Broncs finished with 168 total points. Becka Mansheim of South Dakota State captured the Independent Cross Country Individual Championship with a time of 17:07.44.
The Broncs and Lady Broncs will both compete in two weeks at the 2005 South Central Regional Championships hosted by Baylor University on Nov. 12th in Waco, TX.
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