Schedule
Heat Sheets

HOUSTON, Texas - The University of Texas-Pan American men's and women's track and field teams hit the road this weekend as they compete in the Victor Lopez Classic at Holloway Field/Ley Track on the campus of Rice University. The meet will feature the Broncs, meet host Rice, Houston, Houston Baptist, Baylor, Texas, Texas Southern, Sam Houston State, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, St. John's,  UT-San Antonio, and Huston Tillotson. Action gets underway Friday, March 25 at 10 a.m. with the men's hammer throw, while the running events start at 1:30 p.m. with the 4x100m relays. Saturday's running events finals start at 6 p.m. The two-day meet also features high school competition.

"As always, we are looking forward to lining up against the competition that Texas is able to provide," UTPA Assistant Coach Xavier Richardson said. "The Victor Lopez meet is always a good measuring stick as we make that turn onto the more significant portion of our outdoor schedule."

The Broncs are coming off a strong showing at the Cactus Cup in Kingsville last weekend. The women's squad was highlighted by the results of their runners in the 4X400m relay. The Broncs won the race with a time of 4:02.80, nearly three seconds better than runner-up Angelo State. The relay team consisted of Destiny Schulze, Alexia Frank, Samantha Villareal, and Shayna Parker.

Parker and Schulze were both winners competing as individuals at the Cactus Cup. Schulze won the 400m dash with a time of 59.56, outlasting TAMUK runner Brittany Stafford (59.74). Frank finished the race in third for UTPA with a time of 1:00.01. Villareal (7th, 1:01.48) and Sara Hernandez (9th, 1:02.98) also ran the 400m for the Broncs.

Parker was the winner in the women's 800m run with a time of 2:23.78. She finished in front of fellow Bronc runner Lilian Lagat who crossed the line with a runner-up time of 2:26.10. Briana Villareal of TAMUK was third with a time of 2:28.10. Daphne Payton (5th, 2:28.49), Brittney Garza (6th, 2:31.34), Robin Galloso (8th, 2:32.04), Jessica Johnstone (9th, 2:32.82) and Diana Galloso (15th, 2:44.35) also ran for the Broncs.

"Certainly with a few of our athletes ranking in the top-100 in the nation, we are continuing to test our mettle at the larger competitions and seeing how we fare," Richardson added "We also have a number of athletes ranked on the NCAA West Regional list, so we always want to see them climb the list as we look to the NCAA Preliminary Round Eugene in May."

Jameson Strachan and Omar Doria continue to impress in their respective races. Doria will be competing in the 1500m run and Strachan will run the 400m.

The meet is named after former Rice women's track and field coach, Victor Lopez. He is regarded as one of the foremost respected teachers in the sports of cross country and track and field. Lopez, who started the Rice University women's cross country and track & field program and brought it to prominence, is a USTFCCCA Hall of Fame member and also a Rice Hall of Fame member began his career with the Owls in 1980. He led Rice to five top-10 NCAA finishes during his time at the school. Furthermore, Lopez's Owl athletes garnered over 150 All-American honors and collected 17 individual national championship titles.