RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Athletics Hall of Fame class, which includes the 1987-90 women's cross country teams, former men's basketball student-athlete Jim Board, former women's tennis student-athlete Barbara (Barrera) Gonzales, and former baseball student-athlete Joe Hernandez, and the Hall of Honor class of former baseball student-athlete Rene Torres, celebrated their induction on Saturday at the UTRGV Ballroom.
 
1987-90 American South Conference Championship Teams
The 1987-90 women's cross country teams won four-straight American South Conference Championships. Head coach Reid Harter (Hall of Fame Class of 2012) was named American South Conference Coach of the Year each season.
 
The 1987 title was the first NCAA Division I conference championship in department history. Nancy Mireles (Hall of Fame Class of 2010) won the individual American South Conference Championship. Five student-athletes earned All-American South Conference honors, including Mireles, Debra de los Santos, Diane Garcia, Shanna Hale, and Thelma Morales.
 
The 1988 team also took home team and individual titles, as Morales won the individual championship. Four student-athletes earned All-American South Conference honors, including Morales, de los Santos, Garcia, and Hale. Harter also repeated as American South Conference Coach of the Year. Four of top six three-mile race times in program history were set during the season, including Hale with the program record (17:26.0) and sixth-fastest (then fourth at 17:50.7) times and Morales with the third (then second) and fourth (then third) at 17:40.6 and 17:42.0, respectively.
 
The 1989 team had five student-athletes earn All-American South Conference honors, including Laurie Arteaga, Garcia, Hale, Morales, and Sylvia Rodriguez. Two of top 10 three-mile race times in program history were set during the season as Hale ran an 18:00.0, ranking ninth (then fifth) while Morales ran an 18:09.0, ranking 10^th (then sixth).
 
The 1990 team saw Rodriguez earn All-District VI honors. Additionally, three student-athletes were on the All-American South Conference Team, including Rodriguez, Dimitri Pierce, and Debra Devine.
 
"Not only is it a privilege to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but a privilege to be inducted with these women who have the same passion," Smith said. "We want to thank Coach Harter, without whom we wouldn't have won these championships. We want to thank him for all the sacrifices he made, with time away from his family, driving hundreds of miles to meets, instilling discipline, encouraging us, and always prioritizing our education."
 
"Coach Reid Harter was an outstanding coach – a man of integrity and family values," Soto said. "I also want to give a shout to the Arteaga family for giving us a place to go and showing us warmth and family. The families of the local student-athletes really helped those of us not from the Valley to feel at home."
 
1987 Roster
Debra de los Santos
Debra Devine
Diana Garcia
Letty Gomez
Shanna Hale
Nancy Mireles
Thelma Morales
Vanessa Moreno
Cindy Pena
Yvette Portales
Lucy Ramirez
Sonia Rodriguez
 
1988 Roster
Debra de los Santos
Debra Devine
Diana Garcia
Shanna Hale
Thelma Morales
Vanessa Moreno
Cindy Pena
Yvette Portales
Lucy Ramirez
Sonia Rodriguez
Sylvia Rodriguez
Valerie Soto
 
1989 Roster
Laura Arteaga
Debra Devine
Diana Garcia
Shanna Hale
Thelma Morales
Vanessa Moreno
Cindy Pena
Yvette Portales
Sonia Rodriguez
Sylvia Rodriguez
Valerie Soto
Cathy Tanner
 
1990 Roster
Laura Arteaga
Debra Devine
Dimitri (Pierce) Kennedy
Vanessa Moreno
Yvette Portales
Sylvia Rodriguez
Valerie Soto
Cathy Tanner
 
Head Coach: Reid Harter (1987-90)
Assistant Coach: Doug Erickson (1987-90)
Assistant Coach: Robert Martinez (1987)
 
Jim Board, Men's Basketball, 1962-65
Jim Board took over as starting point guard in 1963-64, earning NAIA All-American Honorable Mention by leading the men's basketball team to an NAIA National Runner-Up finish while averaging 9.0 points and 3.0 rebounds and shooting 47.2% from the field and 76.2% from the foul line. In 1964-65, Board led his team to the NAIA District Playoffs by averaging 10.9 points while shooting 36.6% from the field and 81.8 percent from the foul line. He was also part of the Hall of Fame 1962-63 NAIA National Championship Team. Board was inducted into the Hall of Honor in 2011 because of his philanthropic efforts on behalf of UTRGV Athletics.
 
"I played two years at St. Edward's, but we couldn't beat Pan Am, and if you can't beat them, join them," Board said. "I made a phone call to Coach Sam [Williams], and we visited for a little bit, and two days later I was in Edinburg. And 59 years later, I'm still here.
 
"Giving back has always been very important to me. A number of years ago, a few of us met and decided we wanted to do something nice for Coach Williams and we raised $265,000 for the Sam Williams Endowed Scholarship and another $235,000 for the athletic department. We can't write a check for $50,000, but we can give our time."
 
Barbara (Barrera) Gonzales, Women's Tennis, 1987-90
Barbara Gonzales is the third-winningest player in program history with 107 total career wins. She ranks third in program history in career doubles wins with 52 and fourth in career singles wins with 55. Gonzales recorded the second-highest single-season wins total in program history in 1990 with 39, including 18 doubles wins with Mary Jane Mayer, tied for the third-highest total, and 21 singles wins, tied for the fourth-highest total. In 1989, Gonzales earned 17 doubles win with Gail MacIssac, tied for the fifth-highest single-season total in program history. The 1989 team won the American South Conference Championship and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.
 
"It's an honor for me to be an inductee into the Hall of Fame," Gonzales said. "I can't tell you how excited I was to see our cross country teams, including my former roommates, Shanna and Vanessa. I am blessed to be inducted with so many incredible people.
 
"I am grateful he hung up the phone on me when I thought I wanted to leave the Valley. Dad, you were right. Staying at UTPA and playing tennis was the best thing for me. The Rio Grande Valley is my home."
 
Joe Hernandez, Baseball, 1974-75
Joe Hernandez was a 1975 NCAA and AABC All-American. He graduated as the program-record holder in career batting average (.371, now tied for third) while ranking fifth in stolen bases (47, now 10^th). Hernandez set the single-season program records for hits (92), total bases (144, now second), RBI (69, now third), batting average (.400, now fifth), at-bats (230, now fifth), and home runs (11, now eighth). His 1975 stats also include 51 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples, 29 stolen bases, 30 walks compared to 14 strikeouts, and a team-high .626 slugging percentage in 68 games. Hernandez was drafted by the Chicago Cubs as an outfielder in the 26^th round of 1975 MLB Draft. He was part of the 1975 team that was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018 for posting the highest winning percentage (.900) in program history by going 63-7, the second-highest win total in program history and the third-lowest loss total. The 1975 team advanced to NCAA South Central Regionals, finishing runner-up to Texas. The team got off to 21-2 start and won program-record 20-straight game after starting 1-2 and featured eight other Hall of Fame players and coaches, including Ron Edquist, Jesse Trinidad, Jim Proctor, Jack Ewing, Tommy Simpson, Bobby Rutledge, Al Ogletree, and Reggie Tredaway.
 
"It's a great honor to be back in the Valley after so many years," Hernandez said. "I truly appreciate the kind words about my accomplishments, but I honestly never saw this induction becoming a reality.
 
"There was a small local bakery that had a promotion giving a free pie for any Bronc player that hit a home run. After a few weeks I was coming in to collect by 10^th pie. They looked at me when I came in and joked, 'are you really on the baseball team?' My wife and I really enjoyed those pies."
 
Hall of Honor
Rene Torres, Baseball, 1966-69
Rene Torres attended Pan American College from 1966 to 1969 on a baseball scholarship. He set the program record for most consecutive games without an error at 46 and is currently tied for seventh overall while ranking fifth among pure outfielders. Torres made just one error in three years as the starting center fielder. He hit .700 during a 10-game hitting streak in 1969 and helped the baseball team to NCAA District Playoffs against Texas in 1968 and the NAIA playoffs against Tarleton in 1966. He also played on the freshman basketball team in 1966.
 
Of the field, though, Torres has made a major impact on the Rio Grande Valley. Over the last 20 years, he has spread the history of RGV baseball via oral presentations and exhibits throughout this region.  Some of his written work is housed at Texas State University under the Jaime Chahin Southwestern Writers Collection. He also loaned Coach Al Ogletree memorabilia to UTRGV Athletics for the Coach Al Ogletree museum during opening weekend of the 2020 baseball season.
 
For his work as a sports historian, Torres was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, the Leo Najo Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Laredo Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame.  
 
Torres is a retired assistant professor from legacy institution The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. He further demonstrated his commitment to education by serving six years on the Texas Southmost College Board of Trustees, and eight years with the South Texas Independent School District.  
 
In 2002, he was honored as a Notable Valley Hispanic by The University of Texas-Pan American Friends of the Library for his civic and humanitarian activities.
 
"What started here changed my world," Torres said. "I am being honored today mostly because of my writing. I'm a historian. I was almost flawless as a centerfielder. I made one error in three years. I never missed a day of work in 25 years as a professor at UTB. I wasn't All-World, but I was consistent. But I didn't do it alone. My teachers, my coaches, and my dad of course. My mother died when I was one year old, so my teenage sisters worked very hard and became adults before their time and I thank them for that."
 
For more information about the Athletics Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor, visit GoUTRGV.com/HallofFame.

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