FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros cross country teams ran well Friday at the NCAA South Central Regional at Agri Park, with the women's team taking 21
st and the men's team finishing 23
rd.
The women's 6K race kicked things off on a cool and sunny day in Arkansas. Junior
Samantha Gonzalez led the Vaqueros with a strong race to finish 69
th in 22:20.1, consistently making big moves from split to split to match her placing from the 2022 regional. Senior Sharyland High alum
Ana Hernandez finished 125
th in 23:18.8 after a big move in the back half of the race.
Sophomore PSJA High alum
Faith Cruz followed close behind in 128
th, running 23:21.4. Freshman
Kailey Salazar was 145
th in 23:45.8 and senior Brownsville Porter alum
Estrella Medellin finished 152
nd in 24:01.4. Gonzalez, Hernandez and Salazar were all within 10 seconds of their best 6K times as the women ran well on their toughest course of the season.
Sophomore Lasara alum
Selissa Gonzales hit a new personal record, finishing 166
th in 24:51.6. Senior Santa Rosa alum
Desiree Guerra was 178
th. UTRGV's women were 21
st of 24 in the team standings with 547 points. Arkansas (36) and Texas A&M (90) secured the automatic team bids to the NCAA Championships and LSU (129) finished third.
Senior
Alex Munoz led the Vaqueros men's team with a 106
th place finish in 32:41.0. Senior
Ricardo Garcia and sophomore
Abraham Morales both ran new 10K personal records as they finished 110
th and 124
th, respectively. Garcia finished in 32:47.9 and Morales followed in 33:06.7.
Freshman Mission Veterans Memorial alum
Manuel Flores ran a solid race to finish 134
th in 33:20.8, making his way up the pack at a good pace. Junior Rio Grande City alum
Alex Canales rounded out the scoring with a 140
th place finish in 33:33.9.
Freshmen
Mario Cantarero and McAllen Rowe alum
Kevin Cardenas were 150
th and 159
th, respectively. UTRGV was 23
rd of 25 in the team standings with 587 points. Texas (34) and Arkansas (90) clinched the automatic team bids to the NCAA Championships and Tulane (77) finished third.
UTRGV Results
Women (6K)
69.
Samantha Gonzalez, 22:20.1
125.
Ana Hernandez, 23:18.8
128.
Faith Cruz, 23:21.4
145.
Kailey Salazar, 23:45.8
152.
Estrella Medellin, 24:01.4
166.
Selissa Gonzales, 24:51.6
178.
Desiree Guerra, 26:03.1
Men (10K)
106.
Alex Munoz, 32:41.0
110.
Ricardo Garcia, 32:47.9
124.
Abraham Morales, 33:06.7
134.
Manuel Flores, 33:20.8
140.
Alex Canales, 33:33.9
150.
Mario Cantarero, 33:52.9
159.
Kevin Cardenas, 34:38.1
Women's Team Standings
| Pl. |
Team |
Points |
| 1. |
Arkansas |
36 |
| 2. |
Texas A&M |
90 |
| 3. |
LSU |
129 |
| 4. |
Tulane |
139 |
| 5. |
Texas |
143 |
| 6. |
SMU |
143 |
| 7. |
Arkansas State |
166 |
| 8. |
UT Arlington |
215 |
| 9. |
TCU |
223 |
| 10. |
Rice |
259 |
| 11. |
New Orleans |
301 |
| 12. |
Lamar |
347 |
| 13. |
Central Arkansas |
383 |
| 14. |
Stephen F. Austin |
406 |
| 15. |
McNeese State |
423 |
| 16. |
North Texas |
452 |
| 17. |
ULM |
486 |
| 18. |
Little Rock |
513 |
| 19. |
Abilene Christian |
521 |
| 20. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
536 |
| 21. |
UTRGV |
547 |
| 22. |
Louisiana |
551 |
| 23. |
Sam Houston |
671 |
| 24. |
Nicholls State |
672 |
Men's Team Standings
| Pl. |
Team |
Points |
| 1. |
Texas |
34 |
| 2. |
Arkansas |
52 |
| 3. |
Tulane |
77 |
| 4. |
Arkansas State |
157 |
| 5. |
Incarnate Word |
157 |
| 6. |
Texas A&M |
178 |
| 7. |
Rice |
187 |
| 8. |
Sam Houston |
276 |
| 9. |
UT Arlington |
292 |
| 10. |
Little Rock |
302 |
| 11. |
Houston |
312 |
| 12. |
North Texas |
316 |
| 13. |
TCU |
345 |
| 14. |
New Orleans |
351 |
| 15. |
Abilene Christian |
399 |
| 16. |
ULM |
432 |
| 17. |
Central Arkansas |
439 |
| 18. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
474 |
| 19. |
McNeese State |
495 |
| 20. |
Baylor |
522 |
| 21. |
Stephen F. Austin |
529 |
| 22. |
Texas State |
554 |
| 23. |
UTRGV |
587 |
| 24. |
Louisiana |
644 |
| 25. |
Nicholls State |
776 |
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