KINGSVILLE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's outdoor track & field team won the team title at the 15^th annual Cactus Cup while the men's team finished fifth Saturday at Javelina Stadium. 
 
The Vaqueros women accumulated 140 points to take home the meet victory, notching three event wins, 14 top-three finishes and one meet record. Incarnate Word (UIW) finished second with 135 points and host Texas A&M-Kingsville (TAMUK) was third with 118 points. 
 
UTRGV's men's team took fifth with 73 points. UIW won the men's title with 160.33 points, followed by TAMUK (150.33) and UTSA (90.33). 
 
UTRGV's women's throwing crew had a big day to aid the winning effort. Graduate student Marlene Gutierrez won the hammer throw with a mark of 59.51 meters – setting a new meet record and notching the third best mark in program history. She now owns four of the top 10 throws in school history. Freshman Hannah Hilding finished third in the hammer throw with a PR mark of 51.91 meters. 
 
Hilding won the discus with a toss of 45.20 meters. Freshman PSJA Southwest alum Ana Rodriguez advanced to finals in discus and finished ninth. Gutierrez, Hilding and junior Zoe Vlk all advanced to the finals of the shot put. Gutierrez took fourth with a PR throw of 14.13 meters, Vlk finished fifth and Hilding took ninth. 
 
Freshman Rayja'nae Pettit and sophomore Harlingen South alum Lauren Rekward both made the finals in the women's long jump. Pettit won the event with a jump of 5.77 meters, while Rekward, making her outdoor season debut, finished ninth with a mark of 5.06 meters. 
 
Freshman Jedidiah Udunna took fourth in the men's long jump, clearing 7.23 meters. Junior PSJA High alum Marco Guajardo was fifth in the men's triple jump after hitting 13.59 meters. 
 
The 4x100-meter relay teams kicked off the running events with season-best performances. The women's team of Aisha Gay, Jalyn Williams, Nayla Harris and Jada Hoffman finished third in the program's second-best time of 47.04. The men's team of Jaleel Scott, Jermarrion Stewart, Jaqualand Fields and Yashawn Hamilton took second in the program's fourth fastest time of 40.71. 
 
Junior McAllen Rowe alum Janie Delgado led the way for the women's 1,500-meter runners, finishing fourth with a PR time of 5:02.03. Freshman Los Fresnos alum Natalie Guillen was fifth. In the men's race, junior Ricardo Garcia ran a PR 4:12.50 to take ninth. 
 
Junior hurdler Uxia Pereira had a solid day, taking second in both the 100- and 400-meter hurdle races. She notched a PR in the 100 hurdles, clocking in at 14.10, good for the seventh-best time in program history. 
 
The meet went into a weather delay after the women's 400-meter dash, which saw freshman Lani Brewer score for the Vaqueros with an eighth-place finish. Despite having to sit in the bus for over an hour and a half while rain and hail fell at Javelina Stadium, UTRGV's men's 400-meter dashers turned in strong performances to set the tone for a big finish to the meet. Freshman Jaqualand Fields, junior Jermarrion Stewart and freshman Derrius Henry all placed in the top 10, taking second, third and sixth, respectively. Fields and Henry ran PRs. 
 
Five of UTRGV's six women's 100-meter dash contestants placed in the top-eight, giving the Vaqueros a swarm of points toward the team standings. Junior Aisha Gay led the pack with a second-place finish in her first 100 race, running 11.85 to set the fifth-best time in program history. Freshman Symoria Adkins also got into the record books in her first go at the event, clocking in at 11.87 to finish third and jump to No. 6 all-time. Graduate student Jada Hoffman (fifth), junior Yaria Akers (sixth) and freshman Nayla Harris (eighth) also scored, while Akers ran a PR. 
 
In the men's 100-meter dash, redshirt junior Yashawn Hamilton took third in a PR time of 10.52, good for the second fastest in program history. Freshman Sam Johnson II followed close behind, taking fourth in 10.54, the fifth-best time in program history. 
 
Freshman Lasara alum Selissa Gonzales placed second in the women's 800-meter run in 2:23.78 in her season debut, while freshman Ashley Lingueno ran a PR to finish seventh. Junior Brownsville Porter alum Jorge Salazar tabbed a PR in the men's 800, taking sixth in 1:59.68. 
 
Freshman Jaylen Critton ran a PR to take fifth in the men's 400-meter hurdles in 54.60. 
 
Akers and Hoffman paced a large group of UTRGV women's 200-meter dashers, finished second and third, respectively. Their 14 points in the event lifted UTRGV to the top of the women's team standings.   
 
Five of UTRGV's six men's 200-meter dashers notched PRs. Hamilton led the way with a fourth-place finish in 21.40, tying the sixth-best performance in program history. Johnson II was fifth, sophomore Jalen Nero was seventh, Fields was ninth and redshirt sophomore Jaleel Scott was 12^th, all in personal best times. 
 
As Saturday turned into Sunday, UTRGV's relay teams closed the running events in style just as they opened the session. The women's 4x400-meter relay sealed the team victory with a second-place finish, coming out two spots above Incarnate Word. Gay, freshman Brownsville Hanna alum Aliyah Castillo, Pereira and Williams combined to run 3:55.87. 
 
The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Henry, Fields, Stewart and Johnson II capped the meet with a victory, running a season-best 3:13.47 to set a meet record. It's the eighth-fastest time race in program history. 
 
UTRGV student-athletes hit 20 personal records and three season bests in relays at the Cactus Cup. Their next meet is the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco April 21-22. 
 
Team Standings 
Women 
1. UTRGV, 140 points 
2. Incarnate Word, 135 
3. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 118
4. UTSA, 99 
5. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 62 
6. Our Lady of the Lake, 37.50 
7. Trinity, 29.50 
8. UACJ, 6
 
Men 
1. Incarnate Word, 160.33 points 
2. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 150.33
3. UTSA, 90.33 
4. Our Lady of the Lake, 78.50
5. UTRGV, 73 
6. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 51 
7. Trinity, 5.50 
 
UTRGV Results
Women's hammer throw
1. Marlene Gutierrez, 59.51m 
• 3^rd best in program history 
• Meet Record 
3. Hannah Hilding, 51.91m 
 
Women's long jump
1. Rayja'nae Pettit, 5.77m 
9. Lauren Rekward, 5.06m 
 
Women's discus
1. Hannah Hilding, 45.20m 
9. Ana Rodriguez, 37.09m 
 
Men's long jump
4. Jedidiah Udunna, 7.23m 
 
Women's high jump 
T5. Ashley Lingueno, 1.55m 
 
Women's 4x100-meter relay
3. Aisha Gay, Jalyn Williams, Nayla Harris, Jada Hoffman, 47.04 
• 2^nd fastest in program history 
 
Men's 4x100-meter relay
2. Jaleel Scott, Jermarrion Stewart, Jaqualand Fields, Yashawn Hamilton, 40.71  
• 4^th fastest in program history 
 
Women's 1,500-meter run
4. Janie Delgado, 5:02.03 
5. Natalie Guillen, 5:07.22 
12. Andrea Gallardo, 5:29.33 
15. Desiree Guerra, 5:31.95  
 
Men's 1,500-meter run
9. Ricardo Garcia, 4:12.50 
11. Alex Munoz, 4:14.67 
 
Women's shot put
3. Marlene Gutierrez, 14.13m 
5. Zoe Vlk, 13.61m 
9. Hannah Hilding, 12.91m 
12. Ana Rodriguez, 11.73m 
 
Women's 100-meter hurdles
2. Uxia Pereira, 14.10 
• 7^th fastest in program history 
11. Ashley Lingueno, 15.91 
 
Women's 400-meter dash
8. Lani Brewer, 58.65 
11. Aliyah Castillo, 59.01 
15. Ja'Nyla Tucker, 59.51 
22. Emily Martinez, 1:02.53 
24. Jalyn Williams, 1:04.23 
 
Men's 400-meter dash
2. Jaqualand Fields, 48.12 
3. Jermarrion Stewart, 48.12 
6. Derrius Henry, 48.73 
12. Alejandro Arellano, 50.10 
14. Jamari Harts, 50.85 
 
Women's 100-meter dash
2. Aisha Gay, 11.85 
• 5^th fastest in program history 
3. Symoria Adkins, 11.87 
• 6^th fastest in program history 
5. Jada Hoffman, 11.97 
6. Yaria Akers, 11.97 
8. Nayla Harris, 12.14 
14. Denae McElrath, 12.70 
 
Men's 100-meter dash
3. Yashawn Hamilton, 10.52 
• 2^nd fastest in program history 
4. Sam Johnson II, 10.54 
• 5^th fastest in program history 
10. Jaleel Scott, 10.81 
12. Jalen Nero, 10.89 
 
Men's triple jump 
5. Marco Guajardo, 13.59m 
 
Women's 800-meter run
2. Selissa Gonzales, 2:23.78 
7. Ashley Lingueno, 2:41.95 
 
Men's 800-meter run
6. Jorge Salazar, 1:59.68 
 
Women's 400-meter hurdles
2. Uxia Pereira, 1:05.74 
4. Kalissa Cavazos, 1:08.35 
 
Men's 400-meter hurdles
5. Jaylen Critton, 54.60 
 
Women's 200-meter dash
2. Yaria Akers, 24.66 
3. Jada Hoffman, 24.87 
9. Jalyn Williams, 25.72 
14. Nayla Harris, 26.05 
15. Rayja'nae Pettit, 26.14 
18. Aliyah Castillo, 26.29 
19. Denae McElrath, 26.46 
24. Ja'Nyla Tucker, 27.02 
24. Lani Brewer, 27.02 
28. Emily Martinez, 27.71 
32. Lauren Rekward, 28.72 
 
Men's 200-meter dash
4. Yashawn Hamilton, 21.40
• T-6^th fastest in program history 
5. Sam Johnson II, 21.46 
7. Jalen Nero, 21.96
9. Jaqualand Fields, 22.18 
12. Jaleel Scott, 22.29
20. Alejandro Arellano, 22.56 
 
Women's 4x400-meter relay 
2. Aisha Gay, Aliyah Castillo, Uxia Pereira, Jalyn Williams, 3:55.87 
 
Men's 400-meter relay
1. Derrius Henry, Jaqualand Fields, Jermarrion Stewart, Sam Johnson II, 3:13.47 
• 8^th fastest in program history 
• Meet Record

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