NEW ORLEANS – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros cross country teams both earned their best conference finishes in four seasons as they competed Friday at the Southland Conference (SLC) Cross Country Championships at Lake Oaks Park in New Orleans.
Senior
Samantha Gonzalez earned her first top-10 conference finish as she took 10
th place in 21:45.25. Gonzalez was named to the Second Team All-Conference for her performance. Junior PSJA High alum
Faith Cruz was 20
th in 22:31.75. Junior
Lilliana Guerrero and senior Brownsville Porter alum
Estrella Medellin came to the finish line as a one-two punch, with Guerrero taking 38
th in 23:21.13 and Medellin following in 39
th. Rounding out the scoring for the Vaqueros was sophomore
Kailey Salazar, who finished 41
st in 23:30.72.
UTRGV finished sixth with 148 points in its SLC debut. This was UTRGV's best conference finish since placing fifth out of six teams at the 2020-21 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships in Feb. 2021. Lamar repeated as conference champions with 43 points, followed by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (59) and Houston Christian (110). Rounding out the top-five teams were New Orleans (113) and Incarnate Word (131). The Vaqueros finished ahead of Stephen F. Austin, McNeese, Nicholls, Texas A&M-Commerce, Southeastern and Northwestern State.
Adding to the good outing for the women's team were freshman Santa Maria alum
Mia Picazo, junior Lasara alum
Selissa Gonzales and senior Sharyland alum
Ana Hernandez. Picazo finished 58
th at her first conference meet while Gonzales and Hernandez finished 62
nd and 77
th, respectively.
Junior
Abraham Morales paced the men's team with a 22
nd place finish in 26:21.65. Sophomores McAllen Rowe alum
Kevin Cardenas (27:05.06) and
Mario Cantarero (27:17.44) were closely packed, taking 41
st and 44
th, respectively. Freshmen
Mario Guzman and Edinburg Vela alum
Ethan De Leon also ran together and rounded out the scoring taking 65
th in 28:33.41 and 69
th in 28:49.47, respectively. Freshman Weslaco East alum
Eric Davis took 75
th.
UTRGV finished ninth with 219 points, earning its best conference finish since taking fourth of eight teams at the 2020-21 WAC Championships. Incarnate Word took the win with 29 points, followed by Stephen F. Austin (59) and Houston Christian (116). The Vaqueros finished ahead of Nicholls, Southeastern and Northwestern State.
Up next for UTRGV is the NCAA South Central Regional in Bryan-College Station on Nov. 15.
UTRGV Individual Results
Women's 6K
10.
Samantha Gonzalez, 21:45.25
20.
Faith Cruz, 22:31.75
38.
Lilliana Guerrero, 23:21.13
39.
Estrella Medellin, 23:23.23
41.
Kailey Salazar, 23:30.72
58.
Mia Picazo, 24:35.35
62.
Selissa Gonzales, 25:06.48
77.
Ana Hernandez, 26:14.24
Men's 8K
22.
Abraham Morales, 26:21.65
41.
Kevin Cardenas, 27:05.06
44.
Mario Cantarero, 27:17.44
65.
Mario Guzman, 28:33.41
69.
Ethan De Leon, 28:49.47
75.
Eric Davis, 29:15.02
Women's Team Standings
1. Lamar, 43 points
2. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 59
3. Houston Christian, 110
4. New Orleans, 113
5. Incarnate Word, 131
6. UTRGV, 148
7. Stephen F. Austin, 164
8. McNeese, 178
9. Nicholls, 237
10. Texas A&M-Commerce, 259
11. Southeastern, 342
12. Northwestern State, 363
Men's Team Standings
1. Incarnate Word, 29 points
2. Stephen F. Austin, 59
3. Houston Christian, 116
4. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 125
5. Texas A&M-Commerce, 143
6. Lamar, 146
7. McNeese State, 183
8. New Orleans, 192
9. UTRGV, 219
10. Nicholls, 311
11. Southeastern, 327
12. Northwestern State, 367
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