FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Championship season has arrived for six members of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) track & field teams who will be competing this week at the NCAA West Preliminary at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville.
Qualifying for the preliminary meet means the student-athletes are ranked in the top 48 of their respective events among all competitors in the region. Six student-athletes is the most UTRGV has sent to this meet since 2021, when six Vaqueros also qualified, and matches the most in at least a decade.
"It means everything. You put together a vision and a plan for a program, and until it happens, you're relatively unsure. Now we're sure that we're heading in the right direction," head track & field/cross country coach
Shareese Hicks said. "We have the buy-in and the positivity of these young people so we're really excited to get started out in Fayetteville."
Sophomore men's long jumper
Jedidiah Udunna is the only one in the group making a return trip to the West preliminary. He'll get the action started for UTRGV when he competes Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Last year, Udunna finished 30
th in long jump with a mark of 7.35 meters. This year, he's heading to the meet ranking 10
th in the West with a personal and program record mark of 7.92 meters. The top 12 finishers will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
"Now that I'm returning to the preliminary meet, I definitely plan to make it out because I feel like I'm more prepared compared to last year. I feel like I'm in a better spot mentally and physically. From a technical standpoint, I'm coming in much stronger. And we're killing it in the weight room, so overall wellness, I feel very prepared," Udunna said. "It's a blessing to go in ranked high, but there's a lot of work still to be done."
Udunna and his teammates are aiming to be the first to represent UTRGV at the national championship meet since 2007. As a team captain and the only veteran of this particular meet, he's trying to set an example for his fellow Vaqueros and keep them cool, calm and collected on the big stage.
"A big thing I'm telling my teammates is to go out and have fun. If you're treating it like any other meet, you're going to do your best. Just making sure they're not putting unwanted pressure on themselves and just being able to really grasp the moment and take advantage of it," Udunna said.
Also competing Wednesday will be junior
Daniel Siaffa in the first round of the men's 400-meter hurdles at 8:20 p.m. Siaffa transferred to UTRGV after two successful seasons at the junior college level and is grateful for the progress he's made with assistant hurdles coach
Antwon Hicks to earn this opportunity.
"It means everything to me because God has given me the gift to go out there and compete and do my best," Siaffa said. "I've just been getting prepared to compete against some of the best in the nation and see how much I can improve. Physically my coach has been getting me ready and I'm grateful for that. It's a blessing because not everyone is fortunate to make it to this meet, so when you can, you got to make the best of it."
All three of the UTRGV women to qualify will compete on Thursday. Sophomore
Hannah Hilding will get the day started in the hammer throw semifinals at 10 a.m. During the evening's running session, sophomore
Symoria Adkins will race at 6 p.m. in the first round of the 100-meter hurdles and junior
Zoë Adams will run the first round of the 400-meter dash at 7:25 p.m.
Hilding and Adkins are coming off incredible performances at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Outdoor Championships, where they were named the Outstanding Field and Track Performers, respectively. They're both eager to experience the NCAA West Preliminary for the first time and compete with some of the top athletes in their events.
"I'm very excited. Conference was a long weekend, but it gave me a lot of confidence. I just want to keep up the momentum so I can have a good performance at the preliminary meet and just keep going, see what I can do," Hilding said. "We've been working on pushing a lot of speed. I've been throwing far and feeling good. I hope to PR, try to aim for the school record, but also I just want to learn what the experience is and take that and hopefully next year go back in more events."
Said Adkins: "It's definitely a blessing to qualify for this meet for the first time. I'm very excited to see what I can do. We're ready and we're excited. We know we put all the work in to get this far and we're going to go out there and have fun. I am hoping to see improvement no matter what happens. It's great to be a part of a great team with people who come out and work hard, are strong mentally and physically and help you as a teammate."
Adams has competed on the national stage before, making the Div. II indoor national championship meet before transferring to UTRGV. She's looking to lean on that experience as she levels up to race with other accomplished 400 runners.
"Reaching this meet means the hard work I've put in since August has paid off. I've made some major improvements and I'm just telling myself that I do belong there. Everybody's going to be good, but I'm also good, that's why I made it. I just want to go out there and perform," Adams said.
Sophomore
Aaron Cooper will make his preliminary debut Friday at 6 p.m. in the men's triple jump semifinals. He's proud to be going with five teammates and ready to have fun, support and chase big marks and fast times throughout the meet.
"I'm really looking forward to it. Really looking forward to getting past this meet and going to nationals, but making it to the preliminary meet is a big part of the journey this year," Cooper said. "I've been working on my first phase. If I get a really good first phase, I feel like I can handle my second and third into the pit. And I've been getting stronger in the weight room so I can get more explosive into the pit."
The field competitors will get just three attempts to earn a top-12 finish and punch their ticket to nationals. Track competitors are aiming to finish in the top 24 of the first round for a chance to run in the quarterfinals, where a top-12 finish will send them to nationals. Siaffa's 400 hurdles quarterfinal race would be at 7:25 p.m. Friday. Adkins would run at 6:15 p.m. and Adams would follow at 6:50 p.m. Saturday if they reach the 100 hurdles and 400 dash quarterfinals, respectively.
The weather looks favorable for the Vaqueros, who arrived in Arkansas Sunday to get a few days of practice in at the facility. The young and hungry group is ready to show what they've got and gain valuable experience to help continue lifting the program.
"Sending six to this meet speaks holistically to the development that we've been able to accomplish so far. It also speaks to the youth of the team that everyone going this year, they'll be back next year, so they'll be able to inspire and lead so we can continue to multiply qualifiers year by year," Hicks said.
"I'm really just excited and extremely happy and fired up to get started," Hicks continued. "We've been putting the hay in the barn since September and now it's just about going out and continuing to execute. We're coming off a great showing at our conference championships. Now, things are really playing into their hands so they can go out with the confidence they've had all year."
UTRGV Schedule
WEDNESDAY
Men's long jump, 6 p.m.
Jedidiah Udunna
Men's 400-meter hurdles first round, 8:20 p.m.
Daniel Siaffa
THURSDAY
Women's hammer throw, 8:30 a.m.
Hannah Hilding
Women's 100-meter hurdles first round, 3 p.m.
Symoria Adkins
Women's 400-meter dash first round, 4:25 p.m.
Zoë Adams
FRIDAY
Men's triple jump, 4:45 p.m.
Aaron Cooper
Men's 400-meter hurdles quarterfinals, 7:25 p.m.
Daniel Siaffa
SATURDAY
Women's 100-meter hurdles quarterfinals, 6:15 p.m.
Symoria Adkins
Women's 400-meter dash quarterfinals, 6:50 p.m.
Zoë Adams
Support UTRGV Track & Field |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
