NATCHITOCHES, La. – Senior PSJA High alum
Faith Cruz and juniors
N Vanee Anchike and
Kailey Salazar earned All-Conference honors as they led The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's cross country team to a third-place finish at the Southland Conference (SLC) Championships Friday at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
Cruz clocked in at 21:30.29 to finish eighth and Anchike was close behind in ninth with a time of 21:31.50. Salazar was 14
th in 21:58.50. Anchike was also named the SLC Women's Newcomer of the Year.
Senior
Lilliana Guerrero and sophomore Santa Maria alum
Mia Picazo both ran personal bests to round out the scoring with 16
th and 19
th place finishes, respectively, in 22:00.10 and 22:09.30. Sophomore Rio Grande City alum
Morgan Ramos also competed and was 58
th.
Stephen F. Austin (SFA) won the women's team title with 36 points and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (AMCC) followed in second with 39 points. UTRGV accumulated 66 points in its third-place finish, earning the program's best finish at a conference meet since they took second at the 2010 Great West Conference Championships. Incarnate Word (136) and McNeese (157) rounded out the top five.
The Vaqueros men totaled five personal bests as they finished fifth in the team standings with 173 points, earning the best team finish since taking fourth at the Western Athletic Conference Championships in 2020-21. Sophomore
Nirmit Dahiya paced UTRGV with a 24
th place finish, running a PR time of 24:08.00, which ties the fourth-best 8K time in program history.
Senior
Abraham Morales was 35
th in 24:39.10, sophomore Mission Veterans alum
Manuel Flores took 39
th in 24:42.50 and freshman McAllen Memorial alum
Roehl Rodriguez took 44
th in 24:55.00 – all running personal bests. Freshman Weslaco East alum
Adrianno Gonzalez rounded out the scoring with a 51
st place finish in 25:09.80. Junior McAllen Rowe alum
Kevin Cardenas tabbed a personal best time of 25:45.80 and took 67
th.
SFA won the men's team title with 20 points, followed by AMCC (52), Incarnate Word (67), and Lamar (130). Corpus Christi earned four points toward the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, as the men's and women's teams finished ahead of UTRGV.
UTRGV's next meet will be the NCAA South Central Regional on Nov. 14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
UTRGV Individual Results
Women's 6K
8.
Faith Cruz, 21:30.29
9.
N Vanee Anchike, 21:31.50
14.
Kailey Salazar, 21:58.50
16.
Lilliana Guerrero, 22:00.10
19.
Mia Picazo, 22:09.30
58.
Morgan Ramos, 23:51.70
Men's 8K
24.
Nirmit Dahiya, 24:08.00
· T-4
th in program history
35.
Abraham Morales, 24:39.10
39.
Manuel Flores, 24:42.50
44.
Roehl Rodriguez, 24:55.00
51.
Adrianno Gonzalez, 25:09.80
67.
Kevin Cardenas, 25:45.80
Women's Team Standings
1. Stephen F. Austin, 36 points
2. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 39
3. UTRGV, 66
4. Incarnate Word, 136
5. McNeese, 157
6. New Orleans, 184
7. Houston Christian University, 187
8. Lamar, 207
9. Nicholls, 225
10. East Texas A&M, 255
11. Southeastern, 318
12. Northwestern State, 351
Men's Team Standings
1. Stephen F. Austin, 20 points
2. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 52
3. Incarnate Word, 67
4. Lamar, 130
5. UTRGV, 173
6. McNeese, 178
7. East Texas A&M, 192
8. Houston Christian University, 199
9. New Orleans, 221
10. Nicholls, 332
11. Northwestern State, 334
12. Southeastern, 344
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