HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros track & field teams will be competing Thursday through Saturday at the Southland Conference (SLC) Outdoor Championships at Rice's Wendel D. Ley Track & Holloway Field. 
 
The action begins for the Vaqueros at 4:30 p.m. Thursday with women's hammer throw. UTRGV's running events will start at 5:40 p.m. Thursday. The meet continues Friday with field events starting at 3 p.m. and running events following at 5:15 p.m. The championship meet wraps up Saturday, with field events getting underway at 3 p.m. and track events following at 5 p.m. 
 
Heading into the meet, the Vaqueros have three student-athletes sitting at the top of the SLC performance lists in individual events. Junior Nayla Harris has been the No. 1 performer in the women's 100-meter dash for several weeks with her personal and program record time of 11.22. Harris won two SLC Women's Track Athlete of the Week awards during the outdoor season. She is part of the women's 4x100-meter relay which is No. 1 in the conference with freshman Krystan Bright, freshman Jizzale Davis and junior Brownsville Hanna alum Aliyah Castillo.  
 
Junior Hannah Hilding won back-to-back SLC Women's Field Athlete of the Week awards to close out the regular season. She is No. 1 in the conference in hammer throw and will be competing in all four throwing events in Houston, hoping to capture the second Field Performer of the Meet award of her career. 
 
Senior Samantha Gonzalez leads the conference in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. She'll also compete in the 5,000-meter run, where she ranks ninth but is in contention to score.
 
On the men's side, sprinters including junior Corin Burns, freshman Richard Young and sophomore Jamari Harts are leading the Vaqueros' hopes to move up in the team standings. Young, Burns, Harts and sophomore Brownsville Hanna alum Alejandro Arellano have the UTRGV men's 200-meter dash squad ranked 21^st in the nation. The Vaqueros men are set up to have three scorers in the 100,  200, and 400-meter dashes. 
 
Juniors Aaron Cooper and Achol Maywin are some other top field performers heading into the meet. Cooper is fifth in men's triple jump with a mark of 15.48 meters, which has him ranked 26^th on the NCAA West qualifying list. Maywin is third in the SLC after clearing a personal-best 1.75 meters at her last meet. 
 
UTRGV performed well at its first SLC conference meet, with the women finishing third and the men taking sixth at the indoor championships in March. Those were both teams' best conference finishes since 2021. The Vaqueros women's team is ranked fourth heading into the meet but has plenty of potential to move up and capture another top-three finish. 
 
The Vaqueros are no strangers to this week's venue. Less than three weeks ago, UTRGV competed at Ley Track & Holloway Field during the J. Fred Duckett Twilight and set two program records and 10 personal bests as it collected seven event wins. The Vaqueros are confident competing at this facility and are ready to leave it all out there and show out for the Valley. 
 
UTRGV SCHEDULE
Thursday 
Field Events 
Women's hammer throw, 4:30 p.m. 
Hannah Hilding (F2)
Efe Latham (F2) 
 
Track Events 
Men's 1,500-meter run prelims, 5:40 p.m. 
Abraham Morales (H1) 
 
Women's 400-meter hurdles prelims, 6:05 p.m. 
Kalissa Cavazos (H2) 
Krystan Bright (H2) 
 
Men's 400-meter hurdles prelims, 6:20 p.m. 
Jaylen Critton (H1) 
Daniel Siaffa (H3) 
 
Women's 200-meter dash prelims, 6:55 p.m. 
Jizzale Davis (H2) 
Nayla Harris (H3) 
Zoë Adams (H4) 
 
Men's 200-meter dash prelims, 7:10 p.m. 
Gael Romo (H3) 
Jamari Harts (H4) 
Alejandro Arellano (H5) 
Corin Burns (H6) 
Richard Young (H8) 
 
Women's 10,000-meter run, 7:30 p.m. 
Faith Cruz 
 
Friday 
Field Events 
Men's long jump, 3 p.m. 
Keamonie Archie (F2) 
 
Women's javelin, 4 p.m. 
Efe Latham (F1) 
Hannah Hilding (F1) 
 
Women's shot put, 6 p.m. 
Efe Latham (F2) 
Hannah Hilding (F2) 
 
Women's long jump, 6 p.m. 
Kailah Gilmore (F2) 
 
Track Events 
Women's 100-meter hurdles prelims, 5:15 p.m. 
Trezur Connley (H1) 
Krystan Bright (H3) 
 
Men's 110-meter hurdles prelims, 5:30 p.m. 
Jaylen Critton (H3) 
 
Women's 400-meter dash prelims, 5:45 p.m. 
Aliyah Castillo (H1) 
Trinity Kirk (H2) 
Zoë Adams (H3) 
 
Men's 400-meter dash prelims, 6 p.m. 
Alejandro Arellano (H1) 
Jamari Harts (H3) 
Derrius Henry (H3) 
 
Women's 100-meter dash prelims, 6:15 p.m. 
Jizzale Davis (H3) 
Nayla Harris (H3) 
 
Men's 100-meter dash prelims, 6:30 p.m. 
Corin Burns (H1) 
Keamonie Archie (H3) 
Richard Young (H3) 
Gael Romo (H4) 
 
Women's 800-meter run prelims, 6:45 p.m. 
Lilliana Guerrero (H2) 
Mia Picazo (H3) 
Kailey Salazar (H3) 
 
Men's 800-meter run prelims, 7 p.m. 
Mario Cantarero (H3) 
Diego Pina (H3) 
Abraham Morales (H4) 
 
Women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, 7:40 p.m. 
Samantha Gonzalez 
 
Saturday 
Field Events 
Women's discus, 3 p.m. 
Hannah Hilding (F2) 
 
Women's triple jump, 3 p.m. 
Tolu Odetola (F2) 
La'Zariah Bethany (F2) 
 
Men's triple jump, 6 p.m. 
Hebrew Hunter (F2) 
Aaron Cooper (F2) 
 
Women's high jump, 6 p.m. 
Achol Maywin 
 
Track Events (all finals) 
Women's 4x100-meter relay, 5 p.m. 
Krystan Bright, Jizzale Davis, Zoë Adams, Nayla Harris, Aliyah Castillo (H2) 
 
Men's 4x100-meter relay, 5:10 p.m. 
Gael Romo, Jamari Harts, Richard Young, Corin Burns, Alejandro Arellano (H2) 
 
Women's 1,500-meter run, 5:20 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Men's 1,500-meter run, 5:30 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Women's 100-meter hurdles, 5:40 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Men's 110-meter hurdles, 5:50 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Women's 400-meter dash, 6 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Men's 400-meter dash, 6:10 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Women's 100-meter dash, 6:20 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Men's 100-meter dash, 6:30 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Women's 800-meter run, 6:40 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Men's 800-meter run, 6:50 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Women's 400-meter hurdles, 7 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Men's 400-meter hurdles, 7:10 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Women's 200-meter dash, 7:20 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Men's 200-meter dash, 7:30 p.m. 
TBD 
 
Women's 5,000-meter run, 7:40 p.m. 
Faith Cruz 
Samantha Gonzalez 
 
Women's 4x400-meter relay, 8:25 p.m. 
Aliyah Castillo, Trinity Kirk, Zoë Adams, Jizzale Davis, Krystan Bright, Kailey Salazar (H2) 
 
Men's 4x400-meter relay, 8:40 p.m. 
Corin Burns, Alejandro Arellano, Daniel Siaffa, Derrius Henry, Jayleon Critton, Jamari Harts, Gael Romo (H2) 

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