LAKE CHARLES, La. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's and women's cross country teams will compete Friday at the Southland Conference Championships, with the women's team ranked No. 15 in the South Central Region and senior N Vanee Anchike coming off a program-record 6K on Oct. 16.
McNeese is hosting the meet at the Enos Derbonne Sports Complex. The UTRGV women will run a 6K at 8:30 a.m., and the men will run an 8K at 9:30 a.m. All 12 Southland schools are set to compete, and both races will stream on ESPN+.
"A successful meet is one where every athlete goes out and competes to the best of their ability. We've put in the work all season, and now it's about executing our race plan, trusting our training, and competing for each other. Of course, we want to finish as high as possible in the team standings, but I also want to see our athletes compete with confidence, show toughness when things get uncomfortable, and finish knowing they gave everything they had. At the end of the day, I want us to walk away knowing we represented UTRGV well," Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Shareese Hicks said.
The UTRGV men's lineup includes McAllen Rowe alum Kevin Cardenas, Vanguard Rembrandt alum Gael Gonzalez, Brock Morales, McAllen Memorial alum Roehl Rodriguez and PSJA Memorial alum Diego Piña. The Vaqueros women's runners include Anchike, Lilian Mateo, Harlingen South alum Jessica De Leon, Economedes alum Maddison Surita, Kailey Salazar and Santa Maria alum Mia Picazo.
At the Arturo Barrios Invitational, senior Anchike set a program record in the women's 6K, finishing 73rd in 20:51.0 to break the previous mark of 20:53.0 set by Mercy Chelangat in 2018. The women's team finished 24th of 46 teams and third among the nine Southland teams in the field, behind only Stephen F. Austin (sixth) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (16th). De Leon (21:02.8) and Surita (22:28.0) each ran their first career 6K, and Salazar set a personal best of 21:25.5.
The performance earned UTRGV a spot in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association South Central Region rankings at No. 15. The Vaqueros are one of three Southland women's teams in the rankings, along with Stephen F. Austin (No. 4) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (No. 9).
The men's team will look to build on personal bests from Cardenas and Gonzalez at Barrios. Cardenas led the Vaqueros with a time of 25:30.5 in the 8K, while Gonzalez ran 26:39.4.
Hicks said her message to the team before it heads to the starting line is simple.
"Trust your training, trust yourself, and compete for the person standing next to you. The hard work is already done. Now it's time to go out there and put it all together. When the race gets tough, because it will, that's when you have to make the decision to dig a little deeper. Stay focused, be aggressive, and don't leave anything out on that course. Most importantly, enjoy the opportunity to compete because these are the moments you've worked for all season. V's Up!" Hicks said.
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