BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's track & field team won the Southland Conference (SLC) Indoor Championship Thursday – the first conference title in indoor program history – and senior Nayla Harris defended her women's 60-meter dash title at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. 
 
Harris took gold in 7.19, improving her own meet record which was initially broken in the preliminary race Wednesday. She remains tied for sixth in the nation in the event with her best time of 7.18 and is firmly in contention to reach the NCAA Indoor Championships scheduled for March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The top 16 student-athletes in each event will qualify for nationals. 
 
Harris claimed three total medals at the indoor conference meet, adding the bronze medal in the women's 200-meter dash Thursday with a personal best time of 23.87 to the bronze medal in long jump she claimed on Day 1. 
 
The Vaqueros women totaled 128 points to win the team title. Stephen F. Austin was second with 106 points and Northwestern State took third with 99.5 points. Head coach Shareese Hicks was named the SLC Women's Indoor Coach of the Year for leading UTRGV to victory. 
 
Junior N Vanee Anchike also had a stellar meet to aid UTRGV's big win. Anchike took silver in both the women's mile and 800-meter run. The mile was an incredible competition that saw all three podium finishers run faster than the meet record, which Anchike set during the preliminary race. Anchike ran a personal and program record time of 4:40.52 to finish second. In the 800, she rank 2:10.71, the No. 4 time in program history, to claim her third silver medal of the meet. 
 
Anchike was named the SLC Women's Indoor Newcomer of the Year – a title she also earned at the conference cross country meet. 

UTRGV scored big in the women's 60, mile and 800. Behind Harris's fourth fastest race in program history in the sprint, junior Aniya Heckstall earned bronze in a personal best time of 7.43 and senior Kaliyah Poston finished eighth. Senior Lilliana Guerrero was eighth in the mile in 4:58.48, the eighth-best race in program history. 
 
The Vaqueros racked up 23 points in the 800 as Anchike, junior Kailey Salazar, Guerrero and sophomore Santa Maria alum Mia Picazo finished 2-3-4-5 in a massive event for the champions. Salazar, Guerrero and Picazo tabbed the eight, ninth and 10^th best times in the record books and Picazo put her best on the track when it mattered most to clock a personal record in 2:11.93. 

The women's 200-meter dash was also a gamechanger for UTRGV as it recorded 20 points and two medals in the event. Sophomore Jizzale Davis earned the silver medal with a personal and program record time of 23.79 and Harris followed in third with the No. 3 time in program history. Heckstall was fourth with the No. 9 time in program history of 24.09 and Poston finished eighth to extend UTRGV's lead in the team standings. 
 
Freshman Dior Williams captured the silver medal in the women's 60-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 8.45, good for No. 9 in the program record books. Redshirt junior Ashley Lingueno took fourth and sophomore Trezur Connley was eighth in another key event for the Vaqueros. 
 
Junior La'Zariah Bethany claimed the bronze medal in the women's triple jump with a mark of 11.82 meters. Freshman Avianna Miller also scored important points with a personal best jump of 11.39 meters to finish fifth. 
 
Junior Treasure Vallerie and senior Efe Latham put points on the board with a pair of fifth-place finishes in the women's 400-meter dash and shot put, respectively. Vallerie ran 54.88, which is the fourth-best time in program history in the indoor 400. 
 
The women's 4x400-meter relay team of senior Brownsville Hanna alum Aliyah Castillo, freshman Talyna Ligier, Davis and Vallerie secured the victory in the final track event of the day by taking silver with a program record time of 3:42.46. 
 
UTRGV's men's team finished fourth with 61 points. SFA won the title with 157 points, Northwestern State (123) was second and UIW (96.5) was third. 
 
Senior Abraham Morales was the top finisher claiming a silver medal in the men's mile, running the fifth-best time in program history of 4:11.06. Junior Joshua Mascall also captured a medal with a third-place finish in the men's 200-meter dash in 21.23, tying the second-best race in program history. 
 
Senior Derrius Henry, senior Daniel Siaffa, Mascall and senior Corin Burns closed the day for UTRGV with a bronze medal in the men's 4x400 running 3:11.68, the third-best relay in program history. 
 
Burns had a solid meet, finishing fourth in the men's 60-meter dash and fifth in the 200. Sophomore Richard Young added a fifth-place finish in the 60 and Mascall was eighth to put points on the board. 
 
Redshirt junior Aaron Cooper and sophomore Hebrew Hunter finished fifth and eight, respectively, in the men's triple jump to add to the team total. Cooper tabbed the No. 5 mark in program history of 15.03 meters while Hunter jumped 14.65 meters. 
 
Siaffa took seventh in the men's 60-meter hurdles in 8.26. Junior Brownsville Hanna alum Alejandro Arellano was eighth in the men's 400-meter dash in 50.26.
 
The Vaqueros women's and men's teams both beat rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, adding a total of four points to UTRGV's lead in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union. UTRGV now leads 23-18 with eight events remaining. 
 
The Vaqueros collected seven personal bests and made 17 entries into the indoor program record books on Day 2 of the conference meet, bringing their two-day total to 19 personal bests and 23 record book entries. 
 
Women's Team Standings 
1. UTRGV, 128 points 
2. Stephen F. Austin, 106
3. Northwestern State, 99.5
4. East Texas A&M, 79
5. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 78
6. Lamar, 53
7. UIW, 39.5
8. McNeese, 31
9. Southeastern, 21
10. Houston Christian University, 17
11. Nicholls, 8
12. New Orleans, 3
 
Men's Team Standings
1. Stephen F. Austin, 157 points 
2. Northwestern State, 123
3. UIW, 96.5
4. UTRGV, 61
5. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 60
6. Lamar, 49
7. East Texas A&M, 45.5
8. McNeese, 28
9. Houston Christian University, 22
10. Southeastern, 14
11. New Orleans, 6
Nicholls, 0
 
UTRGV THURSDAY RESULTS
Field Events 
Women's shot put
5. Efe Latham, 14.26m 
 
Women's triple jump 
3. La'Zariah Bethany, 11.82m 
5. Avianna Miller, 11.39m 
Talyna Ligier, NM 
 
Men's triple jump 
5. Aaron Cooper, 15.03m 
· 5^th in program history 
8. Hebrew Hunter, 14.65m 
 
Track Events (All Finals)
Women's 60-meter hurdles 
2. Dior Williams, 8.45
· 9^th in program history  
4. Ashley Lingueno, 8.50 
8. Trezur Connley, 8.81 
 
Men's 60-meter hurdles
7. Daniel Siaffa, 8.26 
 
Women's 60-meter dash 
1. Nayla Harris, 7.19
· Meet Record
· 4^th in program history 
3. Aniya Heckstall, 7.43
8. Kaliyah Poston, 7.71
 
Men's 60-meter dash  
4. Corin Burns, 6.75
5. Richard Young, 6.77
8. Joshua Mascall, 6.86 
 
Women's mile
2. N Vanee Anchike, 4:40.52 
· Program Record 
8. Lilliana Guerrero, 4:58.48 
· 8^th in program history 
 
Men's mile
2. Abraham Morales, 4:11.06 
· 5^th in program history 
 
Women's 400-meter dash
5. Treasure Vallerie, 54.88 
· 4^th in program history 
 
Men's 400-meter dash
8. Alejandro Arellano, 50.26 
 
Women's 800-meter dash 
2. N Vanee Anchike, 2:10.71
· 4^th in program history 
3. Kailey Salazar, 2:11.73
· 8^th in program history  
4. Lilliana Guerrero, 2:11.91 
· 9^th in program history 
5. Mia Picazo, 2:11.93 
· 10^th in program history 
 
Women's 200-meter dash 
2. Jizzale Davis, 23.79 
· Program Record 
3. Nayla Harris, 23.87 
· 3^rd in program history 
4. Aniya Heckstall, 24.09 
· 9^th in program history 
8. Kaliyah Poston, 24.51 
 
Men's 200-meter dash
3. Joshua Mascall, 21.23 
· T-2^nd in program history 
5. Corin Burns, 21.47 
Richard Young, DNF 
 
Women's 3,000-meter run 
19. Faith Cruz, 10:12.00 
26. Lilian Mateo Torrez, 10:22.51 
30. Elizabeth Hernandez, 10:32.75 
 
Men's 3,000-meter run 
22. Adrianno Gonzalez, 8:44.52 
26. Nirmit Dahiya, 8:56.26 
Abraham Morales, DNF 
 
Women's 4x400-meter relay
2. Aliyah Castillo, Talyna Ligier, Jizzale Davis, Treasure Vallerie, 3:42.46 
· Program Record 
 
Men's 4x400-meter relay
3. Derrius Henry, Daniel Siaffa, Joshua Mascall, Corin Burns, 3:11.68 
· 4^th in program history 

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