RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced the 2025-26 CSC Academic All-District Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country teams on Tuesday and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) had four on each team recognized.
Academic All-District selections are part of the Academic All-America program, which is the longest running and premier award for athletic and academic success across many levels of college sports. To be eligible, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore athletically and academically with a 3.50 cumulative GPA or better. Requirements to earn Academic All-District for track & field/cross country student-athletes also include being a top 50 finisher at a regional cross country meet or ranking in the top 50 in an individual event in the indoor and/or outdoor regional rankings.
Representing the UTRGV men's track & field cross country program on the Academic All-District team are
Aaron Cooper, Abraham Morales, Daniel Siaffa and
Richard Young. The women's team members for the Vaqueros are
La'Zariah Bethany, Lilliana Guerrero, Efe Latham and
Kaliyah Poston.
Three of UTRGV's Academic All-District selections reached the NCAA West First Round during the outdoor track & field season. Senior
Daniel Siaffa, who graduated in May with a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies, was a regional qualifier in the men's 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles. Siaffa and Morales also made the Southland Conference (SLC) All-Academic Team.
Latham and Poston both qualified for the NCAA West First Round. Latham earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in May and made the All-Conference Second Team outdoors in shot put. She reached the NCAA West First Round for the second year in a row in shot put. Poston qualified for the NCAA West First Round in the 200-meter dash and with the 4x100-meter relay. Poston, a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sport Management, won gold and made the All-Conference First Team with the 4x100 relay.
Bethany is the outdoor conference champion in women's triple jump. She broke the program record with her winning jump of 12.69 meters, earning All-Conference First Team honors with the jump. Bethany, Latham and Poston made the SLC All-Academic Team in addition to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
