EDINBURG – The University of Texas-Pan American men's and women's track & field head coach Xavier Richardson announced on Friday the addition of 18 student-athletes for the 2014-15 academic year.
 
There are 13 student-athletes from the Rio Grande Valley joining the Broncs, including sprinter Brianna De Leon (Weslaco High School), thrower Alyssa Garcia (Edinburg North High School), jumper Abigail Hernandez (Palm View High School), runner Alexandra Munoz (Weslaco High School), runner Teresa Sova (Mercedes High School), runner Roxanna Vidaurri (Palm View High School), runner Jennifer Zapata (Los Fresnos High School), runner Jose Jaime (Palm View High School), runner David Montalvo (Valley View High School), runner Rick Montero (Edinburg North High School), sprinter File Patino (PSJA High School), thrower Antonio Salinas (Mission High School) and hurdler Christian Williams (McAllen Memorial High School).
 
Also joining the women's team are sprinter Jovanna Jones (Harker Heights High School) and thrower Ashley Pierce (Shadow Ridge High School).
 
Joining the men's team are thrower Damon Jaramillo (Clear Springs High School), thrower Isaac Samuels (Cypress Springs High School) and junior runner Jose Juan Wells (Central Arizona College).
 
"We are excited about the 2014-15 incoming class," Richardson said. "We have some great young additions to our program that will no doubt assist us in our second year participating in the Western Athletic Conference. We have been able to bring in some of the best talents of the surrounding areas to add to our ranks and brought some other necessary pieces to the puzzle. They will bring some key elements to our distance program and help bolster our ranks in other areas as well. It is an exciting time for us with this class being the first to train in our new facility and is a pivotal point in our programs history before we move forward with the new university. It is a great time to be part of the Track & Field/Cross Country programs. We are looking forward to seeing what these newcomers bring to the table and how we move forward as a program this next competitive year. We have high expectations and we can't wait to get started."
 
De Leon qualified for regionals all four years while finishing third in the 200-meter dash and helping her 4x400-meter relay team to a third place finish. Her career-best times are: 12.18 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 25.29 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 17 feet and nine inches in the long jump.
 
Garcia threw the shot put and discus, where she hit a career-best mark of 41 feet and nine inches. She was the 2013 TAAF State Champion and the 2014 Area Champion while finishing third at regionals.
 
Hernandez competed in the high jump and triple jump while also earning two letters in volleyball and three in soccer. She earned First Team All-District in soccer and honorable mention honors in volleyball. Her career-best marks are: five feet six inches in the high jump and 33 feet in the triple jump.
 
A native of Harker Heights, Jones finished in third place at the 5A-Region I Championships last season. She was the District 8-5A Champion in the 200-meter dash and also qualified for the Junior Olympics in the 4x100 and 100-meter dash in 2013. Her career-best times are 11.92 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 24.94 in the 200-meter dash.
 
Munoz earned three letters in cross country and track & field, where her career-best times are: 2:21 in the 800-meter run, 5:28 in the 1,600-meter run and 20:08 in the 5K.
 
A native of Las Vegas, Nev., Pierce competed in the hammer throw, discus and weight throw. She earned four letters in track & field and three in volleyball. She is a four-time state qualifier in the discus while also qualifying for the National Junior Olympics and winning the hammer throw at the Regional Junior Olympics.  
 
Sova earned four letters in cross country and track & field, where her career-best times are: 5:21 in the 1,600-meter run, 11:44 in the 3,200-meter run and 18:20 in the 5K.
 
Vidaurri was crowned district champion in the 800-meter run in 2010. She was a four-time regional qualifier and area runner-up in the 800-meter run in 2014.
 
Zapata finished 45^th at the UIL 5A Cross Country Meet in 2013. Her career-best times are: 5:11.13 in the 1,600-meter run and 11:27.56 in the 3,200-meter run.
 
A native of League City, Jaramillo finished in second place in the shot put at the 24-5A District Meet and was a 5A-Region III finalist. He has a career-best mark of 54 feet and one inch in the shot put.
 
Jaime finished in 10^th at the 5A State Cross Country Meet and was a two-time district champion in cross country. He also was crowned district champion in the mile and two-mile runs. His career-best times are: 4:22.87 in the 1,600-meter run, 9:58.21 in the 3,200-meter run and 15:16.34 in the 5K.
 
A native of Houston, Samuels was a two-time regional champion, state qualifier and was named Track MVP. His career-best marks are: 177 feet and eight inches in the discus and 54 feet and 11 inches in the shot put.
 
Montalvo finished in fifth place in the UIL 4A State Cross Country Meet in 2013 and eighth in the 3,200-meter run at the UIL 4A State Track & Field Meet. His career-best times are: 4:21.59 in the 1,600-meter run, 9:23.60 in the 3,200-meter run and 16:01.30 in the 5,000-meter run.
 
Montero was a UIL All-District Performer, Academic Athlete of the Year, UIL All-Area Performer, Distance Athlete of the Year and UIL All-Region IV-5A Performer. His career-best times are: 4:22 in the 1,600-meter run, 9:53 in the 3,200-meter run and 16:30 in the 5K.
 
Patino was crowned 2014 31-5A District Champion in the 400-meter dash and also holds the PSJA High school record in the same event. He also went on to be crowned 5A-Area Champion in the 400-meter dash before finishing in fifth place at the 5A-Region IV Meet. His career-best time in the 400-meter dash is 48.98 seconds.
 
Salinas was a two-time area champion in the shot put while qualifying for regionals three times and state once. His career-best marks are: 170 feet and 11 inches in the discus and 57 feet and two inches in the shot put.
 
A native of Cottonwood, Ariz., Wells helped his cross country team at Central Arizona College to an NJCAA Cross Country National Championship in 2012 and 2013. His career-best times are: 3:59 in the 1,500-meter run, 15:07 in the 5K and 31.48 in the 10K.
 
Williams was the 2014 31-5A Champion in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles and also finished in second place at the 5A-Area Meet in the same events. He went on to finish in third place in the 300-meter hurdles and in fourth place in the 110-meter hurdles at the 5A-Region IV meet. His career-best times are: 14.52 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and 38.50 in the 300-meter hurdles.
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