Aug. 28, 2007

The University of Texas-Pan American men's cross country team begins a new season with a squad fully loaded with talented underclassmen and two of the squads top performers from last year.

After a rebuilding year last season, UTPA assistant men's and women's cross country coach Huge Cervantes believes that this squad is capable of taking the program to new heights.

"I'm expecting a lot of things from this young group," said Cervantes. "We finished 11th at regional's last year and our goal this year is to place top-five. I think this year is the group that's going to do it."

The Broncs will enter the 2007-08 campaign with a squad filled with valley athletes. Luis Nava (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.) and J.J. Hernandez (San Juan, TX/PSJA North) return as two of the Broncs top performers from the previous season. Juniors Nava and Hernandez will be the squads go to guys this season as the underclassmen will look to them for leadership.

Nava was the Broncs top runner last season as he claimed his first collegiate title at the UH/RunSport All-Comers Meet where he recorded a time of 4:21.23 in the one-mile race. The standout junior notched eighth-place laurels at the Wes Kittley Six-Way Meet, where he finished with a time of 2:39.23 in the 1,000-meter race.

"Luis is very talented. He came in last year from working up North in the fields and with two months of training he was able to lead the team last year, so he is a very strong talented person. Luis is going to impress a lot of people this year. He has a really good chance of making nationals individually," Cervantes said.

Distance runner, Hernandez returns to the squad after recording a trio of top-10 finishes during the indoor season. The UTPA junior recorded his best finish at the UH/RunSport All-Comers Meet where he placed third overall with a time of 8:46.02 in the 3,000-meter race.

"J.J. works extremely hard all season. He's the first one in practice and the last one to leave. He's always asking how he can get better. He's always trying to improve himself," added Cervantes.

With one year of collegiate experience, sophomores Osvaldo Gonzalez, Gilroy Martines, and Vidal Ruiz (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.) are three underclassmen that will look to help lead the Broncs in the right direction.

The trio will have added help from freshmen's Angel Martinez (McAllen,TX/McAllen H.S.), a product from McAllen High School and Edinburg native Roly Vela (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.) which where two of the valley's top performers.

"I think Angel is going to come out and be one of our top-five runners and really help us out quickly. He's going to bring a lot of motivation and spirit to the team. I think he is going to fit in well with the squad," Cervantes added.

"Vela is a great runner and he is going to help us out immediately. He had a great senior season and ran a 4:20 in the mile. I think its going to be a little transition for them from three miles in high school to 6.2 miles in college but I think they are going to step up to the challenge," said Cervantes.

With underclassmen leading the way this year, the two main components will be Nava and Hernandez who will lead the pack. They will be joined by newcomers Martinez and Vela who could make an immediate impact in their first year running at the collegiate level.

The biggest obstacle the Broncs will face this season is how well they will mesh together as a team. The quadruplet's ability to work together will be what sets the tone for the rest of the season.

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