Sept. 10, 2009
A new year brings new beginnings and a fresh start. The University of Texas-Pan American men and women's cross country team would know a little bit about that.
The men and women's team will first start off the season with a new head coach, Dave Hartman. Dave Hartman first came to UTPA in the spring of 2009 and coached the distance runners during the in- and outdoor track and field seasons. Hartman in that is no stranger to the program.
The men's team will have to live up to last year's reputation as they were crowned the Great West Conference champions during its inaugural season.
The men return five from last season's group along with Rolando Vela, who was a member of the men's cross country team two season's ago, and Andrew Lopez. This season the men will have to do without J.J. Hernandez and Luis Nava, who were big contributors to the team.
"Losing J.J. and (Luis) Nava is a huge blow to the team. They were tremendous athletes and were the leaders of the team. However, I feel we have some capable guys on the team to take the leadership role," said head coach Dave Hartman.
The five returning members will bring experience to the team for the two new additions to the roster. The Broncs will see the addition of Colton Bosler (Pharr, TX / PSJA Memorial High School) and Frank Garcia (Edcouch, TX / Edcouch-Elsa High School) who are both entering freshman.
"It is nice returning a handful of guys that experienced winning the Great West Conference title last season, so they know what it takes to win. Now this year they can achieve bigger goals," said Hartman of the five returning men.
With the loss of Hernandez and Nava, the men's team will have to look for new leadership as they seek for that one person to step up and take the reins of the team. Senior Wally Gonzalez holds seniority on the team and is a runner who has the possible potential for that position. Another member on the team who holds seniority behind Gonzalez is junior M. Angel Ramirez.
"Angel is a young man who has shown tremendous promise in the past. He is poised to take a step to the next level of what he can achieve," Hartman said.
Another recognizable face on the team is graduate student Omar Doria. Doria ran for the Broncs in 2006 and in 2008 where he has ran a total of nine meets. The Broncs also return Rolando Vela after taking a year hiatus. Vela competed in five meets in 2007 where he collected a sixth and 14th place finish along with a berth to the NCAA South Central Regional Championship.
"Rollie is looking extremely strong right now. He trained hard this summer to get to where he is at this point," said Hartman.
With all eyes on the UTPA men's cross country team, expectations will be raised to defend the Great West Conference title along with qualifying for the NCAA Championship in November.
"I don't think anyone could put higher expectations on us that we don't put on ourselves. One of our goals, is of course, to defend out title, but at the same time we need to start thinking about the NCAA championship. We realize that to accomplish both of these tasks, we will have to put in a tremendous amount of work," Hartman said.
With the men's team set for the 2009 season, the women's team will see a various amount of changes with the addition of seven new runners on the women's team. They will face the challenge of having to adjust to one another and meshing well together as a team.
The women's team will see the return of junior Diana Galloso for the 2009 season. Galloso earned two top-15 finishes last season with a fifth-place finish at the HBU/Puma Cross Country Invitational and a 14th place finish at the New Balance Islander Splash.
"Diana is the most experienced runner on the team right now and I expect her to be up there with the pack," said Hartman. "I look for her to contend for the Great West title and possibly make a run at an at-large bid for the NCAA meet."
With seven new runners on the team, the Lady Broncs are looking at two junior college transfers and five entering freshman. Patience will have to be key with this season's team with the amount of new faces and partly due to the fact that the team is primarily middle distance runners or freshman.
New members on the team include Cinthia Adame (San Benito, TX / San Benito HS), Judith Chumba (Eldoret, Kenya), Mekka Edwards-White (West Hills, CA / LA Valley College), Hilda Galloso (Edinburg, TX / Edinburg HS), Shayna Parker (Inglewood, CA / West LA College), Daphne Payton (Giddings, TX / Giddings HS) and Michelle Zamora (San Antonio, TX / Highlands HS).
"Judith (Chumba) will be a runner on the team who should be in the front of the pack leading the squad. Cinthia Adame is also another talented young lady who looks like she has the ability to come in and contribute right away, but just like the men, we are looking to accomplish our goals as a cohesive unit," Hartman said.
The Lady Broncs will also have to deal with the loss of would-be senior Carolina Izaguirre. Izaguirre was the women's top runner for the past two seasons.
"Losing Carolina definitely hurts the team. She is a tremendous athlete, but wishes to focus on her studies and I wish her the best of luck. I think we have members on this team who have the ability to take the reigns of the team and take on the leadership role," Hartman said.
With both rosters filled, the men and women look to a season with six meets, including conference and the NCAA South Central Regional meet. The men and women kick-off the 2009 campaign at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas.
"We will face some, if not most, of the best teams in the state of Texas. Our focus is on defending our conference title and seeing if we can position ourselves into qualifying for the NCAA Championship at the regional meet," says Hartman. "So the A&M Invitational and regional meet will be our toughest meets on the schedule."
With the 2009 season kicking off at Texas A&M, the men and women each have their own hurdles to overcome, but will only bring the teams together as one and achieve their ultimate goals of moving onto the next level.
