Oct. 10, 2006

The University of Texas-Pan American men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Terre Haute, IN, to compete in the Brooks Pre-National Meet hosted by Indiana State University. The meet will feature the nation's top collegiate cross country teams who look to gain an edge when they return in November for the most important race of the season.

On the men's side, 22 of the top-25 NCAA teams will attend the meet for a chance to size-up the course as well as the competition. For the women, 19 of the top-25 teams will be present. The field will include teams from Arizona State, Butler, BYU, Florida State, Georgetown, Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma State and Virginia to name a few.

"If we go and compete really well and beat some of these ranked teams that will get an automatic bid in a region and we finish third or fourth in our region we will have a chance to get an at-large bid," said head men's and women's track and field and cross country coach Ricky Vaughn.

The Broncs and Lady Broncs look to improve on their performance last week in Stillwater, OK, as they gear up for the championships when they head to Terre Haute this Saturday (Oct. 14).

In their last competition the Broncs saw their top-runner, Luis Nava (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.), return with little success as the UTPA sophomore is still trying to find his legs. Sophomore Juan Davila (Donna, TX/Donna H.S.) led the Broncs as he crossed the end line in 26:37.00 and finished 49th overall in the 8,000-meter race. UTPA newcomer Omar Doria (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.) finished in 78th place with a time of 27:08.00 while Alex Moncivais (Pharr, TX/Texas A&M-Kingsville) notched an 80th-place finish with a time of 27:11.00 at the Cowboy Jamboree.

The Lady Broncs placed 12th at the Cowboy Jamboree led by senior Ashley Perez (Falfurrias, TX/Falfurrias H.S.) who posted a UTPA-high 44th-place showing as she crossed the finish line in 19:33.00 during the 5,000-meter race. Sophomore Rose Escovedo (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.) finished 13 seconds behind her teammate in 52nd place with a mark of 19:46.00.

The Pre-National Meet will allow the athletes to gear-up for the NCAA Championships in November. In 2005, UTPA had two runners in Hector Gandara and Westley Keating who qualified for the championship meet, and looks to build on that success this season.

"If we have someone fortunate to qualify for the national meet this meet will help them by having a chance to run the course already and to have seen the level competition," said Vaughn, "When you compete at high-level meets like this it prepares you better for meets down the road."

The Brooks Pre-National Meet hosted by Indiana State University will take place in Terre Haute, IN, at the LaVern Gibson Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. The competition will begin with the women's race at 11:00 a.m. followed by the men's race.

UTPA Sports Information