Nov. 8, 2006

The University of Texas-Pan American men's and women's cross country teams are hitting full stride as they head to Waco, TX, to compete in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships hosted by Baylor University on Saturday (Nov. 11).

The Broncs are coming off their best performance of the season as they head into the regional championships while the Lady Broncs also ran solid despite the inclement weather.

The regional meet is the event the Bronc and Lady Bronc runners have been gearing up for all season as the top two teams and top four runners in each respective division will qualify for the NCAA National Championships.

The Broncs will send seven runners to compete led by standout Luis Nava (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.), who started the season slow, but has made a surge late in the season in preparation for regionals.

In his last race, Nava was the Broncs' top runner as the UTPA sophomore finished 14th overall after crossing the end line in 26:37.40 in the 8,000-meter race despite taking a spill on the final bend of the race at the National Independent Cross Country Championships.

The Broncs will also be sending Juan Davila (Donna, TX/Donna H.S.), who earned his first top-20 finish of the season at the National Independent Cross Country Championships as he crossed the end line in 19th place with a time of 26:59.50, and Alex Moncivais (Pharr, TX/Texas A&M-Kingsville), who trailed by three spots finishing in 22nd place with a time of 27:10.10.

Newcomers Omar Doria (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.), Gilroy Martinez and Wally Gonzalez (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.) will head to their first regional meet in hopes of having their best race of the season along with J.J. Hernandez (San Juan, TX/PSJA North H.S.), who finished 57th in the same race a year ago.

"We had a much better performance at the Independent Championships, but we are expecting a top-ten finish. There's no reason why we shouldn't be in the top-ten, and hopefully if things go right, we should be there," said head men's and women's cross country/track and field coach Ricky Vaughn.

Leading the way for the Lady Broncs is freshman Carolina Izaguirre (Brownsville, TX/Hanna H.S.), who finished as the squad's top runner in 23rd place with a time of 23:31.20 at the National Independent Cross Country Championships.

Teammate Sonya Rivera (Brownsville, TX/Hanna H.S.) finished one spot back in 24th place in 23:38.80 while Ashley Perez (Falfurrias, TX/Falfurrias H.S.) crossed the end line in 23:48.00 en route to earning 26th-place honors.

Rose Escovedo (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.) crossed the finish line in 34th place with a time of 24:26.40 in the 6,000-meter race while Karla Hernandez (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg H.S.) posted a time of 25:04.10 and earned 36th-place laurels.

"The women had a great meet at the Independent Championships, and I think if they all get in there and run together, we should have a top-ten finish at regionals," said Vaughn.

The Broncs and Lady Broncs are no strangers to the course as the race will take place at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco, TX, where it has been run the last five years. The men will be running a slightly longer race at 10,000-meters while the women will be running their usual 6,000-meters.

The field of teams will include a deep field of NCAA Division I schools from Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Some of the top teams for both the men's and the women's are Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana State University.

"This year our region's much tougher. Besides the teams that are ranked, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar and Baylor have very good teams so it's going to be tough," said Vaughn.

The women's race will begin at 10:00 a.m. followed by the men's race at 11:00 a.m. at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco, TX, on Saturday (Nov. 11).

UTPA Sports Information