Season in Review: Cross Country

Motivated was the best description for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s (UTRGV) cross country teams as the 2024 season began.

Head coach Shareese Hicks and assistant distance coach Ricardo Mendoza praised the work the student athletes did during the summer, showing discipline as they trained on their own in the Texas heat. The Vaqueros came back to campus in August ready to compete and progress. They set goals to make some noise in their first Southland Conference (SLC) season and improve times and race strategy – and they did.

“This season was a significant step forward for our team. We set ambitious goals, and I’m proud to say that we exceeded most of those goals,” Hicks said. “We saw improved teamwork and a cohesive environment that fostered lots of individual success. The growth was tremendous collectively. Our student-athletes developed their athletic abilities as well as their mental fortitude. We saw significant improvements in their confidence, race strategies and overall temperament for competitions.”

UTRGV debuted seven newcomers between the men’s and women’s lineups in the first two meets. By the third, the personal improvements were on full display.

The women’s team captured its first meet win in at least 20 years at the OLLU Classic, claiming three top-five finishes and placing all scored runners in the top seven to cruise to victory. Senior Samantha Gonzalez led the way and earned her first individual win, finishing nearly 30 seconds faster than the runner-up as she crushed her previous 6K personal best by nearly one minute and a half.

Emotions were palpable as the Vaqueros celebrated the victory in San Antonio. Gonzalez and Hicks embraced with tears in their eyes and the team hugged, cheered and soaked up the moment that their hard work came to fruition.

“The team’s performance and women’s win in San Antonio was definitely a standout moment this season,” Hicks reminisced. “The team spirit and support for one another was evident. Our younger runners stepped up to rival our veterans and contributed to a moment we will never forget.”

UTRGV’s men’s team had a strong day at the OLLU Classic, too, finishing second and tabbing three personal bests. The Vaqueros rode that momentum into the SLC Championships in New Orleans.

Both teams captured their best conference meet finishes in four seasons as the women’s team took sixth and the men’s team was ninth. Gonzalez earned Second Team All-Conference honors as she finished 10^th with her best outing at a conference meet. Junior PSJA High alum Faith Cruz was 20^th in the women’s race and junior Abraham Morales led the men’s team with a 22^nd place finish.

Morales and sophomore Kailey Salazar served as the team captains this season and received consistent praise from Hicks for their leadership on and off the course. Morales capped the 2024 season running a 10K personal best at the NCAA South Central Regional while Salazar improved on her 2023 regionals finish to end on a high note, too. Sophomore McAllen Rowe alum Kevin Cardenas also improved his previous regionals finish and tabbed a 10K personal best. Gonzalez and Cruz also collected their best South Central finishes.

With Morales and Salazar setting the tone and a lot of experience coming back next fall, Hicks and Co. are confident this season’s success will be a stepping stone to future growth and new heights for the cross country program.

“Abraham and Kailey are the definition of leading by example. They have been the standard and heartbeat of our teams. They are exemplary students and gritty athletes who have taken the culture of our distance program to a new level. We were also blessed to have Samantha return and continue to make a positive impact on our team performances,” Hicks said. “With a solid group pf runners returning and us being on the hunt for some promising newcomers, I believe we can build on this year’s success and we are expecting continued growth and improvement next season.”