Cross Country Teams Combine for 12 Personal Records

Texas Border Business

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BRYAN COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women’s and men’s cross country teams combined to set 12 new personal records (PRs) on Saturday at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M, at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course.

Seven of the eight women’s runners set new PRs in the 6K while five of the eight men’s runners broke their PRs in the 8K.

On the women’s side, freshman Samantha Gonzalez led UTRGV with a PR time of 22:28.6 to finish 104^thout of 265 total runners. Junior Anahi Romo also finished in the top half, placing 127^th with a time of 23:00.0, her best time since the 2018 NCAA South Central Regional Championships. All the remaining runners PRed, including freshman Weslaco alum Aaliyah Garza (23:13.8), freshman Porter alum Estrella Medellin(23:41.2), freshman Sharyland alumni Andrea Gallardo (23:50.8) and Ana Hernandez (24:13.8), freshman Nikki Rowe alum Janie Delgado (24:32.9), and freshman Sharyland alum Delilah Vega (25:52.9)

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On the men’s side, junior Abraham Chirchir finished 41^st out of 261 runners with a time of 24:31.3, his best since the 2019 Arturo Barrios Invitational.

Sophomore Alex Munoz also recorded his best time since the 2019 Arturo Barrios Invitational, finishing in 25:10.8 to place 88^th.

Junior Edinburg North alum Tristan Pena finished 96^th with a time of 25:17.8, the third best time of his career, while freshman Ricardo Garcia came in 98^th with a PR time of 25:18.1.

Four other runners set new PRs, including freshman Rio Grande City alum Alex Canales (26:13.8), sophomore Harlingen alum Edward Ramos (26:14.7), and freshmen Edcouch-Elsa alumni Dominik Medrano (26:19.4) and Albino Rodriguez (27:50.6).

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This meet, which included Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, counts as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union.

On the men’s side, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi placed 11^th out of 32 with 295 points and an average time of 24:43.37 while UTRGV came in 18^th with 454 points and an average time of 25:18.33.

On the women’s side, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi finished 11^th out of 33 with 341 points and an average time of 22:03.05 while UTRGV came in 25^th with 650 points and an average time of 23:14.86.

UTRGV now trails 12-3 in the showdown standings.

UTRGV is back in action on Oct. 30 at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by California Baptist. The men compete in an 8K at 11 a.m. with the women following with a 6K at 12 p.m.

The next event of the of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is on Oct. 25 when volleyball visits Corpus Christi.

UTRGV Men’s Cross Country Results (8K)

Men’s Team Results

UTRGV Women’s Cross Country Results (6K)

Women’s Team Results

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