Nov. 9, 2007

The University of Texas-Pan American men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Fayetteville, AR to compete in the biggest race of the season, the NCAA South Central Regional Championships hosted by Arkansas State University on Saturday (Nov. 10).

"I feel like both teams are confident going into this weekend," said head men's and women's cross country coach Dennis Darling. "This meet is smaller than the Chili Pepper Meet but it means a lot more. The men have a very good chance of running pretty well and I'm looking for both of the teams to run strong this weekend."

The Broncs and Lady Broncs are coming off a second place finish at the 2007 Independent Championships where they competed against Utah Valley State, Chicago State, Houston Baptist and New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday, Oct.27.

La Joya native, Luis Nava (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.) led the way for the Broncs as he placed first overall with a mark of 24:19.69 which put him third All-Time in the 8,000-meters.

"This is the meet to get to nationals and hopefully we have Luis get picked as an individual. I think he has a very good chance in qualifying for nationals," said Darling.

Carolina Izaguirre (Brownsville, TX/Hanna H.S.) captured her third top-10 finish at the Independent Championships as she placed third overall with a mark of 22:02.39 which put her second All-Time in UTPA history in the 6,000 meters.

"Carolina competed very strong in the last meet and she's been consistent throughout the year. Hopefully she slips in there and gets picked to go to nationals. This will be the toughest test for her and I think she can pull through," added Darling.

Last season, Nava placed 39th overall with a time of 32:20.80 while Izaguirre finished 68th with a mark of 23:18.20 at the 2006 South Central Regional Championships.

The top two teams and four individuals from each of the nine regional championships automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. On Sunday, 13 at-large teams will be added to the national championship field by the NCAA Division I Track and Field Committee. Two additional at-large individuals will round out the field of 255.

The men's race will begin at 10 a.m. and the women will start at 10:30 a.m. at the Agri Park in Fayetteville, AR on Saturday (Nov. 10).

UTPA Sports Information