Jan. 15, 2007

The 2007 Lady Bronc track and field team is possibly the strongest team in head track and field coach Ricky Vaughn's six years at The University of Texas-Pan American.

"As a whole, we've got a great group of ladies, and they're a focused group of ladies that works really hard," said Vaughn. "I think we've got a group of overachievers, and I think we have some that are very talented. That's what you want as a coach; you want someone who's willing to put in the work because there is no secret answer to being a good athlete. It's just putting in the work."

The eclectic group of student-athletes has all the tools to be successful - depth, quality and work ethic.

Without any key losses, the young and talented squad will look to Wendy Wells (Weslaco, TX/Weslaco H.S.), Amanda Ferris (San Antonio, TX/Dillard McCollum H.S.), Liliana Cavazos (Weslaco, TX/Weslaco East H.S.) and Vanessa Brown (Houston, TX/Elsik H.S.) to lead the way.

"We really didn't have any seniors last year so most of the team is back. We had a lot of sophomores and freshmen last season, and this year, we have another good group of freshmen along with good sophomores and juniors. We're going to have some big losses next season," said Vaughn.

This 2007 squad is different from teams of UTPA past in that it is filled with some of the youngest yet most talented athletes ever to don the Green and Orange, and Vaughn is excited to hit the track running and see what his group of athletes can achieve this season.

"We're still very young where we've always had key senior which we don't this year. For the most part, we are a very young group, but I think we're more talented than in the past," added Vaughn.

Below is a preview of the 2007 UTPA women's track and field program.

Sprints
The addition of assistant track and field coach Dennis Darling will prove to be an asset to the team. The former three-time Olympian was a member of the 4x400 relay squad that represented the Bahamas and helped his country qualify for the finals in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics.

The perfect role model for a young athlete, Darling will combine his sprinter savvy with his big brother attitude to lead by example in the upcoming season.

Darling will inherit a UTPA sprint squad that is one of the most talented groups in recent years, and the Lady Broncs will have the opportunity to field a variety of combinations in a relay squad with the added depth.

Three key athletes playing a vital role in the sprints are Ashlon Martin (Dallas, TX/H.Grady Spruce H.S.), Cecilia Lott (McAllen, TX/McAllen Memorial H.S.) and Brown, and each one will be depended on to lead a squad of talented runners both on and off the track.

Martin returns to the track after a successful 2006 season in which she captured the meet championship at the ASU/David Noble Relays with a time of 57.04 in the 400-meter dash, which was the fifth-fastest time in program history.

Local product Lott comes from a solid program at McAllen Memorial High School where she was selected as the Most Valuable Performer during her senior campaign and competed in both the 200-meter dash and long jump during her prep career

Brown is back after having one of the most successful freshmen years in program history. The UTPA sophomore broke the program record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.42 at the Texas Twilight while posting five top-10 finishes in her first season with the Lady Broncs' outdoor track and field team.

"Ashlon made a big improvement last year so she's someone we are excited about. Cecilia is a freshman that we've seen a lot of good things in training so far, and Vanessa is ready to have a big year after having a good season last year. I think those three are the main sprinters to keep an eye on this upcoming season," said Vaughn.

Another difference of this year's Lady Broncs is their depth in the sprints and the ability to be able to field a variety of combinations for relay teams. The Lady Broncs will have the personnel this season to compete in relay competition for the first time under Vaughn's leadership.

"I think we can have a very strong 4x100 and 4x400-relay squad this year. We finally have the personnel to compete in some of the relay meets like the Texas Relays that we're going to be able to run the 4x200 and sprint medleys that we haven't been able to in the past. We look forward to that and so are the athletes because that's always fun," said Vaughn.

Throws
What the Lady Broncs lack in depth, they make up for in quality when it comes to their throwers. With key athletes returning in Wells and Ferris, UTPA looks to make another run at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships.

Wells posted one of the best all-around seasons in program history as she broke the program record in the javelin as well as advanced to the NCAA Division I Midwest Regional Championships where she finished 14th overall with a distance of 144-2. She set the program record in the javelin with a throw of 146-10 at the Houston Invitational while securing her first individual title in the Border Olympics with a throw of 143-8 in her successful freshman campaign.

As a sophomore last season, Ferris earned her first trip to the NCAA Division I Midwest Regional Championships in the hammer throw where she recorded a distance of 178-6 en route to finishing 17th overall. She finished in the top-five of an event 10 times during the outdoor track and field season while capturing her first title of the season at the Rice/Bayou Classic with a throw of 172-0 in the hammer throw.

"Wendy and Amanda both had great seasons last year in getting to the regional competition. They've got the experience so hopefully they'll make it to the NCAA Championships. They are well-respected amongst the team, and they are extremely good leaders and do everything you want them to do," said Vaughn.

Returning from injury is Michelle Elizondo (Laredo, TX/Alexander H.S.), who is on her way to becoming another standout in the list of talented throwers in the history of Lady Bronc track and field. In her first season with the Lady Broncs, Elizondo placed in the top-10 on 11 occasions, finishing third overall at the Texas Twilight with a throw of 144-2 in the hammer throw.

"Michelle had knee surgery in the fall. She's another athlete that once the outdoor season comes around, and she's 100 percent, we're going to see a lot of good things out of her," added Vaughn.

Jumps
The Lady Bronc jumpers find themselves in an area similar to their throwers as there is a lack of depth, but the quality of the limited number of athletes is exceptional.

As a sophomore, Cavazos captured the triple jump title in her first outdoor track and field meet of the season with a distance of 38-1 at the Border Olympics and earned runner-up laurels in the long jump with a mark of 18-5 at that meet, which was the fifth-best jump in program history.

"Liliana was just a couple of inches from making it to the NCAA regional competition last year, and I think she's ready to have a breakthrough year," said Vaughn.

Claudia Lopez (San Juan, TX/PSJA Memorial H.S.) is another Valley athlete who saw success in 2006 when the UTPA sophomore recorded a personal-best distance of 39-2.50 in the triple jump en route to securing third-place honors at the Texas Twilight.

"Claudia had a great year last season, improving three feet in the triple jump. She was just a foot off the regional-qualifying mark. We are excited to see what she can do since working extremely hard this fall," said Vaughn.

One of the events that is quickly becoming a UTPA staple is the pole vault. With three talented women on the squad, the Lady Broncs are well on their way to establishing a tradition as having a highly-competitive group of vaulters.

Kate Shannon (Houston, TX/Spring Woods H.S.) leads the way in the talented group of vaulters for the Lady Broncs after posting three of the best jumps in program history in her first outdoor track and field season. She broke the program record on two occasions during the season with a height of 10-6 at the Texas Twilight and Houston Invitational, respectively.

Local standout Sabrina Montalvo (Rio Grande City, TX/Rio Grande City H.S.) sat out the 2006 track and field season due to injury, but enjoyed previous success in 2005 where she concluded her rookie campaign with the Lady Broncs by holding three of the top-five marks in the pole vault in UTPA program history at the time.

Weslaco native Krista Hlozek (Weslaco, TX/Weslaco H.S.) finished fourth at the Texas State Track and Field Championships during her sophomore season in the pole vault and captured three consecutive district championships and one regional crown in the pole vault during her prep career.

"We've got three strong pole vaulters in Kate, Krista and Sabrina. We're in good shape in the pole vault, and we're very young so we're going to see some good things over the next couple of years," said Vaughn.

Distance/Middle Distance
The senior-laden group of distance runners will be the anchor for the deep and talented women's team in 2007.

As a junior last season, Karla Hernandez (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg H.S.) posted seven top-five finishes in four separate events during the outdoor track and field season while displaying her athleticism as she captured her heat in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.46 en route to earning ninth-place honors in the finals with a mark of 24.80 in that event.

Senior Lorraine Garcia (Laredo, TX/J.W. Nixon H.S.) earned four top-10 finishes during the outdoor track and field season while finishing seventh overall in the 3,000 meters with a career-best time of 10:54.07 at the Texas Twilight.

Ashley Perez (Falfurrias, TX/Falfurrias H.S.) is another senior on the squad who recorded four top-10 finishes during the outdoor track and field campaign and finished fourth overall in the 3,000 meters with a season-best time of 10:33.46 at the Texas Twilight.

"This is an area where most of our seniors are. We've got Karla, Lorraine and Ashley so we've got a good group of leaders that continues to improve each year," said Vaughn.

In the middle distance events, Shardae Bey (Houston, TX/Elsik H.S.) and Megan McGuire (Grafton, OH/Avon Lake H.S.) lead the way in the 800 meters for the Lady Broncs.

As a freshman, Bey recorded a pair of runner-up laurels during her first season with the outdoor track and field program, finishing second overall at the Border Olympics with a time of 2:26.44 in the 800-meter race.

One of the most compelling stories on the team is the return of McGuire, who spent last year in Iraq as a member of the United States Army Reserve. McGuire last saw action at the Angela Proctor Invitational in 2005 where she placed fifth overall in the 800-meter dash.

"I think Shardae and Megan are going to challenge and push each other and that will lead to having good results. We are going to bring Megan along slowly because she's been out of school and competition for over a year," added Vaughn.

The Final Event
In perhaps one of the best teams Vaughn has ever fielded, the Lady Broncs display the perfect mix of depth and quality along with strong leadership and youth.

"Our goal every year is to get as many to nationals as possible. I think we've got six or seven athletes that can make it to the regional meet, and once you get to the regional meet anything can happen," added Vaughn.

In his sixth year at the helm, Vaughn believes this is one of the best groups he's had at UTPA, and has high expectations for this well-rounded team while also realizing its weaknesses and utilizing its strengths to get the most out of his athletes.

"We're young in some of the events, but that won't be too much of a problem. I think we've got better talent than we've had. In some areas, like the throws, we don't quite have the depth we'd like to have, but the ones we do have are quality athletes. We're starting to get the quality of athletes that we want," concluded Vaughn.

With collectively the strongest group of UTPA women's track and field performers to ever train at the UTPA Track and Field Complex, the Lady Broncs will rely on their depth, quality and work ethic to make the 2007 campaign the best ever.

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