UTRGV’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams compete Friday at the Southland Conference Championships in Lake Charles. The women enter ranked No. 15 in the South Central Region, led by senior N Vanee Anchike, who recently set a program record in the 6K.

By the Numbers
  • Women’s 6K: 8:30 a.m. CT; men’s 8K: 9:30 a.m. CT.
  • All 12 Southland schools are scheduled to compete.
  • Anchike’s program-record 6K: 20:51.0, 2 seconds faster than the previous record.
  • UTRGV’s women placed 24th among 46 teams and third among nine Southland teams at the Arturo Barrios Invitational.
State of Play
  • The women’s regional ranking follows a strong showing at the Arturo Barrios Invitational; UTRGV is one of three Southland women’s teams in the rankings.
  • The men look to build on personal-best 8K performances by Kevin Cardenas (25:30.5) and Gael Gonzalez (26:39.4).
  • Both races will stream on ESPN+.
Bottom Line

UTRGV arrives with a regional ranking and recent personal bests, but coach Shareese Hicks’ emphasis is on executing the race plan, competing as a team and finishing with no regrets.