Oct. 13, 2006

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - UT Arlington freshman cross country runner Armando Saldivar has found the toughest obstacle of running at the college level is not the terrain of the course, but the red tape to clear.

After spending more than a month on the sidelines, Saldivar will begin his collegiate career Saturday at the Tyson/Chile Pepper Invitational here after being cleared by the NCAA to compete earlier this week.

"Armando has been eligible all this time, but the NCAA finally got together with the Clearinghouse and cleared him to compete," said UT Arlington head cross country coach John Sauerhage.

Saldivar earned all-state honors in cross country as a junior and senior at Fort Worth (Texas) Northside High School.

UT Arlington has been led by junior Jody Broccoli-Hickey (The Woodlands, Texas) with three, top-30 finishes in three meets this season. Sophomore Idilio Campos (Mission, Texas) has been the number two runner behind Hickey this season. He posted a 56th place finish with a 26:44 over 8,000 meters at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree Sept. 30.

The women's team will try to move up the regional ranking with a solid performance. The Maverick women are coming off a fourth-place finish at Texas A&M and a sixth-place finish at Oklahoma State.

Junior Jodi Hulett (Arlington, Texas) has three top-10 finishes this season, including a personal-best time of 18:04 over 5,000 meters for sixth place at the Cowboys Jamboree.

Freshman Ida Landgraff (Oslo, Norway) has posted three-top 25 finishes this season. Sophomore Caroline Erlingson (Angelholm, Sweden) has continued to improve after early-season injuries. She finished 29th at the Cowboys Jamboree with a time of 19:03.

Senior Ivorita Taylor (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica) finished fourth among the Maverick runners with a 46th-place time of 19:37.

The meet is the final tune-up before the 2006 Southland Conference Championships, Oct. 27, in Nacogdoches, Texas. - utamavs.com -