NACOGDOCHES, Texas – On a cool, overcast morning from Pecan Acres Park, the UT Arlington men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 2022 Western Athletic Championships, combining to set eight personal records and exceeding pre-championship poll expectations.
 
On a wet and soggy course following rain all day Friday and into early Saturday morning, freshman Rogelio Aguirre paced the UTA men to a 4th-place finish in the 8k with 187 points. That showing bettered a predicted 5th-place showing for the Mavs as voted on by the league's coaches in the pre-championship poll earlier this week.
 
In the women's 6k, the Mavericks finished in 10th place with 291 points, but the youthful UTA roster had all four of its freshmen register personal bests, led once again by Lauren Walls-Portillo.

HEAD COACH JOHN SAUERHAGE
Men: "This was the best performance of the season, exceeding the pre-championship predictions. It's a young team that I expect to contribute during the upcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons, and I'm just very proud of their performance today."
 
Women: "This is also an extremely young team, and today was a valuable lesson for them. They'll be able to gauge what they need to do to get better and be more prepared, and I'm looking forward to seeing that development transpire."
 
MEN'S RECAP (1st Place: California Baptist)
Racing in the WAC Championship for the first time since winning it in their only other appearance back in 2012, the Mavs had the same trio comprise their top-3 finishers for the fifth time in as many races this year: Aguirre (24:30.0), Patrick Estes (24:30.1) and Alfredo Reina Corona (24:50.9).
 
For Aguirre, the Mission, Texas, native crossed as UTA's top performer for the first time in his career. Estes, meanwhile, was just one-tenth of a second behind, and in the process registered a PR as the junior trimmed 15 seconds off his previous best set two weeks ago on the same course as part of Stephen F. Austin's Lumberjack Collegiate Invitational.
 
The final four scorers for UTA were sophomore Jeriel Algarin Marquez (24:56.5), freshman Brian Guevara (25:04.8), junior Jacob Ye (25:10.8) and senior Tyler Rodriguez (25:28.6). That quartet included another three PRs as Guevara (25:16.1 – set at SFA earlier this month), Ye (25:25.9) and Rodriguez (25:42.2) all surpassed their previous fastest collegiate 8k times.
 
Rounding out the UTA runners for Saturday were sophomore Jackson Cichon (25:35.2) and freshman Josue Granados (26:41.9).
 
WOMEN'S RECAP (1st Place: California Baptist)
Running the 6k for just the second time in her collegiate career – as were all the UTA freshmen – Walls-Portillo established a PR by crossing in 22:12.1. That time was nine seconds better than what the El Paso native ran at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational two weeks ago. For Walls-Portillo, it made her a perfect 5-for-5 in leading UTA in races this year.
 
Behind her were senior Mathilde Ruud (22:33.2), freshman Rachael Hartly (23:33.5), classmate Krianne McBride (23:39.5), fellow first-year Scarlett Johnson (23:46.5) and sophomore Claire Compher (23:54.5) to complete the UTA runners.
 
All three of the other UTA freshmen also notched the aforementioned PRs in impressive fashion, collectively shaving almost two combined minutes off their previous bests in the 6k from a couple weeks prior: Hartly (24:09.7), McBride (24:06.2) and Johnson (24:28.1).
 
NEXT UP
Qualifiers will next race at the NCAA South Central Regional on Friday, Nov. 11, from the Watts Cross Country Course in Bryan-College Station.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Follow the UTA track and field and cross country teams on Twitter (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).