Yanes, Espionsa lead the women to 20th place
eather in Denver, Colo., the women’s cross-country team finished 20th at the South-Central NCAA Regional Championships.
Long-time teammates Maya Espinosa and Ivanova Yanes led the squadron of Javelinas. Espinosa finished with the best time of 23:56.1, placing her 55th. Meanwhile, her teammate Yanes finished with a time of 25:28.6, finishing 106th of all competitors.
The partnership between the runners started back at Nova Southeastern University before arriving here in Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
When asked about being alongside Maya on this journey, Yanes said, “It feels pretty good. I think it’s nice to have her as a teammate for this long time. It’s been five years. We were freshmen together. So, it’s nice to see each other grow in this sport.”
Espinosa had mixed feelings about the race.
“I feel really good where I ended up. It was my last race, so it felt bittersweet,” he said.
Yanes added, “The final race was not very easy due to the cold. We literally ran on snow and there was nothing that could’ve prepared us for that. Overall, it was good. I just came back from injury so I’m just grateful I get to run again.”
Espinosa credited Cross Country Coach Zach Hall for her growth and drive to do her best.
Hall has known both runners for some time.
“Yanes and Espinosa ran with me at my previous institution, so it’s been a long time coming. I’m real excited for them because this conference is so much better than our last conference,” the coach said. “So, it means a lot more that these two are successful here. And going into regionals, I think it sets us up in a pretty good place of success.”
Yanes offered advice for those who are coming up behind her on the team.
“Keep putting in the work every day. To give the best to God,” she said. “On the field, the track and on the grass. Do the best they can and have a goal in mind and try to train for it and to not give up when things get hard.”