Oct. 21, 2009

Weather-related cancellations and other distractions have played havoc for Texas A&M International University's cross country teams this season. Head coach Benny Rodríguez is confident that all of those obstacles are a thing of the past as his teams prepare for the Heartland Conference Championships on Saturday at Dallas Baptist University.

Both cross country teams finished in fifth place at last year's conference meet. Rodríguez believes that both teams can show improvement over those finishes this time around.

"Overall our season has been shaky with a schedule that hasn't been stable but our last workout indicated that we are in great shape to hit some fast times at conference," Rodriguez said. "I feel that our athletes can set a couple of personal records this Saturday."

On the men's side, Rodríguez says that expects big things from seniors Antonio González and Robert Coronado Jr. He says that Marlene Gutíerrez should lead on the women's side with the others to contribute a strong outing.

González and Coronado achieved top-25 finishes at last year's conference championships while Gutíerrez earned All-Conference honors with a 10th place finish as a freshman.

Dallas Baptist University is located at the intersection of Interstate 20 and State Highway 408 in South Dallas.