The men’s and women’s track and field programs are preparing for the upcoming indoor and outdoor seasons.

Head Coach Patrick Torres and Assistant Coach Brett Charlton both return for their second year at the helm. They helped lead the men’s team to its first Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) title in 2021. The women’s team took second place at the conference meet.

The indoor track and field season will start with the FasTrak Collegiate Opener on Dec. 11. The Saints will compete in the FasTrak Collegiate Challenge on Jan. 22 and close the indoor season at the Fastrak Collegiate Qualifier on Feb. 19. University of Houston will host all the events.

The outdoor track and field schedule begins on March 5 at the Trinity Open sponsored by NCAA D3 Trinity University in San Antonio. The Saints plan to compete in seven competitions spanning just more than two months. The men’s program had seven first-place finishes at the conference meet last year. The women’s team shined as well with eight individual medals. Torres was awarded RRAC Coach of the Year.

The Saints will feature 47 athletes this season (more will be added in the spring). The freshmen class consists of Anthony Alvarado (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Esmy-Angelee Garcia (FR/Uvalde, Texas), Joseph Gonzalez (FR/Laredo, Texas), Roxana Guerrero (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Diogo Hernandez (FR), Jasmine Hernandez (FR/San Antonio, Texas), JoseCarlos Hernandez (FR/Natalia, Texas), Kiana Kebbi (FR/Pearsall, Texas), Marvin Levingston (FR), De’Jon Lewis (FR/New Orleans, La.), Nehemiah Littleton (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Camryn Marshall (FR/Cibolo, Texas), Mathew Martinez (FR/Corpus Christi, Texas), Diego Moran (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Hendrick Ramirez (FR/El Paso, Texas), Sierra Ramirez (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Robert Rios (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Autumn Roberts (FR/Houston, Texas), Julio Sanchez (FR/Philadelphia, Pa.), Matthew Sanchez (FR/Lyford, Texas), Alexandria Segura (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Victoria Sweeney (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Jordan Shaw-Watson (FR/Mobile, Ala.), Vicky Valdez (FR), Mariah Watts (FR/Georgetown, Texas) and Dylan Wilmot (FR/Cibolo, Texas).

Sophomores include Chris Davila (SO/San Antonio, Texas), Larrisa McHenry (SO/San Antonio, Texas), Gabrielle Sigala (SO/San Antonio, Texas) and Viridiana Zuniga (SO/San Antonio, Texas). Junior athletes are Lindsey Broussard (JR/Kingwood, Texas), David Dada (JR/San Antonio, Texas), Robbie Sue Espericueta (JR/La Villa, Texas), Tamaj Gordon (JR/San Antonio, Texas), Isaac Martinez (JR/Weslaco, Texas), Natalie Martinez (JR/San Antonio, Texas), Makhayla Parker (JR/San Antonio, Texas), Lauren Perry (JR/DeSoto, Texas), Nathaniel Rodriguez (JR/San Antonio, Texas) and Nadia Sifuentes (JR/Brownsville, Texas).

Seven seniors will guide the Saints. They include Antonio Bustamante (SR/San Antonio, Texas), Peyton Lammons (SR/Prosper. Texas), Audren Pineda (SR/Brownsville, Texas), Hector Puente (SR/McAllen, Texas), Alondra Toledo (SR/Brownsville, Texas), Kimber Watson (SR/Kingwood, Texas) and Jose Zarate (SR/San Antonio, Texas). Of these seniors, Lammons and Watson will be graduating and completing their seasons at OLLU in 2022. Bustamante, Pineda and Zarate will take advantage of the COVID-eligible fifth year as graduate students in 2022-2023, while Toledo and Puente will return for another season for the 2022-2023 season, as well.

OLLU will host the Westside Relays with Holy Cross High School on March 18. The partnership with Holy Cross, located about six miles from campus, has benefited both schools, and the Saints have been able to use the facility to practice for upcoming meets. Torres said, “The partnership with Holy Cross has been crucial to the success of our program. We look forward to hosting future meets with them for years to come.”

The Saints will hold the RRAC Championships for the second consecutive season from April 29-30. Competitors include the University of the Southwest, Huston-Tillotson University, Wiley College, Jarvis Christian College, Texas College and Xavier University of Louisiana. Torres anticipates a record-breaking season for the track and field programs. “It’s exciting to have athletes who can set new records and are very talented.” 

Fans are able to attend the track and field meets, with most events free and open to the public. For additional information, stay up to date on OLLU athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.