FIVE WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD STUDENT-ATHLETES MAKE SOUTHLAND ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The Southland Conference (SLC) announced the 2026 Women’s Track & Field All-Academic Awards on Friday and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) had five Vaqueros make the All-Academic Team – junior La’Zariah Bethany, senior Efe Latham, freshman Talyna Ligier, senior Ashley Lingueno, and graduate student Kaliyah Poston.
To be eligible for the All-Academic Team, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better with at least one semester completed at the nominating institution and must have competed in at least 50% of the team’s competitions. Student-athletes who earned All-Conference First Team were automatically placed on the academic team if they met the academic and participation requirements.
Bethany, Ligier, Lingueno and Poston were automatic selections to the All-Academic Team since all four won gold and made the All-Conference First Team in their respective events at the SLC Outdoor Championships.
Bethany claimed the triple jump title with her program-record setting and personal best mark of 12.69 meters. She earned All-Conference Third Team honors at SLC Indoor Championships by finishing third in triple jump. Bethany, a kinesiology student, tabbed six top-3 finishes including four wins in triple jump throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Ligier, a kinesiology student, made a splash in her debut season at UTRGV by winning the 400-meter hurdles at SLC Outdoor Championships, setting a program record with the victory in a personal best time of 59.24. She also picked up All-Conference Second Team honors with the 4×400-meter relay. The freshman collected seven top-3 finishes throughout the 2026 season including three wins in the 400 hurdles.
Lingueno helped the 4×100-meter relay win gold and earned All-Conference First Team at SLC Outdoor Championships. She qualified for the NCAA West First Round with the relay, where they finished 19th. Lingueno was fourth in the 60-meter hurdles at SLC Indoor Championships. She helped the relay win three races throughout the outdoor season. Lingueno graduated in May with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Systems.
Poston qualified for the NCAA West First Round in the 200-meter dash and with the 4×100-meter relay. At SLC Outdoor Championships, she helped the relay to gold and earned All-Conference Third Team in the 200 while placing fifth in the 100-meter dash. She ran personal bests of 23.34 and 11.60 in the 200 and 100, respectively, at the championship meet. Poston was eighth in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash at SLC Indoor Championships. She collected eight top-3 finishes in 2026, including three victories with the 4×100 relay. Poston is pursuing a Master of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sport Management.
Latham qualified for the NCAA West First Round in shot put for the second year in a row. She made the All-Conference Second Team at SLC Outdoor Championships with a personal best mark of 15.78 meters. She was seventh in hammer throw. At SLC Indoor Championships, Latham was fourth in weight throw and fifth in shot put. She totaled eight top-3 finishes throughout the 2026 seasons. Latham graduated in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.
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