EDINBURG — The UTRGV Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor ushered in its newest class Saturday recognizing the achievements and legacies former Pan American and UTPA student-athletes built in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Hall of Fame inductees are the UTPA 1987-90 women’s cross-country teams, former men’s basketball guard Jim Board, former women’s tennis standout Barbara (Barrera) Gonzales and former baseball player Joe Hernandez, while Rene Torres was inducted into the Hall of Honor for his contributions as a baseball player and sports historian.
The 1987-90 women’s cross-country teams won four consecutive American South Conference Championships under head coach Reid Harter, a 2012 Hall of Fame inductee.
“Not only is it a privilege to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but a privilege to be inducted with these women who have the same passion,” former cross-country runner Debra Smith said. “We want to thank Coach Harter, without whom we wouldn’t have won these championships. We want to thank him for all the sacrifices he made, with time away from his family, driving hundreds of miles to meets, instilling discipline, encouraging us, and always prioritizing our education.”
1987 roster — Debra de los Santos; Debra Devine; Diana Garcia; Letty Gomez; Shanna Hale; Nancy Mireles; Thelma Morales; Vanessa Moreno; Cindy Peña; Yvette Portales; Lucy Ramirez; Sonia Rodriguez.
1988 roster — Debra de los Santos; Debra Devine; Diana Garcia; Shanna Hale; Thelma Morales; Vanessa Moreno; Cindy Peña; Yvette Portales; Lucy Ramirez; Sonia Rodriguez; Sylvia Rodriguez; Valerie Soto.
1989 roster — Laura Arteaga; Debra Devine; Diana Garcia; Shanna Hale; Thelma Morales; Vanessa Moreno; Cindy Peña; Yvette Portales; Sonia Rodriguez; Sylvia Rodriguez; Valerie Soto; Cathy Tanner.
1990 roster — Laura Arteaga; Debra Devine; Dimitri (Pierce) Kennedy; Vanessa Moreno; Sylvia Rodriguez; Valerie Soto; Cathy Tanner.
Board, a former point guard, helped lead the Broncs to the NAIA national championship in 1962-63 and an NAIA All-American honorable mention in 1963-64.
“I played two years at St. Edward’s, but we couldn’t beat Pan Am, and if you can’t beat them, join them,” Board said. “I made a phone call to Coach Sam (Williams), and we visited for a little bit, and two days later I was in Edinburg. And 59 years later, I’m still here.”
Gonzales finished her career as the third-winningest player in women’s tennis program history with 107 total career wins. She ranks third in program history in career doubles wins with 52 and fourth in career singles wins with 55. Gonzales recorded the second-highest single-season wins total in program history in 1990 with 39, including 18 doubles wins with Mary Jane Mayer, tied for the third-highest total, and 21 singles wins, tied for the fourth-highest total. In 1989, Gonzales earned 17 doubles wins with Gail MacIssac, tied for the fifth-highest single-season total in program history. The 1989 team won the American South Conference Championship and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.
“It’s an honor for me to be an inductee into the Hall of Fame,” Gonzales said. “I can’t tell you how excited I was to see our cross country teams, including my former roommates, Shanna and Vanessa. I am blessed to be inducted with so many incredible people.
Hernandez was a 1975 NCAA and AABC All-American for the Pan American baseball team that was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018. He graduated as the program-record holder in career batting average (.371, now tied for third) while ranking fifth in stolen bases (47, now 10th). Hernandez set the single-season program records for hits (92), total bases (144, now second), RBI (69, now third), batting average (.400, now fifth), at-bats (230, now fifth), and home runs (11, now eighth). His 1975 stats also include 51 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples, 29 stolen bases, 30 walks compared to 14 strikeouts, and a team-high .626 slugging percentage in 68 games. Hernandez was drafted by the Chicago Cubs as an outfielder in the 26th round of the 1975 MLB Draft.
Torres attended Pan American College from 1966-69 on a baseball scholarship. He set the program record for most consecutive games without an error at 46 and is currently tied for seventh overall, while ranking fifth among pure outfielders. Torres made just one error in three years as the starting center fielder.
Torres has also made a major impact on the RGV off the field. Over the last 20 years, he has spread the history of RGV baseball via oral presentations and exhibits throughout this region. Some of his written work is housed at Texas State under the Jaime Chahin Southwestern Writers Collection. He also loaned coach Al Ogletree memorabilia to UTRGV Athletics for Ogletree’s museum during opening weekend of the 2020 baseball season.
For his work as a sports historian, Torres was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, the Leo Najo Baseball Hall of Fame and the Laredo Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed a quote to Valerie Soto. The article has been corrected and updated with the quote attributed to Debra Smith.
