University of Texas Rio Grande Valley announces Gay Hoping To Grow Legacy at NCAA West Preliminary
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Junior Aisha Gay pushed herself out of her comfort zone when she transferred to The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), and it was a decision that benefitted her and the track & field program.
Sometimes with transfers, the transition can be tricky with new philosophies and a new way of doing things. That wasn't the case with Gay. She came to UTRGV with the intention of buying into a new environment to make herself better, and she succeeded.
"Aisha's reasoning behind transfer was she wanted to try something different," UTRGV track & field/cross country head coach Shareese Hicks said. "She felt like she had kind of reached her ceiling with the way things were done before. She came in here with a very open mind which helped her to be successful."
Gay had a strong career at Quinnipiac University, competing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). She won gold in the 200-meter and 400-meter dash at both the indoor and outdoor MAAC meets her final season at Quinnipiac, clocking personal records of 24.16 in the 200 and 54.78 in the 400.
Gay's purposeful training led her to faster times and her first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary this year. She owns UTRGV program records in the indoor 200-meter dash and the outdoor 400-meter dash. She won bronze in the 400 at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) indoor and outdoor championships and scored in the 200 at both meets.
She'll compete in the first round of the women's 400-meter dash Thursday at 9:25 p.m. (CT) at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium, chasing a qualifying time for the quarterfinals and ultimately a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin. Gay is seeded 39th with a PR time of 53.30.
"I feel really good making it to the West preliminary meet. I'm very proud of myself for making it this far because I really didn't think that I would," Gay said. "One of my main hopes coming to UTRGV was to get my 400 time down. I'm not going to lie, I didn't expect it to get down this far. After I really let it sink in, I was like, 'oh wow, I ran an amazing time.' It's crazy to drop that much in one year. I feel very accomplished. I feel like I've done a lot in my career and this outdoor season has been the icing on the cake."
There are similarities between how Gay runs and how Hicks ran during her Hall of Fame career at Charlotte. When people familiar with Hicks' career see Gay run, they'll tell the coach, "She looks just like you." While that has helped Hicks know what to work on with Gay, and made their journey together special, learning how to coach a student-athlete like the Connecticut native was a welcome experience.
"Aisha has all those fast-twitch fibers, all that speed endurance, so the training isn't an issue for her. We've had to focus on the sprint mechanics. How efficient are you with running? How much motion are you wasting when you're taking your steps or pushing out of the blocks?" Hicks said. "It's been very visual with her, a lot of video breakdown, a lot of drills to clean that stuff up. She challenged me to reach into that tool kit a little more to find different cues and different ways to really force that execution a little more properly, which I've enjoyed."
Along with her improvement on the track, Gay is proud of the way she has matured in her new setting. Her previous school was 15 minutes from her home, so taking on such a big move made her stronger mentally. That personal growth has translated into her races and made this first year in the Valley special.
"Being a long way from home, one of the most important things I worked on was the mental side," Gay said. "I had to open up and adapt, accept the process of Coach Hicks and accept the community."
Hicks called Gay an asset to the young team and someone who leads by example. She's quieter and less extravagant than most of her teammates, but her effort speaks volumes.
"She's very respected because people see how she trains," Hicks said. "She can hit world-class times three or four times within 20 minutes, which is spectacular. Seeing that is inspirational for our student-athletes so they want to follow her, they want to be in her back pocket and do what she does."
This outdoor season is the last for Gay, though she'll have one more indoor season with UTRGV in 2024. There will be many emotions circling her mind before she steps into her blocks Thursday. No matter what happens, she's proud of all she has achieved, and she hopes there's still more to come.
"This has been one of my most successful years. I want to go out there and put it all on the line and make it as far as I can. I'm hoping to get another school record and run fast enough to make it last," Gay said with a laugh. "My career has meant a lot to me. I am the first to graduate in my family and I feel it's very important that I'm also the first Div. I athlete. It's amazing to have been able to come to Texas and prolong my career and really make a difference."
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