Sandra Anane

Cuellar, a senior from Albuquerque, won the 5,000-meter run by almost 50 seconds over her closest competitor at the SBC outdoor track and field championships held in Denton, Texas. She also won the 10,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Cuellar went on to finish 24th in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, in June. She was only the second NMSU women’s athlete to compete in the NCAA Championships.

“I am a silent leader, I do what the coach says and hopefully people follow that,” Cuellar says. Her coach, Ed Crawford, has been named SBC Coach of the Year for the last two years.

Anane was recruited last year out of her hometown of El Paso, Texas, for her abilities in the triple jump and long jump. This year Anane was the only freshman from NMSU to qualify for regionals. She shocked everyone with a win in the long jump at the SBC. “No one thought I would win, not even the coach,” Anane says.

“Never give up, always set goals,” Anane says when asked how to become a successful track athlete. Anane’s never-give-up attitude is reflected in her hopes for next year. “I want to achieve bigger goals, hopefully qualify for nationals,” she says. Anane also hopes for another SBC team title.

Cuellar says practicing and staying focused are keys to her success as an NMSU athlete. She not only exhibits her ability to stay focused on her sport, but on an academic level as well. She has a 3.8 grade point average and was named to the Academic All-District 6 track/cross-country team by the College Sports Information Directors of America. To earn this honor an athlete must have a 3.2 cumulative GPA and be a starter or key reserve player on a varsity team.

Cuellar hopes that as she enters her final year at NMSU she will make it to nationals, graduate from NMSU and pursue her dream of becoming a pediatrician. Anane’s plans are to finish her track career at NMSU, graduate from the kinesiology program and attend graduate school in physical therapy at the University of Texas at El Paso. Both women would like to continue their track and field careers after they graduate, if possible.