Southern Arkansas University Athletics

A native of Royse City, Texas, Gaby Mendoza was a key part of setting the standard both on the course and in the classroom for the Lady Mulerider Cross Country program. A four-year letter winner for hall of fame head coach Dan Veach, Mendoza's successes athletically and academically were equally impressive.
 
In her freshman season of 2003, Mendoza became the first female SAU cross country runner to garner first team All-Gulf South Conference honors and just the fourth all-time to earn an all-league plaudit. She did so by finishing in fourth place at the GSC Championships with a then program-record 5K time of 18:23.00.
 
As a junior, Mendoza again earned All-GSC recognition by being placed on the second team after leading SAU in the 2005 GSC Championship with a 5K time of 18:52 to place 11^th individually. She carried that success into the NCAA South Region Championship and landed inside the top 20 with a 17^th place finish in 23:27 to capture All-South Region Second Team honors.
 
Mendoza's final season of cross country resulted in four top 22 placements as well as winning the Mississippi Valley State Invitational. At the time of her graduation, Mendoza held the program records in the 5K (18:23.00), 6K (22:30.00) and 1500M.
 
For her work in the classroom, Mendoza thrice earned United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II All-Academic honors with the recognition coming after her freshman and junior seasons. In her final two years, the Spanish Education major claimed consecutive ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI First-Team honors. She was twice named to the GSC's Academic Honor Roll.
 
In July of 2010, Mendoza was honored by the Gulf South Conference as a member of the league's All-Decade Team.