KINGSVILLE, Texas – Two outstanding individuals, one a fixture for the Texas A&M-Kingsville track and field program and another solidifying herself as the go-to in the circle for the softball program, brought home the 24th iteration of the IBC Bank Players of the Week, as redshirt senior Richard Cervantes (Mission, Texas) and freshman Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) brought home the honors.

For the track and field program, Cervantes took his usual spot atop the podium in the shot put at the Fourth Annual Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kan., over the weekend. The Sharyland H.S. product hurled his implement 18.06 meters (59-3) to take home the gold.

The distance stands as yet another NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark and just missed the cut as an automatic qualifier by .01 meters. Cervantes currently owns the best toss in the shot put in the LSC on the year, second in the region behind Samuel Reid from Adams State, and sixth in the nation.

For the softball program, Castillo maintained her blistering pace in the circle for the Javelinas as she helped turn in a perfect week on the diamond for the Blue and Gold. The Santa Gertrudis Academy prospect upped her record to 5-0 by defeating St. Edward's and Regis while totaling 15 strikeotus and permitting only one earned run in 14 and 1/3 innings for an ERA of 0.49 on the weekend.

Against the Hilltoppers, she struck out seven without issuing a single walk and allowed four unearned runs in her second complete game of the year. Against the Rangers, she again went the distance by twirling a one-hit shutout alongside eight strikeouts to spearhead a 7-0 victory.

On the season, Castillo's ERA stood at 0.26 prior to her win over TAMIU from the previous day, tops in the Lone Star Conference.

The Javelina track and field program will make the trek to Lubbock, Texas, this week to compete in the LSC Indoor Championships on the campus of Texas Tech. The softball program, meanwhile, opens their conference schedule with a three-game slate against Texas Woman's starting on Friday, February 15.
 

2018-19 IBC Bank Players of the Week
Week	Male	Female
1 – Aug. 29	---	Madison Brabham (VB)
2 – Sept. 5	Koy Detmer Jr. (FB)	Madison Brabham (VB)
3 – Sept. 12	Nick Pelrean (FB)	Haley Hutchinson (VB)
4 – Sept. 19	Devonte Williams (FB)	Lisa Carvajal (WTEN)
5 – Sept. 26	Payton Hendrix (FB)	Emily North (VB)
6 – Oct. 3	Ricky Medrano (XC)	Madison Brabham (VB)
7 – Oct. 10	Jordan Semanat (FB)	Madison Brabham (VB)
8 – Oct. 17	Brandon Jones (FB)	Madison Brabham (VB)
9 – Oct. 24	Koy Detmer Jr. (FB)	Madison Brabham (VB)
10 – Oct. 31	Nick Pelrean (FB)	Kristina Gutierrez (GOLF)
11 - Nov. 7	Aaron Dilworth (FB)	Haley Hutchinson (VB)
12 - Nov. 14	Tre'Michael Tutt (FB)	Madison Brabham (VB)
13 - Nov. 21	Robert Stevenson (MBB)	Brynae Thompson (WBB)
14 - Nov. 28	Jamell Bradley (MBB)	Brynae Thompson (WBB)
15 - Dec. 5	Chauncey Thomas (MBB)	Cloe Lane (WBB)
16 - Dec. 12	Richard Cervantes (T&F)	Racheal Somoye (T&F)
17 - Dec. 19	Robert Stevenson (MBB)	Casey Klobedans (VB)
18 - Dec. 26	John Mouton (MBB)	Cloe Lane (WBB)
19 - Jan. 9	Darius Mickens (MBB)	Brynae Thompson (WBB)
20 - Jan. 16	Richard Cervantes (T&F)	Bri-Anna Soliz (WBB)
21 - Jan. 23	Robert Stevenson (MBB)	Danielle Meador (WBB)
22 - Jan. 30	Richard Cervantes (T&F)	Brynae Thompson (WBB)
23 - Feb. 6	Valentin Charles (T&F)	Saidi Castillo (SB)

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