KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the sixth time in the 2018-19 season, redshirt senior
Richard Cervantes (Mission, Texas) from the Texas A&M-Kingsville track and field program was honored with the IBC Player of the Week award, joined by junior
Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) from the softball program as she hurled a pair of complete-game shutouts to lead the Javelinas to a three-game sweep of Western New Mexico in Lone Star Conference play.
Cervantes brought home the honor following his performance at the David Noble Relays hosted by Angelo State over the weekend. He threw to NCAA Automatic Qualifying marks, one each in the shot put and discus, to lead TAMUK at the meet.
The Sharyland H.S. product returned to his national champion form with a heave of 18.90m (62-0.25) in the shot put to finish first in the event in San Angelo, Texas, and followed up with a hurl of 56.42m (185-1) in the discus to finish second.
On the year, the Mission, Texas, native is second on both NCAA Division II Descending Order lists as he officially booked his ticket to the championships at the end of May at Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium.
Smith tossed a pair of shutouts to help propel the Javelinas to a sweep of WNMU as she allowed only four hits over 11 innings of work, struck out 11 and held the Mustangs to a .111 batting average.
In her first start of the week, Smith permitted only two hits and a walk as she sat down five on strikes over the course of five innings in a 9-0 win. She followed that up with another two-hit shutout in game three and posted six strikeouts over six innings in an 8-0 win.
On the year, the San Antonio native is 10-2 with a 1.83 ERA in 99 and 2/3 innings pitched to go with 78 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .211 mark.
The track and field program will head to South Florida this weekend to compete at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational, while the softball program looks for a stranglehold on the LSC standing with a three-game set on the road against Angelo State.
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