SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men's and women's cross-country teams competed in their final meet before the Lone Star Conference Championships on Saturday in San Antonio, Texas, at the OLLU Cross-Country Invite.
It was an emphatic day for the women's squad, even with only two runners in the race.
Ivanova Yanes and
Maya Espinosa were the only two Javelinas competing in the women's 6K, but that did not stop them from putting up record-breaking performances.
Yanes continued her amazing breakout season for the Blue and Gold, bringing home her second individual victory of the season. Additionally, after breaking the school record for the women's 6K three weeks ago at the UIW Invitational, she decided that she was not done with the record yet. Yanes turned in a time of 20:54, shattering the record even further by more than 30 seconds.
"Iva went wire-to-wire gapping the field," said head coach
Zachary Hall, "This time should turn some heads in the country."
Espinosa turned in an incredible performance of her own, bringing home third place with a time of 21:48. The time was a personal best for Espinosa by over a minute, previously set at 22:54 at the UIW Invitational. It was also good enough to take the number two spot on the TAMUK all-time boards for the women's 6K, only behind Yanes.
On the men's side,
Cody Fountain continued his streak of top finishes for the Javelinas with a sixth-place finish, turning in a time of 26:00 in the men's 8K. Fountain has been the highest-finishing men's Javelina at every race this season.
Rene Mungia and
Justin Ramirez turned in strong finishes as well for the second meet in a row, both placing in the top thirty. Mungia secured 27th place with a time of 27:24, while Ramirez brought home 29th with a time of 27:25.
"Our freshman contingent on the men's side raced very well," said Hall, "Rene and Justin had great races. I think after running in hot conditions all season, this race was a nice break."
Overall, the men secured a fourth-place finish as a team with 100 points. Texas A&M International took first place overall with 37 points, while meet hosts Our Lady of the Lake took home second with 38 points. Trinity University rounded out the podium in third at 78 points.
The women's team did not bring enough runners to qualify for an overall team score.
Javelina cross-country will take a week off to rest and recover in preparation for the Lone Star Conference Championships in Portales, New Mexico, on October 21.
