KINGSVILLE, Texas - The Texas A&M-Kingsville track & field teams welcomed five other schools to Javelina Stadium as they hosted the Cactus Cup on Saturday.

Joining the Hogs for the competition were athletes from Division I schools Incarnate Word, Texas State, and UT Rio Grande Valley as well as Our Lady of the Lake and Victoria College.

On a day when the Javelinas brought home five gold medals, three came from the women's side, starting with Maya Espinosa in the women's 1500m. Espinosa turned in a time of 4:48.89 for the first-place finish in the 16-athlete field. The performance is her first in the 1500m for the season but her second meet of the outdoor season with a medal finish. 

The team of Vitiana Robert, Melanie Roland, Sophie Mossman, and Cynai Christopher secured first in the women's 4x400 relay with a time of 3:53.74. 

The men secured three gold medals in the event, with the men's 4x400 relay team also taking first place. The team of Taylor Chaney, Sterling Riles, Tony Benitez, and Gabriel Field recorded a time of 3:14.79 for their second straight medal performance.

On the field, Ke'Andre Jones finished in first place in the men's long jump with a distance of 7.39m (24' 3") as well as second place in the high jump at 2.01m (6' 7"). The dual sport athlete records his third second-place performance of the year in the long jump as well as his first gold medal finish in the Blue & Gold.

Rounding out the gold for the Hogs was Kobi Valchar in the men's discus. The freshman recorded a throw of 47.64m (156' 3"), beating out teammate Paxton Hair by just under a meter. Valchar also finished second in the shot put and third in the hammer throw at 13.78m (45' 2.5") and 45.20m (148' 3") respectively. 

UP NEXT

The Javelinas travel to Rice University in Houston to compete in the Rice Twilight. The one-day event takes place on Saturday, April 20 at the Wendel D. Ley Track & Holloway Field.