Houston - The first competition of the new year for the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's and women's track and field teams saw the Javelinas post historic times/scores and win four events, two by the men, two by the women.

The teams competed at the Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational, hosted by the University of Houston, marking the second year in a row that TAMUK has travelled to the Yeoman Fieldhouse for that Invite. In addition to the teams' four event wins, they also combined to produce 11 new top-10 times/scores in school history, and posted five new top-25 times/scores in the nation in all of D2 so far this year.

Senior Madison Ramos was the first Javelina to win an event on Saturday, as she continued her already record-breaking season with a 1.70m clearance, beating out Power Four competition for the win. Sophomore Oneika Brissett's 56.11 in the 400m paced the event, and is the new ninth-best time in all of D2 this season. On the men's side, one individual and one relay grabbed a win, with junior Jhonatan Rodriguez-Osorno using a late kick to secure a win in the 800m with a 1:58.70. In the very last even of the day, senior Tony Benitez, sophomore Jacob Swierc, sophomore Darius Bouakel, and graduate student Michael Samihamba combined to run a 3:15.29, which not only won the event but was also enough to get them the 12th-best time in the nation and the new eighth-best time in school history.

The men's distance crew led the way in the TAMUK recordbook, with Joshua Perez's 4:19.91 placing him fourth in the mile and nabbing him the new fourth-best time in Kingsville history. Not far behind him were Jacob Rivera and Leon Doran, who notched the sixth- and eighth-best times in program history respectively with a 4:23.86 and 4:28.53. Later in the day, Roberto Alejandro ran a 8:49.34 in the 3,000m, the second-best time in school history, while Robert Trevino's 9:07.94 got him tenth in school history. On the women's side, graduate student Ivanova Yanes, who owns the second-best mile time in school history in both the mile and the 3000m, ran a 5:11.22, the 19th-best mile time in D2 this season. 

In the sprint squad, junior transfer DaTavus Pope had an excellent day, epitomized by his 6.81 in the 60m final, which is the new seventh-best time in the event in school history. The team's other two additions to the Javelina record book came in the field, with sophomore Trevor Upton's clearance of 4.90m, which is the ninth-best in program history in addition to being the new 12th-best height in the nation (third in the event). In just his second meet wearing the blue and gold, freshman Jason Gordon jumped 7.02m in the long jump, cracking into the top-10 on the program's all-time list, at tenth.

Javelina newcomers made an incredible impact on the women's side as well, with junior transfer Kenzie Kurdys clearing 3.48m in her second opportunity to pole vault with Kingsville, moving her up to fourth on TAMUK's all-time list. Additionally, sophomore transfer Aishwarya Bhardwaj, in her first Invite as a Javelina, threw 14.72m in the weight, good for seventh in program history. Though it was made up of more familiar faces, the women's 4x400m relay team was defined by its youth, as two freshmen (Valentina Torres, and Herminia Gorado) and two sophomores (Oneika Brissett and Sakara Wade) combined to run a 3:53.85, the 16th-best time in the nation so far this year.

Kingsville will now take momentum from this weekend's meet into a 12-day break from competition. The teams' next opportunity to hit the oval will come in two weeks when they go to both the Rumble in the Jungle in Pittsburg, KS (Jan 23rd), and the first Fastrak Collegiate Invitational in Houston (Jan 24th).

Compiled Javelina Results:

Men:

Track:

60m:
- DaTavus Pope - 6.82, 3rd (p), 6.81, 7th (f) - 7th in school historyColton Smith - 7.01, 27th
- Ausencio Martinez - 7.02, 32nd
- Jayden McCoy - 7.05, 40th
- Dorian Aranda - 7.25, 60th
60mH:
- Christopher Gonzalez - 8.39, 13th
- Jason Gordon - 8.42, 15th
- Gabriel Hernandez - 8.96, 23rd
- Caden Soliz - 9.82, 26th
Mile:
- Joshua Perez - 4:19.91, 4th - 4th in school history
- Jacob Rivera - 4:23.86, 6th - 6th in school history
- Leon Doran - 4:28.53, 7th - 8th in school history
- Kristian Green - DNF
400m:
- Austin Villanueva - 50.42, 4th
- Jacob Swierc - 50.55, 5th
- Gabriel Hernandez - 53.51, 20th
800m:
- Jhonatan Rodriguez-Osorno - 1:58.70, 1st
200m:
- Ausencia Martinez - 21.99, 6th
- DaTavus Pope - 22.07, 8th
- Darius Bouakel - 22.15m 9th
- Julian Avila - 23.34, 32nd
3000m:
- Roberto Alejandro - 8:49.34, 11th - 2nd in school history
- Robert Trevino - 9:07.94, 20th - 10th in school history
4x400m:
- Benitez, Swierc, Bouakel, Samihamba - 3:15.29, 1st - 12th in the nation, 8th in school history
- Gonzalez, Gordon, Villanueva, Rodriguez-Osorno - 3:21.07, 4th
- Avila, Doran, Perez, Rivera - 3:28.82, 10th

Field:

Weight Throw:
- Mathew Cordero - 12.76m, 13th
- Jordan Ayala - 12.69m, 15th
High Jump:
- Caden Soliz - 1.85m, 13th
Shot Put:
- Mathew Cordero - 14.46m, 11th
- Tyron Schmidt - 13.61m, 16th
- Jordan Ayala - 11.76m, 21st
Pole Vault:
- Trevor Upton - 4.90m, 3rd - 12th in the nation, 9th in school history
- Brady Rygaard - 4.75m, 5th
- Wesley Miller - 4.60m, 8th
- Perry McIntire - NH
Long Jump:
- Jason Gordon - 7.02m, 5th - 10th in school history
- Jayden McCoy - 6.93m, 7th
- Christopher Gonzalez - 6.76m, 10th
- Dorian Aranda - 6.39m, 15th
Triple Jump:
- Dorian Aranda - 14.00m, 6th

Women:

Track:

60m:
- Zia Casas - 8.05, 28th (p)
- Lucia Mendoza - 8.29, 39th (p)
60mH:
- Kenzie Kurdys - 9.40, 19th
- Afaf Benhadja - 9.49, 21st
- Herminia Corado - 9.61, 22nd
Mile:
- Ivanova Yanes - 5:11.22, 7th - 19th in the nation
- Ella Hester - 5:53.07, 19th
400m:
- Oneika Brissett - 56.11, 1st - 9th in the nation
- Valentina Torres - 58.88, 7th
- Liberty Medina - 1:04.43, 18th
800m:
- Ivanova Yanes - 2:20.99, 10th
- Sophie Mossman - 2:33.15, 12th
200m:
- Zia Gasas - 26:41, 22nd
- Katelyn Vaden - 26.80, 24th
- Liana Garcia - 28.11, 35th
3000m:
- Yaritzy Acosta - 11:22.97, 20th
- Kayla Trevino - DNF
4x400m:
- Brissett, Wade, Corado, Torres - 3:53.85, 4th - 16th in the nation
- Vaden, Mossman, Gasas, Benhadja - 4:10.78, 9th

Field:

Weight Throw:
- Aishwarya Bhardwaj - 14.72m, 11th - 7th in school history
- Precious Silguero - 13.80m, 15th
- Kaylea Demetrius - 12.93m, 20th
High Jump:
- Madison Ramos - 1.70m, 1st
- Afaf Benhadja - 1.65m, 4th
- Nicola Swenson - 1.55m, 15th
- Paisley Janssen - NH
Shot Put:
- Karina Alvarez - 12.91m, 9th 
- Kaylea Demetrius - 12.68m, 10th
- Hailey VanBeekum - 10.29m, 19th
Pole Vault:
- Kenzie Kurdys - 3.48m, 6th - 4th in school history
Long Jump:
- Kyra Nunez - 5.11m, 14th
- Afaf Benhadja - 5.04m, 18th
- Kiara Jones - 4.99m, 19th