Huntsville, TX - Texas A&M-Kingsville kicked off the 2026 cross country season in emphatic fashion with a pair of podium finishes at the Bearkat Twilight Cross Country Meet on Friday.

In a rare evening race, the Javelina Men's Cross Country team took home the gold medal at the meet with a team score of 28 while the women's team finished in second with 44 team points despite the rough conditions in Huntsville. Jacob Rivera placed the highest individually amongst all Javelinas, finishing with a time of 16:09.8 which was good enough for second place.

Roberto Alejandro finished right behind Rivera with the third fastest time on the men's side, clocking in with a time of 16:11.3. Xavier Hernandez finished just outside the top five with a 16:30.7 race while Robert Trevino and Eric Davis rounded out the top-ten finishes for the Hogs with 16:38.8 and 16:45.2 times respectively.

For the women's side, Kayla Garcia-Trevino finished the fastest among the Javelinas with a 20:39.5 time. Samantha Presas, Yaritzy Acosta and Sophie Mossman also notched top-ten finishes at the even, clocking in times of 21:42.6, 22:04.3 and 23:14.6 respectively.

Texas A&M-Kingsville will remain in-state and travel just up the road to San Antonio, Texas, for the UIW Invitational hosted by the University of Incarnate Word.