KINGSVILLE, Texas โ The Texas A&M-Kingsville cross country program will kick off the 2020 campaign on September 25 as they take on the Orville Rogers Patriot Opener in Grand Prairie, Texas, hosted by Lone Star Conference foe DBU.
Headlining the squad is senior David Tellez (Los Fresnos, Texas), who enters the fold as the only returner to make the trip up north. Tellez begins his farewell year holding a personal best of 30:09.0 in the 8k from last year’s East Texas Cross Country Shootout.
Additionally, junior Mikel Escobar (Ben Bolt, Texas) is expected to make his Blue and Gold debut, after transferring from UTRGV, with the Patriot Opener also serving as Escobar’s first collegiate 8k competition. He is joined by freshman Gerardo Gallardo (Progreso, Texas) who also makes the opening day squad as he kicks off his Javelina career.
On the women’s side, four freshmen will take center stage as Beyonce Hernandez (Portland, Texas), Cassandra Lozano (Kingsville, Texas), Haley Villalpando (Weslaco, Texas) and Melonie Thomas (Seguin, Texas) are all set to tackle their first meet at the college level.
The Javelinas last competed at the Orville Rogers Patriot Opener in 2018, as the men’s team managed a third-place finish, while the women placed second.
The trip to Grand Prairie is the first of four races on the docket for the cross country program as they host the Javelina Invitational the following week on October 3.
To keep up to date with Javelina Cross Country, follow the program on Facebook at /JavelinaSports or on Twitter @JavelinaTandF