KINGSVILLE (March 26, 2025) — Exercise science students from Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) are no strangers when it comes to winning the Undergraduate Scholar Award at the annual meeting of the Texas Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (Texas ACSM). This year was no different.
Kristin Grabow, a senior exercise science/pre-physical therapy major from San Antonio, brought home the prestigious award effectively making her the top undergraduate exercise science student in the state. Grabow is the eighth Javelina to win this award since 2010, more than any other school in the state.
Other winners from Javelina Nation were Jamie Ambriz, 2022; Alyssa Fick, 2020; Meagan Cantu, 2017; Joel Perez, 2016; Samantha Cantu, 2015; Ricky Balderas, 2011; and Dyana Bullinger, 2010.
Grabow also is the Exercise Science Major of the Year for the TAMUK department of health and kinesiology and the American Kinesiology Association’s Undergraduate Scholar. She will enter the master’s in kinesiology program at A&M-Kingsville in fall 2025.
In addition to continuing TAMUK’s dominance with the Scholar Award, the Texas A&M-Kingsville exercise science students brought home second and fourth place in the Student Bowl event. The second place finish is the highest ever for a Javelina team and they have never before placed two teams in the top four.
The Javelina Blue and Gold teams both placed higher than the other seven teams from the Texas A&M University System. There were 44 teams from 26 different universities in the state.
Members of the second place Blue team were
- Benita Gonzales, junior exercise science/pre-physical therapy major from San Benito;
- Grabow; and
- Nicole Ortiz, a senior exercise science/pre-physical therapy major from Odem.
Members of the fourth place Gold team were
- Julian Gonzales, a senior exercise science/pre-physical therapy major from Mathis;
- Jillian Jones, a senior exercise science/pre-physical therapy major from Schertz; and
- Meleyna Martinez, a senior exercise science/pre-physical therapy major from Asherton.
The alternate was Danilee Castillo, a junior exercise science/pre-physical therapy major from Corpus Christi.
The TAMUK Exercise Science Programs (Exercise Science, Exercise Science/Performance Psychology, and Exercise Science/Pre-Physical Therapy) under the Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in the Department of Health and Kinesiology are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP) as recommended by the Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences (CoAES). For more information of these programs, please contact christopher.hearon@tamuk.edu.
Texas ACSM is one of 12 regional chapters of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). ACSM is the largest exercise science and sports medicine professional society in the world, with over 50,000 members dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of the exercise sciences and sports medicine.
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