STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State pole vaulter Jacob Thomas kicked off the outdoor season earning his first WAC Field Athlete of the Week award, the conference office announced on Wednesday afternoon.
 
After the Texans earned eight athletes of the week honors in the indoor season, Thomas earns the crew's first honor in the first week of the outdoor season. The honor marks Thomas' first of his career, and the fifth time the Texans have garnered a men's field athlete of the week during indoor and outdoor season this year.
 
Thomas was one of four Texans to win their event in the outdoor season opener at the Clyde Hart Classic. Thomas nearly set a new school record in the pole vault, clearing 5.0 meters. The Houston, Texas, native, was the only vaulter that cleared the five-meter mark. After being one of six athletes to pass on the first height, Thomas was the only one to clear the next two on his first attempt. He then proceeded to clear the five-meter mark on his second attempt, only needing four tries to clear three heights, the best in the field. Thomas attempted to set a new school record at 5.10 meters but fell just short on all three of his attempts.
 
With his first appearance in the outdoor slate, Thomas has already ranked himself among the best vaulters in the nation. His most recent vault ranked him second in the WAC after the first weekend. The Texans compete in the West Region for national championships contention, and Thomas has the 16^th best height on the year so far. Throughout the entire NCAA, the junior ranks 44^th in the nation.
 
In the indoor season, Thomas set a new school record of 5.02 meters at the WAC Indoor Championships. The junior earned sixth in the WAC, securing a podium finish for the first time in his Texan career.
 
Tarleton State will continue its outdoor slate this week. The Texans embark for the Texas Relays with one athlete competing on Wednesday and the rest competing across the next three days.