STEPHENVILLE, Tex. — Tarleton State Track and Field has completed a historic indoor season and is now moving on to the outdoor season beginning on Friday at the ACU Wes Kittley Invitational at Elmer Gray Stadium.
The two-day event will feature throws and distance runners on Friday afternoon into evening, and a little bit of everything on Saturday. The Texan discus throwers will start off the event on Friday afternoon at 12:30 pm. After the throwers, the distance runners will close the night. On Saturday, jumps, sprints and throws will be back in action with pole vault kicking off the action at noon. The competition will not be streamed, but for live updates and highlights follow @tarletontrackxc on Instagram and X.
The Texans are fresh off a phenomenal indoor season. Last weekend,
Lokesh Sathyanathan became the first Texan to win a D1 NCAA title, winning the long jump with a best leap of 8.21 meters. Sprinter
Victoria Cameron placed third in the 60-meter finals to earn her first First Team All-American honor.
Prestina Ochonogor posted her best finish in her career placing fifth to earn her third NCAA First Team All-American honor. The men's and women's teams also posted their best finishes at any D1 NCAA Championship with the women tying for 23rd and the men tying for 30th. The women were the third ranked non-Power Four program and the men placed fourth.
The women's squad became the first in program history to win the conference title, setting a new school record with 180.5 points. The Purple and White women garnered seven gold medals and 15 top three finishes to run away with the title. Cameron and
Lauren Roy each set new meet and All-time WAC records in the 60 meters and 200 meters, respectively.
Last year, the Texans historic outdoor season ended at the NCAA Division I National Championships for the first time in program history. The Texans had a pair of athletes claim First Team All-American recognition, a relay and an athlete with Second Team honors, and an Honorable Mention All-American. The Purple and White had seven athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Prestina Ochonogor and
Lokesh Sathyanathan each earned first team in the long jump.
The Purple and white have not traveled to Au for an outdoor meet since 2024. At the 2024 edition, the Texans posted 11 top three finishes and a trio of top performances.
Amandine Estival and
Mason Hill are the only returning medalists from the last time the Texans went to Abilene.
The Texans will compete over the next seven weekends for the regular season. All seven meets will feature a meet in Texas, with the Texas Relays the only event over two days. The Purple and White will travel to Baylor three times. The Texans will host their only home meet of the season on April 17-18, the Joe Gillespie Invitational.
Tarleton State will continue the outdoor slate next week at the Clyde Hart Invitational hosted by Baylor on Friday and Saturday.
