ARLINGTON, Texas — Tarleton State Track and Field crowned three individual champions on Friday in day two of the 2026 WAC Track and Field Championships at Maverick Stadium.
 
On the second day of the conference championships, three Texans were crowned WAC Champions. Prestina Ochonogor (long jump), Jalen Cadet (men's long jump) and Mason Hill (men's shot put), each notched titles. In addition, four more grabbed silver or bronze medals and four earned Second Team All-WAC nods.
 
"Today was another great day for our Texans," said head coach Bobby Carter. "It was exciting to see a lot of great performances across the board. Mason in the shot put, Prestina in the long jump and advanced to the finals in the 100 meters, and Jalen Cadet winning the men's long jump and earning a spot in the finals of the 100 meters. It was also great to see how our team cheered each other on throughout the day. As I have said this entire weekend, it's going to take everyone to finish this job. One more day left and I truly believe this group will give it all they got and finish strong. I am proud in advance. On to day three! "
 
After two days, the team standings are slowly coming into focus with less than half of the events scored yet. On the women's side eight of the 21 events have occurred. Utah Valley leads with 99 points followed by UT Arlington in second with 77 and Tarleton State with 46. On the men's side, with just six events scored Utah Valley leads with 54 points, and the Texans find themselves in fifth with 34 points.
 
Ochonogor took home the women's long jump crown to claim back-to-back outdoor titles. Since her arrival to the Texans as a freshman she has won back-to-back-to-back-to-back long jump titles combining indoor and outdoor championships. Ochonogor took three jumps with her best of 6.07 meters coming on her third attempt. She was the only competitor to break the six-meter mark and took home the title.
 
The Texans placed five total in the top eight of the women's long jump. Sofia DeGroot secured the bronze medal with a best mark of 5.73 meters. Malak Rashwan placed fifth with a leap of 5.66 meters. Sakina Umar Awam (5.64 meters) and Ashonti Idlebird (5.58 meters) placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
 
Cadet claimed back-to-back long jump WAC titles after winning the indoor title just a few months ago. Cadet needed a 7.72-meter leap to win the indoor competition, but on Friday his best leap of 7.56 meters was enough to be crowned the champion. Cadet was a part of the Texan trio that went 1-2-3 for the second-straight year at the WAC Outdoor Championships. Sir Jonathan Sims was the runner-up in the long jump with a best leap of 7.47 meters. Sims also claimed the silver medal in the long jump last year. Johnathon Rodgers placed third in his outdoor championships debut. Rodgers posted a best mark of 7.09 meters.
 
Hill was the final Texan champion of the evening. Hill took home the crown in the men's shot put with a best toss of 16.47 meters. After the first two throws, Hill was in second by a half of an inch. The junior took control of the lead with his best throw of the day coming on his third attempt. He launched a throw of 16.47 meters to take the lead heading into finals and didn't look back. A year after placing third in the vent, Hill earned his first outdoor WAC title.
 
Tayler Wessely secured a bronze medal in the women's shot put. The senior earned her second medal in as many days placing in third with a best throw of 13.82 meters. With her best toss coming on her second attempt, Wessely entered the final three throws in second place. On her final throw, the third-place thrower leapt Wessely by six inches to take silver. Wessely ends her Texan career with seven total medals at the WAC Championships with three golds, two silvers and two bronzes in her final two years of her collegiate career.
 
Kaitlyn Gale earned fifth place in the women's steeplechase. Gale made a move about halfway through the race to pull into the top five and pass multiple runners to earn a spot on the podium in back-to-back years. Gale crossed in 10:55.87.
 
The Texans punched many tickets on the track to Saturday's finals. Joining the 14 tickets punched to the finals in Thursday's preliminary heats, 18 Texans secured a spot in Saturday's finals across seven events.
 
In the women's 100 hurdles, a pair of Texan posted qualifying times. Malak Rashwan led the field clocking in at 13.49 seconds. Freshman Syenna Lara posted the fourth fastest time in 14.11 seconds. In the men's 110 hurdles, three Texans punched their tickets to the finals. Ca'terrin Cox posted the best time in the field setting a Tarleton State all-conditions program record in 13.66 seconds. Omar Mahmoud qualified fourth in 14.10 seconds, and Nathan Franco was seventh in 14.51 seconds.
 
The Texans posted four women in the top five of the 100-meter dash prelims. Lauren Roy and Ochonogor each clocked in at 11.20 seconds with Roy edging out Ochonogor to the thousandth of a second. Amadine Estival posted the third-fastest time in 11.45 seconds, while Nellie Wartanian posted the fifth-fastest time in 11.55 seconds. On the men's side, three punched their tickets to the finals. JayBrion Jones posted the second-best time in the prelims in 10.18 seconds. David Mvundura qualified for his second finals after qualifying in the 200 yesterday. Mvundura clocked in at 10.29 seconds, the third-fastest time in the field. Cadet will be heading to the finals in the 100 after clocking in at 10.42 seconds, the sixth-fastest time of the day.
 
Emma Holmes posted the fastest qualifying time in the 400 meters. Holmes won her heat over the second fastest athlete in the field crossing in at 53.34 seconds. Zoe Ray clinched a berth to the title race placing fifth in 56.26 seconds. Three men secured their spot in Saturday's finals. Cam Hawkins posted the second fastest time in 47.81 seconds. Ray Ochoa placed third overall clocking in just behind him in 47.86 seconds. Tanatswa Mukute earned the final bid to the finals placing eighth in 49.07 seconds.
 
Christian Simmons posted the eighth best time in the men's 800 meters. He earned the final qualifying spot clocking in at 1:52.77.
 
A plethora of Texans are looking to add to the four current conference individual champions already this weekend. Every event on Saturday is a final and will affect the team standings with 15 men's and 13 women's champions crowned. At the end of the meet, both men's and women's team championships and performers of the meet will be honored.
 
Follow @tarletontrackxc on Instagram and X for the latest updates, highlights and content. Friday's track events will be streamed on ESPN+ starting at 4 pm. Live results are available via NTX Timing.