Head coach Bobby Carter was named the leader of the Texans ahead of a historic 2024-25 season for the Texans. Carter led the Texans to their highest finishes for both the men's and women's teams at the conference championships in program history. He also took the Texans to their first Indoor and Outdoor National Championships in school history in their first season eligible as a fully-fledged D1 program.
Carter led the Texan men to their first national top 25 ranking in program history in the fourth week of the outdoor slate. The Purple and White jumped 61 slots to crack the Top 25 for the first time by a WAC program since 2022. The Texans boasted a top 25 ranking four weeks in a row, the most by a WAC school since the Texans joined the league in 2020. The first-year head coach was the only first-year head coach in the top 25 during those weeks.
In his first outdoor season, Carter had 11 student-athletes qualify for the NCAA West First Rounds for the first time in program history. Out of the 11 qualifiers, seven athletes qualified across five events for the Texans' first appearance at the NCAA National Championships. Sophomore Victoria Cameron became the first Texan in program history to be named the WAC Female Track Athlete of the Year. Freshman Prestina Ochonogor was named the Outdoor Freshman Athlete of the Year after a gold medal and new WAC Championships meet record in the long jump.
At the NCAA National Championships, the Texans posted two First Team All-American performances. Both Lokesh Sathyananthan and Prestina Ochonogor earned the honor in the long jump. Sathyanathan finished fifth on the men's side and Ochonogor notched eighth on the women's side. Victoria Cameron earned ninth in the 100 and the Women's 4x100 Relay finished 15th to earn Second Team All-American honors. Sir Jonathan seems earned Honorable Mention All-American with his performance in the triple jump.
At his first outdoor WAC Championships, the Texan women and men each recorded their highest finishes in program history. The women finished in third with 136 points and the men earned fourth with 126 points. The squad produced five event champions, two all-time WAC records, three WAC Championships records and seven school records. Victoria Cameron earned Performer of the Meet with three gold medals, scoring 22.5 points for the squad. The Texans had nine athletes win multiple medals at the outdoor conference championships.
In the first indoor season for Tarleton State, first-year head coach Bobby Carter took the Texans to their first NCAA Indoor Championships with four student-athletes earning All-American Status. Senior Gabriele Tosti and freshman Prestina Ochonogor each were named First Team All-Americans. Tosti posted the highest Texan finish with a sixth-place performance in the triple jump, earning three points for the Texans at the meet. Ochonogor finished eighth in the long jump scoring one point for the Texan women. Tarleton was the only WAC school to score in either the men or women's events at the national championships. Overall, the men finished 44th on the men's side and 51st on the women's side.
At the WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, both the men and women posted their best finishes in program history. The women scored 100 more points then the squad did at the 2024 meet. The women posted four event champions and 13 First Team All-WAC selections. Nine student-athletes also earned second-team All-WAC. On the men's side, the Texans posted a pair of WAC individual championships and five First Team performances. The men garnered six second team performances as well.
Carter mentored Cameron who was named WAC Freshman of the Year after winning the WAC Championship in the 60 meters and earning a Second Team All-WAC selection. The Texans women's crew had three event groups ranked in the top 40 in the nation. The 60-meter squad ranked 19th, 21st in long jump and 32nd in triple jump. The men finished the regular season ranked third in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump in the NCAA by TFRRS.
Throughout the regular season, the Texans were on a torrid pace setting new school records and top 10 performance bests. In all, the Texans broke 12 school records and set 48 new school performance top 10 bests. The Texans earned 18 WAC Athlete of the Week across both the men's and women's indoor and outdoor season, the most in the conference.
In the classroom the Texans excelled as well. Victoria Cameron was named to the CSC Third Team Academic All-America Team. In addition, the Texans earned four members to the CSC Academic All-District Team. Throughout both semesters, the program tallied 77 Academic All-WAC selections.
Not only did coach Carter have athletes excel during the season but also in the summer as well. A pair of athletes represented the Texans and their countries at the World University Games in Germany. Victoria Cameron and Sir Jonathan Sims earned bids to represent their country at the USATF National Championships to fight for a bid to the 2025 World Championships in Tokoy, Japan. Three other Texans (Lokesh Sathyanathan (India), Prestina Ochonogor (Nigeria) and Lauren Roy (Ireland) will compete at their national championships for a chance to represent their country in Japan.
Tarleton State announced on June 20, 2024, that they have hired a rising star to lead the next era of Texan Track and Field and Cross Country, tabbing Bobby Carter as the next head coach of the programs.
Carter joined the Texans after spending the last eight years as an NCAA Division I assistant track and field coach, including four years at the Power Five conference level. He served the last three seasons at Arizona (2021-24), three seasons at Navy (2018-21), one season at Oral Roberts (2017-18) and one season at Nebraska (2016-17).
“Bobby Carter has a tremendous reputation and we were impressed by his knowledge, charisma and potential during our process of choosing the right candidate for our head coaching position,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Steve Uryasz said. “Coach Carter’s up-and-coming career path matches our own department’s rise to national prominence, and he brings instant credibility to our track and field and cross country programs.”
A two-time All-American himself while competing at Nebraska from 2009-14, Carter has guided six First Team All-Americans, 132 conference finalists, 115 conference medalists and 29 conference champions across his coaching career.
“I am honored to be the next Track and Field and Cross Country head coach at Tarleton State University,” Carter said. “As the head coach, I am committed to guiding this program to the best of my abilities and also ready to win some championships with our dedicated staff, alumni and student athletes. I would like to thank Vice President Steve Uryasz for this opportunity and for believing in me. I look forward to leading and inspiring our athletes to achieve their highest potential, both on and off the track and contributing to the rich tradition of athletic excellence at Tarleton State.”
Carter spent the last three years as Arizona's jumps and multis coach. The Wildcats credited Carter for helping “lift the jumps and multis to newfound heights in the national picture,” guiding several student-athletes to some of the top marks in program history and competition at the NCAA Championships.
Just two weeks ago, Carter had a Men’s 4x100m team compete in the NCAA Championships at Oregon, where they advanced to the NCAA Finals after shattering the school record. The 4x100 relay team ran a program record 38.75-second finish on Day 1, besting the previous school record of 38.85 seconds. Carter also had a student-athlete advance to the NCAA Championships in both the long jump and triple jump, qualifying on a best long jump of 25-4.75 and triple jump of 52-2.5. The same student-athlete won the Men’s Triple Jump at the Pac-12 Championships in mid-May.
In his second season in 2022-23 with Arizona Track and Field, Carter and the Wildcats had a Second Team All-American long jumper. The men's track and field team finished 18th in the USTFCCCA National Rankings. The Wildcats were ranked by the USTFCCCA as high as seventh in the women's long jump and ninth in the women's triple jump nationally.
“Tarleton State has hired one of the finest young men who I ever coached in my 57 years of coaching,” retired Nebraska Track and Field head coach Gary Pepin said. “Bobby is a very convicted family man and Christian. He was an outstanding athlete at Nebraska and is definitely a hard worker. Bobby always has the best interest of the athletes at heart, on and off the track. Bobby wants to see his athletes strive for high goals and get the most out of their God-given talents. He thinks graduation, life after track and field, and becoming a productive citizen is most important. Tarleton State made a terrific hire.”
In his three years at Navy, Carter coached jumps and helped guide the program to seven Patriot League team titles. In his final season, Carter coached three All-Conference athletes on the road to the program’s third consecutive Outdoor Conference Championships sweep. Carter coached two all-conference student-athletes in the long jump and triple jump, plus coached three to school records.
“Bobby Carter is a young, smart, energetic and very knowledgeable coach,” Texas Tech Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Wes Kittley said. “He has been coached and mentored by the great Gary Pepin, former head coach at Nebraska, Joe Dial, former head coach at Oral Roberts, and Fred Harvey, the current head coach at Arizona – three coaches who I have admired for years. So, he definitely is ready for this challenge. He has worked himself up through the ranks and is ready to be a head coach!”
In his lone year at Oral Roberts, Carter helped develop six All-Americans, 14 conference champions and 10 school record holders. Before making his way to Oral Roberts, Carter coached at Nebraska, his alma mater. He was responsible for four All-Americans including the USATF Junior Outdoor Triple Jump Championship winner with a mark of 53-2.25.
“I think Bobby Carter is a great coach,” California Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Robyne Johnson said. “I had the opportunity to know him when he was at Navy while I was the head coach at Boston U. Bobby is tremendously passionate about what he does, and he is a great coach. He will do a great job elevating the program at Tarleton State.”
Carter was an elite athlete himself, competing for Nebraska in the long jump and 4x100 relay. He was a two-time All-American, finishing 12th in the long jump at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships and seventh at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships competing as part of the 4x100 relay. During his time at Nebraska, Carter also earned scholar athlete distinctions.
Carter comes from a decorated Track and Field family including his uncle Michael who holds the American national high school record of 81 feet 3.5 inches in the shot put and was also an Olympic Silver Medalist in shot put in 1984. He won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and was the first man to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl ring in the same season. Bobby Carter’s cousin, Michelle Carter, is the current American record holder in the shot put (67-8), set at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio when she won a gold medal. She is the first United States women's athlete to win the event since the competition began at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, and only the second American to win any medal in the event.
Bobby Carter and his wife Nataly have three sons, Maiyan, Kobe, and Maasai.
