STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Track and Field will send four track and field athletes to the NCAA Indoor National Championships for the first time in program history. The NCAA announced on Tuesday night that four Texans had qualified for the national championships on March 14-15 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Va.
In the first year of eligibility after a four-year Division I reclassification, the Texans have four athletes qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Indoor Championships work differently than the outdoor qualifications with the top 16 individuals across the nation in each event earning a spot in Virginia Beach. These individuals are selected bast on their best performance at any point throughout the season, not just in the conference championships.
“I am beyond excited for our track and field team,” said first-year head coach Bobby Carter. “To have four athletes make it to the indoor National Championships is impressive very impressive. Arguably this meet is the toughest meet to make in the world. These athletes are making history. They will be the first athletes ever at Tarleton State to make it to the NCAA Division 1 National Championships. Again, I am excited for our team and these student athletes! However, the job is not finished. We still have work to do and we are looking forward to handling business in Virginia Beach!”
The four Texan athletes are: freshmen Prestina Ochonogor and Victoria Cameron, and seniors Gabriele Tosti and Lokesh Sathyanathan.
Victoria Cameron will compete in the 60-meter dash in Virginia Beach. Cameron is coming off being crowned the WAC Indoor Champion in the 60 last weekend. In the finals, she clocked in at 7.21 seconds, breaking the WAC Championships record. Cameron already owned the WAC all-time record setting it earlier in the regular season in 7.14 seconds. Cameron has earned the WAC Athlete of the Week twice this year. Her 7.14-second best performance ranks eighth in the NCAA and 21st in the world this calendar year.
Prestina Ochonogor won the women’s long jump at the WAC Championships in her Texan debut. The Nigeria native jumped 6.64 meters to win the event by over 0.7 meters. Ochonogor also set a new WAC Championships record with her best jump. She ranks 19th in the world and sixth in the NCAA. Ochonogor notched a 12th place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the long jump.
Lokesh Sathyanathan will head to the indoor championships after posting a silver-medal finish at the WAC Indoor Championships in the long jump. Sathyanathan set his personal best of 7.92 meters at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in New Mexico. His 26-foot jump is tied for fifth in the NCAA this season. He also holds the best jump in the world this season for his home country of India.
Gabriele Tosti won his third consecutive WAC triple jump championship this past weekend. Tosti became a back-to-back indoor champion in the event as he is also the reigning champion in the outdoor triple jump. Tosti’s best leap of 15.98 meters, ranks as the 16th best in the NCAA this year, just jumping into the top 16 to qualify for the national championship.
Despite not having team qualifiers, these athletes will still score team points for top eight finishes. The team with the most points across the two-day event on each the men’s and women’s sides.
Tarleton State will close the indoor season at the national championships on March 14-15. After the weekend, the Texans will open the outdoor season on March 22 at Baylor.
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