STEPHENVILLE – For the first time in Tarleton State history, athletes will be competing at an NCAA Division I National Championship. Four Texan track and field athletes will make their NCAA Track and Field Indoor Championships debut on Friday and Saturday 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 who qualified 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 based on their best performance at any point throughout the season, not just in the conference championships.
“It is great to have 4 athletes here at the National Championships,” said head coach Bobby Carter. “Again, this is arguably the toughest meet in the world to make. The fact that they did is very impressive. Our motto from day one has been to win in everything that we do, and expect to win! I truly believe that our athletes are ready to go compete and handle business. I am very excited to see what’s in store for them this weekend!”
First-year head coach Carter is at the helm of the growing Texan program. In just over six months, he built a culture that is sending four athletes to the national championships. As a team, the women finished runners-up at the WAC Indoor Championships scoring 100 more points than last year. The men also posted their best finish in program history earning fourth place and scoring over 30 more points than the previous season.
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 in the preliminaries on Friday afternoon for a spot in Saturday’s finals. 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.
The field events will have all 16 athletes compete for three jumps and then the top eight will compete in the finals after the conclusion of the first three leaps.
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 have 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 will be crowned the team champion.
Tarleton State athletes’ schedule
Women’s 60-meter dash
Semifinals Friday 3/14 at 2:48 pm CT
Victoria Cameron
Saturday 3/15 at 2:10 pm CT
Top 8 from the semifinals
Women’s long jump semis/finals
Friday 3/14 at 2:30 pm CT
Prestina Ochonogor
Men’s long jump semis/finals
Friday 3/14 at 6 pm CT
Lokesh Sathyanathan
Men’s triple jump
Saturday 3/15 4:20 pm CT
Gabriele Tosti
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