STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton State Men’s Track and Field Program has been on the rise all season and have jumped five spots to No. 20 nationally, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced on Tuesday.
A week after entering the Top 25 on the men’s side for the first time in program history, the Texans improved their ranking to number 20 the following week. Tarleton State became the first WAC program since 2022 to reach the top 25 and now is the only program since the Texans joined the conference in 2020 to be ranked in the top 25 in back-to-back weeks. Tarleton is the highest ranked men’s program in the WAC currently, with California Baptist the next highest-ranked team at 49th.
The Purple and White join New Mexico (Mountain West) and South Florida (American) as the only three schools in the top 25 not a member of a “Power Four” conference. The Purple and White are ranked above the three-time National Champions Florida State Seminoles and five-time National Champions and perennial powerhouse, Oregon Ducks. The Texans are just six slots behind the reigning NCAA Outdoor back-to-back-to-back National Champions, the Florida Gators.
Head coach Bobby Carter is in his first year as a collegiate head coach and his first season with the Texan program. Carter was hired on June 20, 2024 when he started building the foundation for this elite program. Carter is the only head coach in the top 25 that is in his first year as a collegiate head coach or in his first year with the program, a remarkable achievement.
“It’s always great to see us move up nationally on the list,” said Carter. “As always, I’m so proud of this team! However, the job is not done and what matters is the postseason, and we are excited to keep moving forward!”
Tarleton State had never been ranked higher than 87th by the USTFCCCA prior to this season in outdoor track and field. After being the only WAC program to score points at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Texans were ranked the highest in program history in the first week of the outdoor season, earning 78th. In each of the first five polls, the Texans have had their three highest rankings in men’s outdoor track and field in program history.
The Texans are fueled to their top 25 ranking by one of the best jump squads in the nation. Tarleton State has three men ranked within the top six in the NCAA in either the long or triple jump. As an event group, the Texan long jump squad is the third best in the nation. The duo of Lokesh Sathyanathan and Sir Jonathan Sims lead the long jump squad. Sathyanathan notched an 8.14-meter leap two weeks ago to become the nation’s leader in the event. Sims ranks sixth in the country with a best jump of 7.94 meters also coming at the Michael Johnson Invitational.
After setting new school and facility records in the triple jump at the Joe Gillespie Invitational this weekend, Gabriele Tosti ranks third in the NCAA in the triple jump. His new personal best of 16.39 meters also leads the WAC and ranks third in the NCAA West Region. Sims also moved himself up the triple jump leaderboards climbing to 12th in the nation. The Arizona transfer notched a 15.99-meter leap to claim second at the Joe Gillespie Invitational behind Tosti.
Tarleton State will be back in action this weekend for their final regular season contest of the season. The Texans will travel to SMU on Saturday for the one-day SMU Invite at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium starting at 9 a.m.
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