STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Track and Field will be sending 11 athletes to compete at the 2025 NCAA West First Rounds in their first season eligible. The meet will be held at E.B. Cushing Stadium in Bryan-College Station hosted by Texas A&M from Wednesday to Saturday next week.
Tarleton State will be sending 11 athletes to the NCAA West First Rounds in their first season eligible. The top 48 athletes in each event earned a berth to the regional. These are the top 48 marks posted by the athletes at any point from the beginning of the season (March 1st) to the end of the season (May 19th). Conference champions do not receive an automatic bid unlike other sports. Once at the regional, the athletes are fighting to be among the top 12 athletes in each event to earn a bid to the 2025 NCAA National Championships in Eugene, Ore.
The Texan men this season were ranked in the national Top 25 four weeks in a row. On Tuesday, the Texan men ranked 30th in the nation after the conference championships. On the women’s side they maintained a top 60 ranking throughout the season. This week, the Texans jumped 20 slots to be ranked 35th overall in the nation. Both marks are the highest by any team in the WAC this season.
“I am so proud of this team,” said head coach Bobby Carter upon hearing the news. “At the beginning of each year, we sit down and we talk about goals and what that process could look like. These individuals have believed every step of the way. They know the job is not done yet, but to be ranked in the top 35 nationally on both the Men’s and Women’s sides is remarkable. To also bring a total of 11 athletes is remarkable as well! They are making History! That’s what it’s all about right there. Now it’s time to go handle business, survive and advance.”
Wednesday and Friday will feature the men’s competitions, with Thursday and Saturday being the women’s turn. On Wednesday, Lokesh Sathyanathan and Sir Jonathan Sims will be the first to compete at 4:30 p.m. in the long jump. All 48 student-athletes will get three jumps, with the top 12 jumpers reaching the NCAA National Championships. On the track side, Ca’terrin Cox will open the night at 6 p.m. in the 110 hurdles. He will look to post one of the top 24 times to race again on Friday at 6:15 p.m. David Mvundura will look to do the same in the 100 and 200. He will open with the 100 at 7 p.m. and close with the 200 at 8:45 p.m. If he is in the top 24 in either event, he will race again on Friday at 6:35 p.m. in the 100 or 7:50 p.m. in the 200.
On Thursday, Prestina Ochongor will open the women’s side of the competition for the Texans. Ochongor will compete in the long jump at 4:30 p.m. On the track, the first event for the Purple and White will have three Texans compete in the 100. Victoria Cameron will compete for a top 24 spot to race again on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. Three Texans will compete in the 200 with Cameron, Lauren Roy and Amandine Estival at 8:45 p.m. to earn a spot in Saturday’s final at 7:50 p.m.
Friday will see Gabriele Tosti and Sir Jonathan Sims kick off the competition at 2:30 p.m. in the triple jump. Saturday, Sodia DeGroot will be the final Texan to make their debut at the regional. She is slated to compete in the triple jump starting at 2:30 p.m. The other event to debut on Saturday will be the 4×100 meter relay at 5 p.m. Hanna Dudley, Estival, Cameron and Roy will look to earn a top 12 spot to qualify for the NCAA National Championships.
David Mvundura earned a pair of bids into the First Rounds in both the 100 and 200. The senior posted qualifying times in each of the events at the WAC Championships last weekend. Mvundura ranks 36th in the 200 with a season-best time of 20.69 seconds. In the 200, he is 36th in the region with a best time of 10.28 seconds. The Justin, Texas native ranks fourth in school history in both events.
Ca’terrin Cox also posted his qualifying time in the 110 hurdles at the WAC Championships. En route to a bronze medal, the junior crossed in a new season-best 13.77 seconds. Cox now holds the second fastest personal best in program history in the event and enters the First Rounds as the 45th fastest in the West Region.
Lokesh Sathyanathan is one of three Texan men to enter the First Rounds ranked in the top five nationally in their event. Sathyanathan is the NCAA leader in the long jump with a best leap of 8.14 meters which came at the Michael Johnson Invitational on April 19. Sathyanathan took home the WAC crown in the long jump last weekend with a top jump of 7.81 meters. The transfer will compete at the NCAA West First rounds for the second time in his career. While at New Mexico, Sathyanthan finished 11th in the event to earn a spot at the National Championships where he finished 15th. Sathyanathan is one of two qualifying Texans that have previous experience at the NCAA First Rounds. The senior was one of four Texans to reach the 2025 NCAA Indoor National Championships earning a Second Team All-American distinction.
The other Texan with NCAA Regional experience is Sir Jonathan Sims. Sims will be making his third appearance at the NCAA West First Rounds in the long jump and his second in the triple jump. This year, the junior enters with the fifth best mark in the West in the long jump. He leapt 7.94 meters at the Michael Johnson Invitational to tie a new facility record and set the win-legal program record. In the triple jump, Sims’ 15.99-meter jump at the Joe Gillespie Invitational has him qualified for ninth in region and 18th in the NCAA. As a freshman, Sims placed 36th with a 7.25-meter leap at the First Rounds. Last year, Sims qualified for the regionals in both the triple and long jump. The sophomore then qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in both events one of four athletes at the NCAA Championships to qualify in both the triple and long jump.
Gabriele Tosti enters the regional as the third-ranked jumper in the West in the triple jump. The senior is making his first First Rounds appearance in the Texans’ first year of eligibility. Tosti earned First Team All-American honors in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Tosti earned silver in the triple jump at the WAC Championships last weekend to his teammate, Sims.
After stealing the show at the WAC Championships, Victoria Cameron earned a berth to the First Rounds ranked in the top six in the 100 and the 200. Cameron posted the fastest wind-legal time in the NCAA this season. She also set the new WAC all-time and Championships record on her way to winning the gold medal in 11.05 seconds. Later, she set the all-conditions WAC and school records winning the gold in the 200. She posted the second sub-23 second time in Texan history, crossing in 22.51 seconds. She ranks fourth in the West in the 100 meters and sixth in the 200 meters.
Lauren Roy will make her second appearance at the NCAA West First Rounds. She ran in the 200 in the regionals in 2023 while competing for UTSA. Roy will be competing in the 200 this year again as she enters ranked 13th in the West. Roy earned silver in the 200 at the WAC Championships last week. Roy’s best time came at the Joe Gillespie Invitational, where she was the first Texan to run a sub 23-second 200 in 22.85 seconds.
The Texans 4×100 relay team also earned a bid to the First Rounds. After matching the WAC All-time WAC Record of 43.70 seconds at the Michael Johnson Invitational, the squad enters next week ranked 15th in the region in the event. Among the teams that entered, the Texans have the eighth fastest time. The crew of Hanna Dudley, Cameron, Roy and Amandine Estival earned a gold medal at the WAC Championships winning by over two seconds crossing in 43.92 seconds.
Prestina Ochonogor will make her second appearance for the Texans in an NCAA postseason. In the indoor slate, the freshman was a First Team All-American in the women’s long jump in Virginia Beach. The freshman took home the WAC long jump title with a best leap of 6.77 meters. Her mark tied the WAC Championships record that had not been broken since 2003. She enters the meet ranked sixth in the West.
Sophomore Sofia DeGroot earned a spot at the First Rounds in the triple jump. She is the 41st-ranked jumper entering the regional competition. DeGroot finished third in the triple jump at the WAC Championships last weekend with a best leap of 12.54 meters. Her best jump of the season came at the Michael Johnson Invitational where she leapt 12.70 meters, the third best mark in program history.
Amandine Estival reached the first round after entering as the 49th best in the West in the 200. Estival finished fourth in the 200 at the WAC Championships in 23.67 seconds. Her best time of the year came at the Joe Gillespie Invitational where she clocked in at 23.31 seconds. Estival ranks 37th among the field that declared to run in the 200.
The Texans will look to secure their first bids to an NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. Each day of the First Rounds will be streamed on ESPN+. Follow @tarletontrackxc on Instagram and X for live updates, content and more.
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