BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Junior Lokesh Sathyanathan earned the Tarleton State Track and Field program first-ever bid to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships after a top 12 performance at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on Thursday at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
Sathyanathan was the first Texan to ever compete at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, and cements his name into history as the first, of hopefully many, Texans to punch their ticket to a National Championship.
“It was great to see him qualify today,” said head coach Bobby Carter. All year we have talked about getting the job done in the first 3 attempts. Today he executed what we have worked on all year. So proud of this young man!”
Sathyanathan entered the meet with the top jump in the NCAA at 8.14 meters this season. The junior was one of 48 jumpers in the field with the top 12 earning a spot at the National Championships in Eugene, Ore. on June 11-14. Each jumper took three jumps with their best jump counting for the top 12 marks.
In his first of three jumps, Sathyanathan reached 7.80 meters in the first jump in the fourth flight. The mark turned out to be enough to qualify in the top 12, but he wasn’t done just yet. The Karantaka, India, native, jumped 7.87 meters on his second jump to reach fourth place in the meet. He jumped the same distance on his third jump and became the first Texan to punch his ticket to Eugene.
In a business manner, Sathyanathan took the news as business as usual and is ready for the opportunity to show his talents at the national stage in Oregon.
“I am always thankful and grateful for God, my coach, my family and my team,” said Sathyanathan after the event. “Let’s go Texans and we’ll see you in Oregon!”
The Texans also had Sir Jonathan Sims compete in the long jump and earn 21st with a best mark of 7.39 meters. He will compete with Gabriele Tosti in the triple jump on Friday at 2:15 p.m. David Mvundura raced for the final time as a Texan in the 100 and 200. Ca’terrin Cox made his first appearance at the meet competing in the 110 hurdles. The duo on the track were the first Texan male sprinters to reach the West Preliminary Rounds in program history and did so after facing early-season injuries.
On Thursday, the recently named WAC Outdoor Female Freshman of the Year, Prestina Ochonogor, will be in search of her second NCAA Championships appearance in the long jump after earning First Team All-American at the Indoor Championships. Ochonogor tied the WAC Championships meet record en route to the gold medal last week. Her jump of 6.67 meters is ranked sixth in the West. She will be jumping in the fourth flight with an estimated start time of 5:45 p.m.
The WAC Outdoor Female Athlete of the Year, Victoria Cameron, will be competing in the 100 and 200 on Thursday as well. First, she brings her fourth-best time in the region to the track in the 100 scheduled to start at 7 p.m. She is in the second heat of the 100 and will be running out of lane four. Three Texan women will be competing in the 200 slated to start at 8:45 p.m. Lauren Roy and Amandine Estival will be running in the first heat with Roy in lane six, and Estival in nine. Cameron will race in the sixth heat in lane five.
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