STEPHENVILLE – Lauren Roy and Sir Jonathan Sims each posted top 20 finishes among the world’s best college-aged athletes at the 2025 World University Games in Rhine-Rhur at the Lohrheidestadion.
Both Roy and Sims posted top 20 finishes at the first World University Games ever attended by Tarleton State track and field athletes. Roy, a member of Team Ireland at the international stage at the London Diamond League and 2022 World Championships, competed in the women’s 200 meters while also representing Tarleton State. Roy placed 11th in the world out of the 44 runners in the field. Sims represented Team USA for the first time in the long jump. Sims placed the highest among Team USA long jumpers and finished 19th in the field of 43 athletes.
“I am so proud of all of our athletes competing post-season in major world competitions with some of the best in the world,” said head coach Bobby Carter. “I want people to understand that the NCAA season is very long and for our athletes to still be competing at a high level this time of year is very impressive! It is great experience for them and it will definitely help bring that experience back to the U.S. Not only did they get a chance to represent their country, but they represented Tarleton State very well!”
Roy competed on both Wednesday and Thursday in the women’s 200 meters. On Wednesday, she finished second in her heat in the preliminary round to advance to Thursday’s semifinals. Racing in the final heat of six in the prelims, Roy posted a 23.27-second performance to claim second in her heat. She posted the eighth-fastest time out of all six heats to be one of the 24 women moving on to the semifinals. On Thursday in the semifinals, Roy clocked in at 24.07 seconds. The Tarleton State senior finished fourth in her heat and 11th overall. She was the lone representative for Team Ireland in the women’s 200.
Sims competed in men’s long jump on Wednesday night in Germany. The Tarleton State senior posted marks on two of his three jumps. His best jump came first at 7.40 meters. After a foul on his second attempt, Sims lept 7.38 meters on his final leap. The Richmond, Va., native finished 10th in his flight and 19th overall out of the 43 total jumpers. Sims placed the highest for Team USA, with his teammate and current UConn student-athlete Marc Morrison finishing in 26th place.
The World University Games are comprised of the top athletes across the world currently attending university institutions. Overall, the World University Games expand across 19 sports, ranging from Archery to basketball to volleyball to athletics (track and field). Tarleton State is the only member of the WAC to have athletes representing them this year.
Sims and Victoria Cameron will be in action from July 31 – August 3 in Eugene, Ore. for the USATF National Championships. Roy, Ochonogor and Lokesh Sathyanthan will also be competing in their national championships later in August. The group will be competing for a chance to represent their countries at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September.
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