FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Lokesh Sathyanathan became the first Tarleton State Texan to become an NCAA Division I champion claiming the title in the men’s long jump on Friday evening at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Track and Field at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Sathyanathan made program history as the first Texan D1 athlete to win an NCAA national title. He won the men’s long jump with a best leap of 8.21 meters. Sathyanathan was the only jumper in the field to record a pair of leaps 8.15 meters or more. Not only did he win the title, but he broke his own Indian National record and program record and now owns the top three indoor jumps by an Indian-born man all-time.
“I’m honestly a little speechless,” said head coach Bobby Carter. “To win a national championship at a meet this deep and this competitive is incredibly special. I’m really happy for Lokesh and proud of the work he has put in to make it happen.”
The Karnataka, India, native is the first Indian-born athlete to win the men’s Indoor NCAA Individual title since the first NCAA indoor long jump competition in 1965. The senior is coach Carter’s first athlete to win an NCAA Championship. He is the first men’s indoor NCAA Champion from the WAC since 2001. Sathyanathan’s 8.21-meter leap is the fourth best by an NCAA champion in the last ten years and is the 15th best jump all-time by the champion. Sathyanathan is the 49th different athlete to win the men’s indoor long jump title. He also makes Tarleton State the 35th different program to have the men’s indoor long jump champion.
He edged out Southern Mississippi’s De’Aundre Ward by a quarter of an inch. Ward’s best jump was 8.20 meters on his third attempt. Sathyanathan started the competition with a 7.89-meter leap that kept him in second after the first round of jumps and tied for third after the round. He dropped to seventh place at the end of prelims, with his best leap coming on his first attempt. With his first leap of finals and his fourth of the competition, Sathyanathan jumped his new personal best, 8.21 meters flying through the air. He took the lead and no one was able to catch him. Still holding the lead after the nine finals’ jumpers had each leaped five times, Sathyanathan blasted out in an effort to improve his leading mark with an 8.17-meter jump. It was not enough to beat his current best, it was all that he needed, with none of the jumps in the sixth round surpassing the 8.21-meter mark. Sathyanathan cried tears of joy following the final jumper of the night as the realization set in that he was a national champion. After celebratory hugs and handshakes, he talked to media and walked onto the top of the podium to end the historic night for the Texans.
Prestina Ochonogor earned First Team All-American status with a fifth-place performance in the women’s long jump. She earned her highest finish at either the indoor or outdoor NCAA Championships. Last year in her freshman season, she notched a pair of eighth place finishes in the two championships, to earn First All-American status both times. The sophomore has earned First Team All-American honors in each of her first two collegiate indoors seasons and outdoor season.
“On the women’s side, having Prestina finish fifth at the national championships is still a big accomplishment,” said coach Carter. “We both know that there is so much more there, but it’s better than last year and that shows growth. I’m proud of how she competed. Outdoors will be a different story for this young lady. Greater is coming!”
Not only did Ochonogor post her best finish, but also her best indoor championships jump. With her first leap of the competition, the sophomore leapt into fourth place with a 6.44-meter jump. She improved her best at the indoor championships by a quarter of an inch after jumping 6.43 meters a season ago in Virginia Beach, Va. Her second-best jump came on her next attempt, 6.41 meters. She accomplished a no-foul series going all six jumps without a foul. She maintained fourth place after the first three jumps and headed into the finals seeded fourth. Princeton’s Alexandra Kelly posted the third best leap of the competition on her fourth attempt dropping Ochonogor into the fifth slot where she stayed after the final two rounds of jumps.
After both of Sathyanathan’s and Ochonogor’s top 8 performances the Texans scored team points for both the men’s and the women. Sathyanathan tallied 10 team points for the men to currently place tied for sixth after the first day. The Texan men do not have any more competitors on Saturday, meaning they will finish the championships with 10 points. The women earned four points from Ochonogor and are currently in 18th place. The Texan women could score 10 additional points from Cameron tomorrow in the 60 meter finals giving them a maximum of 14, which would set a new program record by either gender.
Victoria Cameron showed off her blazing speed yet again posting the second fastest time in the prelims clocking in at 7.09 seconds. It marks the third time this season Cameron has turned in a sub 7.10 second 60-meter dash, the most this feat has been accomplished this season. Only two other athletes have run sub 7.10 times this season, totaling three times. Shenese Walker is the only other female to reach the milestone two time this season after she posted the fastest time in the NCAA this year and the fastest of the prelims in 7.07 seconds.
Cameron advanced to the finals with her second-place finish. Joining the field of eight for the finals for the first time in her indoor career, she has clinched First Team All-American status for the first time in her career. The indoor sophomore will compete for the Texans’ second national title of the weekend racing against the other seven fastest women in the nation on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Lauren Roy earned Second Team All-American honors in both of her events on Friday. Roy opened the day in the 60 meters placing 16th overall. Roy crossed in 7.29 seconds to finish eighth in her heat. The Northern Ireland, native, followed up her performance less than two hours later in the women’s 200 meters.
The 2026 WAC Indoor 200-meter champion placed third in her heat in 23.03 seconds, just 0.09 seconds shy of tying her personal best set at the WAC Championships last week. The senior ranked seventh after the first three heats. With just eight advancing to the finals, Roy needed to have a better time than three of the athletes in the final heat. Unfortunately, all four ran sub-23 to push Roy out of the finals qualifying mark and into an 11th place overall finish.
JayBrion Jones earned Second Team All-American honors in his Championships debut. Jones clocked in at 6.73 seconds. The freshman placed 16th in the field to end his first collegiate indoor season. The 6.73 second performance is his third fastest of the season after he turned in a pair of sub-6.60 second times to set the school record at the WAC Championships less than two weeks ago.
The Texans will continue the NCAA Indoor National Championships on Saturday with Victoria Cameron competing in the 60-meter finals at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
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