ABILENE — Tarleton State Track and Field opened its outdoor slate this weekend with a pair of school records at the ACU Wes Kittley Invitational at Elmer Gray Stadium on Friday and Saturday.
The Texans showed they were anxious to start the outdoor slate with Jacob Thomas and Tayler Wessely each breaking school records. Thomas broke a 17-year mark in the pole vault, and Wessely broke her own in the hammer throw by over seven meters.
Overall, the Texans set five new program top ten bests including the two new school records. In addition, the Texans placed 11 athletes in the top three in their respective event. Wessely and Kaitlyn Gale each won their event.
Saturday
Jacob Thomas broke the outdoor pole vault school record to now hold both the indoor and outdoor record. Thomas placed fourth overall with his final clearance at 5.06 meters. The senior breaks the outdoor school record for the first time, a record that stood for 17 years.
Tayler Wessely shattered her school record in the hammer throw. All five of the senior’s marks were farther than the school record she set last season of 54.57 meters. Her worst throw on the day was 56.57 meters, a whole two-meter improvement from last year. She also notched a pair of tosses further than 60 meters. Her best throw came out on her fifth attempt with a best toss of 61.45 meters. Wessely won by almost eight meters, with second place finishing at 53.60 meters.
Jayana Phillips placed second overall in the women’s long jump. Phillips recorded a best lea of 5.57 meters in her Texan outdoor debut. She was very consistent as the only athlete in the field with five or more jumps over 5.39 meters. Her best leap came on her first attempt.
Vanessa Rolan and Jasmine Pullins placed second and third, respectively, in the women’s high jump. They both cleared the 1.55-meter bar last, but Rolan did not have a miss before that bar and Pullins had one, dropping her to third. Pullins cleared both the 1.50-meter and 1.55-meter bar, with Rolan entering the competition at the 1.55-meter bar.
Justin Temple Jr. came in second in the men’s triple jump. The freshman landed his best jump of 13.95 meters on his first attempt. His only other counted jump registered at 13.27 meters.
Jalen Cadet placed third in the 200 meters crossing in 21.12 seconds. In his Texan outdoor debut, the senior would have ran the seventh best time in program history but it came at 4.0 m/s, double the wind-legal mark. The reigning 2026 WAC Indoor Male Athlete of the Year ranks third in school history in the indoor 200 meters in 21.21 seconds.
Mason Hill placed third in the men’s shot put. Hill’s best attempt came on his third throw, a 16.32-meter toss to earn him a spot in the finals. He recorded three fouls in the finals to finish the competition in third overall.
In the men’s 100 meters, Tanatswa Mukute would have ran the ninth fastest time in program history clocking in at 10.55 seconds. The sophomore ran with just over a win-legal mark of 2.3 m/s, making his time ineligible for the program bests list. Mukute placed third overall and won his heat. He would have had a top 10 best with a 21.20 second performance in the 200, but his mark was not wind legal. He finished in sixth.
Finley Gordon cracked the program top 10 in her first 100-meter race of her Texan outdoor season. She clocked in at 11.78 to place fifth in the event and eighth in school history. She placed second in her heat, just 0.02 seconds behind the heat winner. She also placed sixth in the 200. The freshman’s 24.46 second time would have been the ninth fastest in program history, but the wind was above the 2.0 meter per second standard for a wind-legal run.
Timothy Price Jr. ran the eighth fastest time in program history in the 400 meters. Price placed eighth overall crossing in 47.86 seconds. The freshman made his outdoor debut for the Texans.
Also in the men’s pole vault, sophomore transfer Rhett Williams placed sixth with a best clearance of 4.57 meters. Williams cracks the program top 10 list in his outdoor debut with the Texans placing tenth all-time in program history.
In the women’s 800, Ava Potts won her heat in 2:23.56. Potts placed 12th overall and won her heat by three seconds.
Friday
Kaitlyn Gale took home the win in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Gale was less than 10 seconds off her school record mark crossing in 10:53.32. She was nearly 30 second ahead of the runner-up and over a minute faster than the third-place finisher.
Jerryth Buckingham and AJ Alfaro posted second and third place finishes in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase. Buckingham crossed in 10:12.54 and was followed by Alfaro who placed right behind him in 10:22.59.
Tarleton State will continue its outdoor slate next week at the Clyde Hart Invitational hosted by Baylor on Friday and Saturday.
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