PITTSBURG, KANSAS – UT Tyler Track & Field opened the 2025–26 indoor season with a standout first day in Pittsburg, Kansas, highlighted by two NCAA provisional marks, a broken pentathlon program record, and a historic performance in the 5000 meters. Juliane Frueh shattered the school record in the women's pentathlon while earning a provisional mark, Aerin Thompson delivered the third-best pentathlon score in program history to secure her own provisional standard, and the evening was capped by Gracie Ladner breaking the women's 5000-meter program record.
Aerin Thompson put together a complete performance to finish fifth overall in the pentathlon and earn a provisional mark. Her strongest event came in the 800 meters, where she ran 2:19.12 to place second and score 835 points. She cleared 1.61 meters in the high jump for third and added a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a 9.27. Thompson's 3,641-point total now ranks third all-time in program history.
Juliane Frueh delivered the headline performance of the day. She opened with 834 points in the 60-meter hurdles (9.37) and added 603 points in the long jump with a 5.16-meter leap. From there, she surged to a first-place finish in two of her final three events. Frueh placed second in the shot put with a 12.60-meter throw worth 701 points, then secured her NCAA provisional mark by clearing 1.70 meters in the high jump to tie for first with 855 points. She closed the day with a dominant win in the 800 meters, clocking 2:17.02 for 864 points. Her final score of 3,857 breaks the previous school record by 82 points.
The Patriots also saw strong results in the 5000 meters during Friday's lone running event for the Crimson & Gold Invite. On the men's side, Austin Ponder surged from 17th to ninth over the final laps, finishing in 15:07.11 to earn a top-ten season opener. For the women, Gracie Ladner broke the program's 5000-meter record with an 11th-place finish in 17:54.40, climbing three spots over the final 600 meters. Teammate Finley Hunting followed closely, placing 15th in 17:59.94—the second-fastest time in school history.
UT Tyler now turns its attention to Saturday's full slate of events at the Crimson & Gold Invite. Competition begins at 11:30 a.m. with the men's 60-meter hurdles, followed by the start of field events at noon with the men's weight throw.
