THE 2024-25 INDOOR SEASON
 
Last season, both the men's and women's programs finished fourth at the LSC Indoor Championships, with the men's result marking their best finish since joining the Lone Star Conference. The Patriots leaned on All-LSC Team and All-South Central honorees Bracie Vaughn, Aerin Thompson, and Juliane Frueh to secure a significant portion of the women's points, while Ashton Turner, Dylan Bennett, and Landon Smith delivered strong performances on the men's side to help propel the Patriots forward.

Thompson (400 meters) and the 4x400 meter relay team of Hannah Lakin, Kamaria Carr, Kymia Woodard, and Thompson went on to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, where Thompson placed 16th in the 400 and the relay team finished seventh. It also marked the second consecutive year Thompson qualified in the 400 meters. On the men's side, Bennett (200 meters), Turner (60 hurdles), and the 4x400 meter relay team of Caleb Williams, Wiliam Davis, Landon Smith, and Turner qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. This was the first time in program history that multiple athletes for the men's side qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships.

SOME NEW, SOME FAMILIAR
 
The Patriots will set their eyes on the indoor season with some new faces as well as some strong returners. Thompson, Frueh, Jasmine Haywood, Kamaria Carr, and Isabel Jakobsen are among a group that will lead a host of newcomers on the women's side. Those newcomers include Kaitlynn Johnson, Zakaiya Hunte, Aalliyah Francis, and Nina Allmark as they look to help make an immediate impact.
 
For the men, they return several big names including Brandon Arenas, Dylan Bennett, Caleb Williams, Landon Smith, and William Davis as they look to continue their strong careers thus far. They will lead a cast of newcomers that features standouts Kaden Adams, Dameon Smith Jr,, Preston Ayers, and Grayson Williams as the Patriots continue to look to vault themselves into conference championship contention. 

LAST TIME OUT

Last time out, UT Tyler track & field delivered a standout showing at the Samford Invitational and Open, recording multiple podium finishes, four school records, and 22 new marks on the program's all-time top-10 list against a deep Division I and II field. The women were led by historic performances from Macy Cogburn, who became the first Patriot to break five minutes in the mile, Gracie Ladner and Maren Ware, who each set school records in the 3,000 meters and triple jump, and Adison Richard, who claimed a dominant win in the 5,000 meters as UT Tyler secured a 1–2 finish. The Patriots also impressed across the sprints and middle distances, highlighted by strong efforts from Aerin Thompson and a podium finish by the women's 4x400-meter relay. On the men's side, David Soto stole the spotlight with school-record wins in the 3,000 meters and mile, while Jakai Timmons and the men's 4x400 relay added podium performances, capping a complete team effort as both squads carried momentum into the Washburn Open.

IN THE RANKINGS

The USTFCCCA Coaches Association recently released the first team rankings for the 2026 season. The UT Tyler men enter the week ranked 10th in the South Central Region, while the women debut at No. 18 nationally and sit fourth in the South Central Region.

THE WASHBURN OPEN

UT Tyler returns to action this weekend at the Washburn Open in Topeka, Kansas, continuing the 2025–26 indoor season against a strong regional and national field. Competition begins Friday with a full slate of multi-events, field events, and distance races before transitioning into sprint and relay action later in the day.

Friday's schedule opens at 11 a.m. with the men's heptathlon 60-meter dash, followed throughout the morning by early sections of the men's and women's 3,000 meters and open pole vault competition. Sprint qualifying gets underway at midday with the men's and women's 60-meter dash preliminaries, while the afternoon features distance medley relays, the 600-yard runs, and multiple field events including the weight throw, shot put, triple jump, and high jump. The first day of competition concludes on the track with the men's and women's 200 meters before closing with the 5,000-meter races, wrapping up the evening schedule.

Saturday's action resumes in the morning with the continuation of the heptathlon and pentathlon events, including hurdles, vaults, and jumps, before shifting into the final sections of the men's and women's 3,000 meters. The afternoon session is highlighted by the 60-meter hurdle preliminaries and finals, 60-meter dash semifinals and finals, and invite sections in the field events. Distance races anchor the evening portion of the meet, with the mile, 400 meters, and 800 meters leading into the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays to close out the Washburn Open.