TXST TRACK & FIELD
The newest tradition for Texas State athletics has been the teams who have won a conference championship or make the postseason jump into the San Marcos River, similar to how Texas State graduates jump into the river to celebrate graduating.
The team that has made the most out of the new tradition has been the Track and Field program, which saw both the men’s and women’s teams sweep the Sun Belt Indoor Track and Field conference championships. In fact, the tradition has been a major recruiting attraction for Head Coach John Frazier.
“It’s fun to be able to do it, and [the athletes] look forward to it,” Frazier said. “Even in the recruiting process, they see the social media videos and all of that. They want a part of that. They like the specialness that we have here in Texas State and a lot of schools don’t have what we have in certain ways that we can celebrate. They have other things at other schools, but this is special to Texas State.”
It was the fourth consecutive conference title for the women’s team, who have won the 2024 Sun Belt Outdoor title, the 2025 Sun Belt Indoor title and the 2025 Sun Belt Outdoor title. It was also the men’s team’s second consecutive conference title, having won the 2025 Sun Belt Outdoor championship.
The sweep also marked the first time the Bobcats swept the men’s and women’s indoor conference titles.
“This was very special because we had points from every area,” Frazier said. “Probably the greatest thing is we had so many people stepping up. People that weren’t expected to score, who snuck in and scored. We had athletes that were hurting, stayed in the meet and kept going. Just so many great stories within the competition.”
On the women’s team, senior Abigail Parra was the highest point scorer of the conference meet with 28 points. Parra captured the gold medal in both the 800-M run and the 1,600-M run, the latter setting a new conference record. Parra also placed second in the 3,000-M run. Last year, Parra also captured 1st place in the Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships.
Frazier talked about how the senior has come a long way from where she started to capture gold medals at the conference meet.
“The changing of coaches was probably the hugest role for her,” Frazier said. She was challenged and given the right training. Coach [Randal] Grizzle recognized her talent right away and knew exactly what to do with her, which was probably the greatest thing for her.”
Joining Parra on the gold medal stand were seniors Elisabet Runarsdottir, who took first place in the weight throw, and Melanie Duron who took first place in the shot put.
On the men’s side, freshman Ja’Shaun Lloyd was the highest point scorer in the conference meet after winning gold in the 60-M run, third fastest time in program history, and the 60-M hurdles. Lloyd also took second place in the 200-M run and fourth place on the Men’s 4x400-M relay team.
This is fourth consecutive conference title for the women’s team and the second consecutive conference title for the men’s team. Texas State will look to sweep the Sun Belt Outdoor conference championships in May. Daily Record photo by Colton McWilliams
“[It’s] very huge as a freshman on the pressure that he puts on himself and that he has to want to be the best,” Frazier said. “He did an awesome job. To literally go out there and do what he did with mainly being a hurdler, he did a great job, of course.”
Also earning gold at the conference meet was the high jump duo of senior Aiden Hayes and freshman Tshephang Dankuru, who both tied for first place, clearing 7 ft, 3.25 inches to set a new conference meet record.
As the teams prepare for the Sun Belt Outdoor Conference championships, Frazier knows how big the target is on the Bobcats’ back with this being the last year in the Sun Belt Conference.
“The one thing is today we’re enjoying this, but tomorrow, they have to get back to work,” Frazier said. “The whole Sun Belt is gunning after us. They made it clear ‘we’re gonna see you at outdoors.’ We have to keep a chip on our shoulder, stay focused and not let anything get in our way to accomplish our goals.”
