Air Force Record, Fifth-Place Finish Caps Texas Tanner's Weekend at NCAA Indoors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Backed by an Air Force Record throw of 20.25 meters (66'5¼") on his final attempt, senior Texas Tanner captured a fifth-place finish – and First-Team All-American honors – in the shot put this afternoon (March 14) to close out action at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Recording the first 20-meter throw by a service academy thrower, Tanner easily improved his own Air Force and All-Academy Records, while accounting for the third-best distance in Mountain West history.

AIR FORCE RECORD

Texas Tanner, Men's Shot Put (20.25m, 66'5¼")

Tanner immediately got on the board with a 17.96-meter mark on his opening attempt. He improved his distance to 18.83 meters on the next throw, before using a third-round mark of 19.21 meters to vault from 13th to eighth and secure a place in the final. After posting distances of 18.89 and 19.59 to remain in eighth, Tanner unleashed his record-setting distance of 20.25 meters to jump into the top five.

With that placement, Tanner matched the second-highest indoor finish by a Mountain West shot putter in the last decade and also recorded the best NCAA Indoor finish by a member of the Air Force men's team during that same span. It's the fourth All-American finish for Tanner, who placed fourth in the hammer throw at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships and claimed second-team indoor status in last year's shot put and yesterday's weight throw. With today's award, he joins Nick Frawley, Sam Gilman, Michael Rhoads, Jaci Smith, Shelley Spires, and Jamiel Trimble as the most decorated All-Americans in Air Force history.

With the indoor season complete, Air Force will now turn its attention to the outdoor portion of the 2026 campaign. The Falcons begin competition next week, when they head down I-25 to Pueblo for the Dr. Dan Caprioglio Early Bird Invitational on March 20-21.

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