STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State freshman Prestina Ochonogor shined once again on the international stage taking home gold and setting a new African U20 record at the 2025 African U20 Championships in Abeokuta, Nigeria on Saturday.
Ochonogor dominated with all three of her jumps exceeding 6.60 meters. She set a new season best and posted her third-best lifetime leap with a 6.71-meter jump. That leap established herself with the U20 African record and U20 African championships record as well.
The youngster breaks the U20 record previously held by fellow Nigerian Olympian, Ese Brume. Brume’s best leap of 6.61 meters came when she was 19 years and 162 days old. Ochonogor recently celebrated her 19th birthday, setting the new record at 19 years and 16 days old. Brume also held the meet record of 6.33 meters set over 10 years ago when the competition was in Addis Abada, Ethiopia.
The Bennin, Nigeria, native, has been setting constant records since joining the Tarleton State squad. In her first jump as a Texan, she set the new women’s indoor long jump school record and WAC Championships Meet record with a 6.49-meter jump. She bested herself later on in the competition re-breaking those records and setting a new all-time WAC record with a 6.64-meter leap. But she wasn’t done there. In the outdoor slate, she set the new school record at the Texas Relays. At the WAC Outdoor Championships, she tied the meet record with a 6.67-meter leap.
Ochonogor is no stranger to competing for Nigeria at the national level. A summer ago, Ochonogor jumped for Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics. As one of the youngest competitors at the 2024 Paris Games and one of the youngest to compete for Nigeria, the then 17-year-old finished 12th in the women’s long jump.
In her first season as a collegiate athlete, the freshman brought home major accolades. She won the WAC long jump title in both the indoor and outdoor season and was a First Team All-American with an eighth-place finish at each NCAA National Championship. She also earned the WAC Outdoor Female Freshman of the Year, the second Texan this year to win the honor, joining indoor freshman Victoria Cameron.
At the end of the month, Ochonogor will compete at the Nigerian National Championships in the long jump. The freshman will be competing for a chance to earn a bid to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September.
