Following three NCAA Division 1 titles and indoor pentathlon collegiate record last year at Texas A&M, standout from Trinidad and Tobago transfers to join Longhorns' program

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Tyra Gittens, the reigning NCAA Division 1 outdoor winner in the women’s heptathlon and indoor champion in the pentathlon and high jump, has confirmed her transfer to Texas after being a Bowerman Award finalist in December for Texas A&M.

Gittens, who represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Olympics and placed 10th in the long jump final in Tokyo, also set the collegiate indoor pentathlon record with 4,746 points at last year’s Division 1 championship meet at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

The arrival of Gittens in Austin helps the Longhorns offset the departure of fellow Bowerman Award finalist and U.S. Olympian Tara Davis, the collegiate indoor and outdoor record holder in the long jump and NCAA champion in both events. Davis is now a professional athlete training in Arkansas and representing Champion.

Gittens amassed 26 points at the Division 1 indoor final last year for the Aggies – also placing third in the long jump – and scored 24 points at the outdoor championship meet, adding a runner-up finish in the long jump and third-place effort in the high jump.

Gittens also joins a strong multi-event group for Texas, including current collegiate indoor pentathlon leader Kristine Blazevica, a Latvian athlete who accumulated 4,402 points Jan. 28 at the Texas Tech Open.

Gittens, the reigning USTFCCCA Women's Field Athlete of the Year, also ranks No. 3 in collegiate outdoor history with 6,418 points in the heptathlon, which she amassed last year at the Southeastern Conference Championships.