Sheridan HS Grad Texas Tanner Repeats As MWC Male Track and Field Athlete Of The Year

Texas Tanner of Air Force has been named the 2026 Male Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year as voted on by the league’s head coaches.

Tanner earns the honor for a second consecutive year.

The honor is awarded to the best male and female student-athlete(s) in the Conference following the conclusion of the outdoor season.

A native of Sheridan, Wyoming, Tanner turned in a historic final collegiate outdoor season, recording the No. 2 marks in NCAA history in the discus (69.56m/228’2”) and the hammer throw (78.87m/258’9”) with his hammer mark serving as the best all-time throw by an American-born collegiate and best throw by any collegiate athlete since 1995.

At the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championship in June, Tanner earned a pair of first-team All-America honors, finishing as the national runner-up in the hammer (75.45m/247’6”) and earning a fourth-place finish in the discus (63.75m/209’2”) to become the most decorated All-American in Air Force history.

The hammer and discus finishes at the national meet were the highest by a Mountain West athlete in those events since 2003 and 2011, respectively.

The senior led the country in both events during the regular season and earned the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week award on April 13 after breaking a 26-year old Mountain West record in the discus, marking the first time an Air Force track and field athlete had earned a national weekly honor in program history.

Tanner also became the first from Air Force to be named to The Bowerman Award Watch List – the highest honor in collegiate track and field – and was the only thrower on the 10-man list released at the end of May.

Tanner finishes his career with his name etched in the Mountain West record books as he holds the championship meet records in the discus and hammer, the top-three marks in league history in the discus and the top-seven throws in the hammer in the Conference all-time.

He is a 2022 Sheridan HS graduate and the 2022 Wyoming Gatorade Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year.