A Star On The Rise

After making her debut for the Texas State Bobcats, the young freshman Precious Okougbodu continues to strive for success in triple jump and long jump.

The freshman brings a spark of positivity and optimism to the Texas State track and field team with her enthusiastic yet humble persona.

In her first ever indoor meet as a Bobcat she placed second in the women's triple jump with a jump of 12.49 meters/40-11.75. This mark put her 10th in the country and made her one of two freshmen ranked in the nation's top-10 this year. She currently ranks third in the Sun Belt conference. She has since jumped twice in other meets, with her second-best jump of the season only falling one inch short of her personal-best.

Before being recruited to Texas State, Okougbodu already had impressive jump numbers in middle and high school which attracted the attention of Texas State jumps and multi coach, Kendall Gustafson.

“The first thing that stood out to me were her numbers, this is where track recruiting always starts,” said Gustafson. “Precious was getting good results already and on top of this, I saw potential for growth.”

Interestingly, Okougbodu was a two-sport athlete. She trained and competed in both track and basketball all the way up until she came to college, reflecting this enthusiasm young Okougbodu holds.

“I love basketball players,” said Gustafson. “I think playing multiple sports is great for an athlete’s development and a lot of my best jumpers were actually basketball players.”

After being recruited and committing to Texas State, Okougbodu made the decision to only compete in track at the collegiate level.

“I love the individual side of being a jumper, while still feeling like you are part of a team,” said Okougbodu about the decision to stick to one sport.

With extremely impressive athletic abilities and her positive attitude towards life, both Okougbodu herself and Gustafson believe there is huge potential.

Prior to working with Gustafson, Okougbodu trained with Kenny Roseman, a successful private high school jumps coach in the Dallas area, whom Gustafson has become familiar with due to recruiting some of his athletes.

“When I first met Precious I loved her personality and her attitude” said Roseman. He describes her as being fierce with a huge competitive spirit. 

With aspirations to break records and achieve greatness beyond college, Okougbodu prefers to take a step-by-step approach, taking everything in her stride.

“I do have aspirations to jump professionally but right now it’s not really on my mind because first I just want to focus and progress in college, but I do think the time will come where it will be something I will think about,” said Okougbodu with a smile.

The climb to the top is a process and having a trusting player-to-coach relationship is important. For Okougbodu and Gustafson, they have quickly established this relationship, which naturally started the recruiting process. Okougbodu appreciated how attentive and considerate Gustafson was throughout the entire process. And for Gustafson, the early payoff has been evident.

“Precious is humble, she's coachable and she cares about what I say,” said Gustafson. “We really do have a great relationship.”

Although born and raised in Batch Springs, Texas, Okougbodu’s parents, Omon and Juliet, moved to the United States from Nigeria because “they wanted a better life for my siblings and I, and also for themselves,” said Okougbodu.

“I had a really good circle of people growing up,” Okougbodu said.

Inspired by her bible study teacher, Dawn Ewansiha from the Church of God Mission International in Dallas, growing up with a strong connection to her church has contributed greatly to this humble yet driven attitude of hers.

Okougbodu also comes from a sports-driven background. Both her siblings competed in track while her father played soccer in Nigeria and her mother ran track and competed in the high jump.

On her visit to Texas State, Okougbodu was stunned by the beautiful campus and declared “It just felt like home, especially after meeting the jump squad. They really have become my second family now.”

With one semester completed at Texas State, Okougbodu continues to feel at home while shining brightly as a track star.

Her former Coach Roseman states “As amazing as the season is going I’m confident she is not happy yet” and this reveals true with the aspirations she has in mind. 

With her beaming smile, Okougbodu reflects on how thankful she is for the current jump team she has around her “I would like to shout out Chris Preddie and Aiden Hayes for acting like big siblings towards Lamine Sall, Amaya McCbride, Siena Lambert and I.”

A Bobcat has not won the conference indoor championship in the women’s triple jump since 2020 and there has only been one in the last nine years. 

“My goal right now is to place top three at conference and to break the school record of 42 feet.”