2025-26 Track & Field Roster
Rylan Smart
- Position:
- Throws
- Height:
- 6-3
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Hometown:
- Sanger, Texas
- High School:
- Sanger HS
2024-2025
Indoors – competed in just a few meets nursing a nagging injury, but at the WAC Championship, he still finished in 8 th place in the weight throw and 12 th in the shot put.
Outdoors – competed in the first meet of the year, the ACU Wes Kittley Invitational and finished 6 th in the hammer throw and 10 th in the discus, but an ongoing injury problem did not allow him to compete for the rest of the season.
2023-2024
Indoors – Rylan threw in 5 indoor meets, opening the season at the JD Martin Invitational in Norman, OK, placing 3rd in the weight throw and 4th in the shot put. At the TTU Jarvis Scott Open, Ryan placed 6th in the WT with a new personal record of 58-6/17.83 and he concluded the indoor season by placing 5th in the WT at the WAC Championship, thus scoring at his first ever conference championship.
Outdoors – threw in 7 meets. Started the season with a 3rd place finish in the hammer throw at ACU’s Wes Kittley Invitational. Rylan placed 4th in the HT at 3 meets – the Masked Rider Open at Texas Tech, the David Noble Relays in San Angelo (where he launched his personal best throw of 185-3/56.47) and the Joe Gillespie Invitational in Stephenville. Rylan would top off a successful season placing 5th in the HT at the WAC Championship in Orem, UT.
2022-2023
Indoors – redshirted indoors, but still competed in 2 meets at Texas Tech unattached. In the TTU Jarvis Scott, he placed 6th in the shot put and 10th in the weight throw.
Outdoors – redshirted outdoors as well, but competed in 4 meets unattached. At the HSU Invite, Rylan won the shot put, was 3rd in the hammer throw and 4th in the discus. Picking up the HT quickly, he also placed 5th in the Wes Kittley Invitational and 9th in the TTU Masked Rider Invitational.
Before ACU
At Sanger HS, Rylan lettered in both football and basketball, but it was in T&F that he made his biggest mark. In his senior year, at the 4A state meet he won the discus and placed 4th in the shot put, as well as during his junior year, he placed 2nd in the 4A DT. His HS bests were 174-1 in the discus and 53-2 in the shot put.
Personal
Graduated in 2022 from Sanger HS as a member of the National Honor Society. His parents are Rocky and Monica Smart. His father, Rocky Smart, was an all-conference offensive lineman for Hardin Simmons. Rylan’s sister, Ashlynn Smart, was a 4-year letter-winner at UNT in T&F and as part of the UNT T&F team, competed in the hammer throw at ACU in 2019 at the Wes Kittley Invitational and 2021 in the ACU Last Chance meet. At ACU, Rylan is a Sport Management major.
What is your favorite thing about ACU? The way that ACU has always felt like home.
Indoors – competed in just a few meets nursing a nagging injury, but at the WAC Championship, he still finished in 8 th place in the weight throw and 12 th in the shot put.
Outdoors – competed in the first meet of the year, the ACU Wes Kittley Invitational and finished 6 th in the hammer throw and 10 th in the discus, but an ongoing injury problem did not allow him to compete for the rest of the season.
2023-2024
Indoors – Rylan threw in 5 indoor meets, opening the season at the JD Martin Invitational in Norman, OK, placing 3rd in the weight throw and 4th in the shot put. At the TTU Jarvis Scott Open, Ryan placed 6th in the WT with a new personal record of 58-6/17.83 and he concluded the indoor season by placing 5th in the WT at the WAC Championship, thus scoring at his first ever conference championship.
Outdoors – threw in 7 meets. Started the season with a 3rd place finish in the hammer throw at ACU’s Wes Kittley Invitational. Rylan placed 4th in the HT at 3 meets – the Masked Rider Open at Texas Tech, the David Noble Relays in San Angelo (where he launched his personal best throw of 185-3/56.47) and the Joe Gillespie Invitational in Stephenville. Rylan would top off a successful season placing 5th in the HT at the WAC Championship in Orem, UT.
2022-2023
Indoors – redshirted indoors, but still competed in 2 meets at Texas Tech unattached. In the TTU Jarvis Scott, he placed 6th in the shot put and 10th in the weight throw.
Outdoors – redshirted outdoors as well, but competed in 4 meets unattached. At the HSU Invite, Rylan won the shot put, was 3rd in the hammer throw and 4th in the discus. Picking up the HT quickly, he also placed 5th in the Wes Kittley Invitational and 9th in the TTU Masked Rider Invitational.
Before ACU
At Sanger HS, Rylan lettered in both football and basketball, but it was in T&F that he made his biggest mark. In his senior year, at the 4A state meet he won the discus and placed 4th in the shot put, as well as during his junior year, he placed 2nd in the 4A DT. His HS bests were 174-1 in the discus and 53-2 in the shot put.
Personal
Graduated in 2022 from Sanger HS as a member of the National Honor Society. His parents are Rocky and Monica Smart. His father, Rocky Smart, was an all-conference offensive lineman for Hardin Simmons. Rylan’s sister, Ashlynn Smart, was a 4-year letter-winner at UNT in T&F and as part of the UNT T&F team, competed in the hammer throw at ACU in 2019 at the Wes Kittley Invitational and 2021 in the ACU Last Chance meet. At ACU, Rylan is a Sport Management major.
What is your favorite thing about ACU? The way that ACU has always felt like home.
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