The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
FIFTH-ANNUAL AKRON POLE VAULT CONVENTION
Field Set for Fifth-Annual Akron Pole Vault Convention
January 03 | Track & Field
Follow Zips Track & Field on Twitter (@ZipsTFCC) and Facebook
2017 AKRON POLE VAULT CONVENTION SCHEDULE | REGISTRATION INFORMATION
AKRON, Ohio – A star-studded cast – including Olympians, national and world champions and NCAA national champions – will highlight the list of competitors putting their elite skills on display at the fifth annual Pole Vault Convention, hosted by The University of Akron track and field program this Saturday, Jan. 7, at Stile Athletics Field House.
In all, the elite pole vault competition will feature 15 athletes (eight men's competitors and seven men's competitors) and is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 cash only. Akron students are free with ZipCard. Tickets can be purchased inside the Recreation and Wellness Center along the ramp to the Field House. Gates open at 6 p.m.
The list of men's competitors include 2016 Olympic finalist, 2015 IAAF World Champion, Canadian record holder, three-time NCAA champion and six-time Akron All-American Shawn Barber.
Scott Houston, Jeff Coover and Chase Brannon, who posted the fifth-, eighth- and 13th-best jumps (by mark) by Americans in 2016, will also headline the men's field.
Akron senior Matt Rowland (Bellevue, Ohio), the 2016 Mid-American Conference indoor and outdoor pole vault champion and 2016 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-American will compete in the elite competition.
Making his Akron debut after competing as a freshman for Missouri, is Matt Ludwig (Chardon, Ohio). In 2016, Ludwig garnered All-America accolades after placing 10th at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Former and current collegiate stars Max Babits (Eastern Michigan) and Sean Young (South Florida) also are in the men's field.
Saturday's competition will represent the only opportunity this season for Akron fans to witness Barber vault in person.
Women's competitors include 2012 Olympic champion and 2008 Olympic Silver medalist Jenn Suhr, who is ranked No. 3 in the world; 2016 Olympic finalist (Canada) and 2014 USTFCCA All-American at Indiana, Kelsie Ahbe, who is currently rated No. 35 in world; NCAA Division II record holder Katie Nageotte, who is ranked 15th in the world; Alysha Newman, a 2016 Olympian for Canada and 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship runner-up at the University of Miami, who is rated 25th in the world; Mary Saxer, the 35th-ranked vaulter in the world and 2015 USATF National Indoor Championships runner-up.
Suhr registered the top-ranked mark by an American in 2016, while Saxer and Nageotte eclipsed the fourth- and seventh-best marks by a United States women's pole vaulter in 2016.
Akron standouts senior Becky Szabo (North Olmsted, Ohio), the 2016 MAC Indoor Championship runner-up, and 2016 MAC Outdoor Championship runner-up redshirt junior Rebecca Pietsch (Dusseldorf, Germany) round out the women's field.
Akron's annual Pole Vault Convention is an all-inclusive pole vault experience for athletes, coaches and parents that features classroom sessions, learn-by-doing clinics, and competitions.
Suhr and her husband Rick will speak to convention participants at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 8, before 2016 Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi and her husband Mitchell Krier take the stage at 11 a.m.
The three-day convention, which is the vision of Zips' head track and field coach Dennis Mitchell, begins with registration Friday at 5 p.m. Mitchell has coached more than 100 All-American honors during his career, including All-Americans in the pole vault at the University of Texas, University of North Carolina, and University of Akron.
2017 AKRON POLE VAULT CONVENTION PARTICIPANT HIGHLIGHTS
MEN'S COMPETITORS
SHAWN BARBER – CANADA/UNIVERSITY OF AKRON (FORMERLY)
• 2016 Olympic Finalist
• 2015 IAAF World Outdoor Pole Vault Champion
• 2015 Pan American Games Champion
• 2015 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Pole Vault Champion
• Holds No. 4 World Ranking in Pole Vault
• 2014 NCAA Indoor Pole Vault Champion
• 2012 World Junior Championships Bronze Medalist
• Canadian Pole Vault Record Holder
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 5.93 (19-5 1/2) [7/25/15]
Indoor – 6.00 (19-8 1/4) [1/15/16]
MAX BABITS – USA/EASTERN MICHIGAN (FORMERLY)
• Placed fifth at 2014 NCAA Indoor Championship
• Placed 19th at 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championship
• Three-time Mid-American Conference Runner-up
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 5.41 (17-9) [4/11/15]
Indoor – 5.51 (18-1) [2/22/14]
CHASE BRANNON – USA/TENNESSEE (FORMERLY)
• Two-time USTFCCCA All-American (2012 Indoor/Outdoor)
• Finished 11th at 2016 USATF National Indoor Championships
• 2012 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor pole vault qualifier
• Holds No. 85 World Ranking in Pole Vault
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 5.51 (18-1) [5/21/16]
Indoor – 5.47 (17-11 1/4) [2/20/16]
JEFF COOVER – USA/INDIANA (FORMELY)
• Finished seventh at 2016 USATF National Indoor Championships
• Competed at 2016 USATF Olympic Trials
• Placed seventh at 2008 NCAA Indoor Championship
• 2009 Big Ten Conference Indoor champion
• Holds No. 69 World Ranking in Pole Vault
• Ranked No. 16 in World during 2015 Indoor campaign
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 5.60 (18-1) [6/21/13]
Indoor – 5.68 (18-1) [2/20/15]
SCOTT HOUSTON – USA/INDIANA UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY)
• Ranked No. 46 in World during 2015 Indoor campaign
• Placed 21st at 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championship
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 5.65 (18-6 1/2) [4/23/16]
Indoor – 5.60 (18-4 1/2) [1/9/16]
MATT LUDWIG – AKRON/MISSOURI (FORMERLY)
• Placed 10th at 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship while competing for Missouri
• 2016 USTFCCCA All-American (2016 Outdoor)
• Finished third at Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championship
• No. 8 in the U.S. for the indoor pole vault (2015)
• No. 10 in the U.S. for the outdoor pole vault (2015)
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 5.46 (17-11) [4/30/16]
Indoor – 5.30 (17-4 1/2) [1/15/16]
MATT ROWLAND – AKRON
• 2016 Mid-American Conference Indoor and Outdoor Champion
• Four-time All-MAC (First Team-2016 Outdoor/Indoor) (Second Team-2015 Outdoor/Indoor)
• 2016 USTFCCCA All-American - Honorable Mention (Outdoor)
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 5.30 (17-4 1/2) [3/31/16]
Indoor – 5.33 (17-5 3/4) [2/20/15]
SEAN YOUNG – USA/SOUTH FLORIDA (FORMERLY)
• Four-year outdoor pole vaulter at South Florida
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 5.51 (18-1) [6/8/13]
Indoor – 5.42 (17-9 1/4) [2/6/16]
WOMEN'S COMPETITORS
JENN SUHR – USA
• 2012 Olympic Champion
• 2016 World Indoor Champion
• 2008 Olympic Silver medalist
• 2013 World Outdoor Championship Silver medalist
• 2008 World Indoor Championship Silver medalist
• American Outdoor Women's Pole Vault record holder
• Captured pole vault title at 2016 USATF Olympic Trials
• Finished second at 2016 USATF National Indoor Championships
• Holds No. 3 World Ranking in Pole Vault
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 4.92 (16-1 3/4) [6/6/08]
Indoor – 5.03 (16-6) [1/30/16]
KELSIE AHBE – CANADA/INDIANA (FORMERLY)
• 2016 Olympic finalist
• Holds No. 35 World Ranking in Pole Vault
• 2014 USTFCCA All-American
• Finished second at 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championship
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 4.55 (14-11) [8/16/16]
Indoor – 4.47 (14-8) [2/7/15]
KATIE NAGEOTTE – USA/ASHLAND UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY)
• Holds No. 15 World Ranking in Pole Vault
• Holds No. 8 ranking in the United States
• Finished fifth at 2016 USATF Olympic Trials
• Finished sixth at 2016 USATF National Indoor Championships
• Finished third at 2015 USATF National Indoor Championships
• Finished fourth at 2015 USATF National Outdoor Championships
• Finished ninth at 2014 USATF National Indoor Championships
• Set Division II NCAA pole vault record while at Ashland.
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 4.60 (15-1) [6/10/16]
Indoor – 4.63 (15-2 1/4) [3/4/16]
ALYSHA NEWMAN – CANADA/UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI/EASTERN MICHIGAN (FORMERLY)
• Finished 17th at 2016 Olympics (Canada)
• Holds No. 25 World Ranking in Pole Vault
• 2016 USTFCCCA All-American (Indoor/Outdoor)
• Finished second at 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship
• Finished fourth at 2016 NCAA Indoor Championship
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 4.61 (15-1 1/2) [7/28/16]
Indoor – 4.50 (14-9) [2/6/16]
REBECCA PIETSCH – AKRON
• Finished second at 2016 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championship
• Finished 32nd at 2016 NCAA East Preliminary Round
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 4.15 (13-7 1/4) [5/23/15]
Indoor – 4.01 (13-1 3/4) [2/19/16]
MARY SAXER – USA/NOTRE DAME (FORMERLY)
• Finished fifth at 2016 USATF National Indoor Championships
• Made finals at 2016 USATF Olympic Trials
• Finished second at 2015 USATF National Indoor Championships
• Holds No. 35 World Ranking in Pole Vault
• Holds No. 8 ranking in the United States
• Two-time USTFCCCA All-American
• Placed third at 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championship
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 4.70 (15-5) [6/6/13]
Indoor – 4.71 (15-5 1/2) [2/23/14]
BECKY SZABO – AKRON
• Finished second at 2016 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championship
• Finished fifth at 2016 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championship
• Finished 20th at 2016 NCAA East Preliminary Round
Career-Best Marks
Outdoor – 4.15 (13-7 1/4) [3/28/15]
Indoor – 4.15 (13-1 3/4) [2/27/16]
Players Mentioned
