Akron Track and Field Announces Award Winners at 2018 Celebration Banquet

Akron Track and Field Announces Award Winners at 2018 Celebration Banquet

October 08 | Track & Field

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AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron track and field team celebrated its 2018 campaign at the squad's annual Akron Track Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 7, at the Stile Athletics Field House, as head coach Dennis Mitchell handed out awards to 11 student-athletes.

"Each year's Track Celebration is something to look forward to each October," commented Mitchell. "It was a good opportunity to go over so many of last year's memorable performances. There did not seem to be enough awards to give out for all the excellent things done by many of the Zips' Track and Field athletes."

Junior Matt Ludwig (Chardon, Ohio) was honored as the Men's Most Valuable Athlete for both the indoor and outdoor campaigns, while senior Jackie Siefring (Covington, Ohio) and junior Lucy Bryan (Bristol, England) were recognized as the Women's Most Valuable Athletes for the indoor and outdoor campaigns, respectively.

Ludwig garnered a pair of first-team All-America citations placing second in the men's pole vault with a mark of 18-2.50 (5.55m) at the NCAA Championships in June in Eugene, Ore., while earning a fourth-place performance in the pole vault eclipsing 18-4.50 (5.60m) at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. Additionally, Ludwig won a pair of Mid-American Conference titles in the pole vault.

Siefring capped a stellar indoor campaign for the Zips earning first-team All-America honors after placing fourth in the women's pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a school-record score of 4,365. She also captured a pair of MAC titles winning the pentathlon (4,124) for the third consecutive campaign, while also triumphing in the long jump (19-11.50/6.08m).

Siefring concluded her brilliant Zips' career earning All-America accolades for the sixth time at the NCAA Outdoor Championships placing 10th in the heptathlon with a seven-event score of 5,725. She also won her eighth league championship finishing first in the heptathlon at the MAC Outdoor Championships with a meet-record score of 5,688.

In the outdoor season, Bryan made her third NCAA Championship appearance in the women's pole vault placing seventh with a clearance of 14-1.25 (4.30m). She captured her first MAC title winning the pole vault with a clearance of 14-2 (4.32m) at the MAC Outdoor Championships. Those accomplishments came on the heels of finishing seventh at the NCAA Indoor Championships eclipsing 14-3.50 (4.36m), while also establishing a school-record mark of 14-8 (4.47m) at the Akron Invitational.

The women's newcomer award went to freshman Jenna Frantz (Versailles, Ohio) for both the indoor and outdoor seasons, while freshman Noah Williams (Hilton, N.Y.) and redshirt freshman Patrick Kimball (Pittsburgh, Pa.) claimed the honor for the men during the indoor and outdoor campaigns, respectively.

Frantz capped a stellar rookie campaign qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in the women's pole vault where she turned in the 17th-best mark with a clearance of 13-4.50 (4.08m). Additionally, she garnered a fourth-place finish in the pole vault at the MAC Outdoor Championships eclipsing 13-6/25 (4.12m). In the indoor season, she collected second-team All-MAC honors at the MAC Indoor Championships after placing second in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 13-5 (4.09m).

Williams earned second-team All-MAC accolades with runner-up efforts in the 400 meters and as a member of the 4x400 relay at the MAC Indoor Championships.

Kimball garnered a third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 14.21 at the MAC Outdoor Championships, while also placing third in the 60-meter hurdles at the MAC Indoor Championships with a season-best time of 8.05.

The Most Improved Athlete awards for the indoor campaign were handed out to redshirt junior Olivia Snyder (Navarre, Ohio) and redshirt sophomore Cole Wigal (Belpre, Ohio), while taking home laurels for the outdoor season were seniors Patricia Ortega (Logrono, Spain) and Taron Slone (Columbus, Ohio).

Snyder placed third in the shot put at the MAC Indoor Championships with a season- and career-best throw of 49-7.25 (15.12m), the fifth-best mark in indoor program history. She earned seven top-five performances in the shot put and six top-10 finishes in the weight throw on the campaign.

Wigal collected a third-place performance in the men's pole vault at the MAC Indoor Championships eclipsing a season-best 16-2.75 (4.95m), while also posting six top-five efforts in the pole vault during the indoor season.

Ortega garnered second-team All-America accolades after placing 15th in the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a seven-event cumulative score of 5,542. She earned her first-ever berth in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the heptathlon on the strength of a career-best score of 5,782 at the Bryan Clay Invitational, while recording second-team All-MAC accolades placing second in the heptathlon at the MAC Outdoor Championships with a seven-event score of 5,285.

Slone registered third- and fourth-place finishes in the 100 and 200 meters at the MAC Outdoor Championships, while running on the third-place 4x100 and sixth-place 4x400 relay teams. An NCAA East Preliminary Round qualifier in the 200 meters, he posted a career-best time of 20.65 in the opening round, fourth-fastest time in outdoor program history, before placing 24th in the quarterfinals with a time of 21.19.

Senior Daziah Green (Canton, Ohio) and Slone were bestowed upon with the Coaches' Award.

An NCAA East Preliminary Round qualifier in the 100 and 200 meters, Green established a school-record time of 22.99 in a driving rain storm in the preliminary round of the 200 meters to place 18th and advance to the finals where she posted a time of 23.78. She also turned in the second-fastest effort in outdoor program history in the preliminary round of the 100 meters with a time of 11.50 at the NCAA East Preliminary Round. Earlier in the season, she captured the 100- and 200-meter titles at the MAC Outdoor Championships, including recording a then school-record time of 11.51 in the 100 meters, while crossing the line in the 200 meters in 23.54.

Overall during the 2018 Indoor and Outdoor campaigns, the Zips combined to boast 10 first- or second-team All-America citations.

Akron garnered four All-America awards at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. Bryan, Ludwig and Siefring earned first-team honors in the women's pole vault, men's pole vault and women's pentathlon, respectively, while redshirt junior Jordan Latimer (Huber Heights, Ohio) was tabbed a second-team selection in the men's long jump.

The Zips entered the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships as one of five Division I schools to win an NCAA Outdoor Track and Field national title in each of the last four seasons (2014-17). The Zips joined Georgia, Florida, Oregon and Texas A&M. Akron narrowly missed extending its streak as Latimer and Ludwig each posted second-place performances in the men's long jump and pole vault, respectively.

In 2018, Akron tied for 16th in the men's outdoor competition with 16 points, while finishing tied for 46th place tallying three points in the women's field.

The Akron men's track and field team finished ahead of 11 teams ranked in the pre-NCAA Championship USTFCCCA top-25 poll including No. 6 Oregon, No. 7 Brigham Young, No. 12 Texas, No. 15 Kansas, No. 18 Northern Arizona, No. 19 Illinois, No. 20 Nebraska, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 23 Penn State, No. 24 Indiana and No. 25 Southern Mississippi. Additionally, the Zips bettered the efforts of 24 other Power-5 conference schools in the final team standings.

In 2018, Akron was one of only four non-Power-5 Conference schools (Akron, Brigham Young, New Mexico and Northern Arizona) to earn men's and women's team points at both the 2018 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, and one of only two from a Northern State.

The Zips' sustained dominance under Mitchell is even more impressive over the past five seasons as Akron has won seven of the program's nine national titles en route to earning 23 indoor and 42 outdoor All-America awards.

Over the same span, Akron is one of only 10 programs nationally to have scored in both the men's and women's team competitions at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The Zips are the lone non-Power-5 Conference institution included on that list.

Akron joins Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana State and Texas A&M from the Southeastern Conference, Oregon and Southern California from the Pac-12 Conference and Texas from the Big 12 Conference. Not represented on the list are schools from the Atlantic Coast and Big Ten Conferences.

Over the five-year period, Oregon has won six indoor NCAA titles (three men and three women), while Texas A&M, (M), Florida (M), Arkansas (W) and Georgia (W) own the remaining men's and women's championships. In the outdoor competition, the Gators and Oregon have registered a pair of men's team titles, while the Ducks, Razorbacks, Aggies and USC own two, one, one and one women's championships, respectively.

Akron excelled on the track during the outdoor campaign as nine Zips earned a berth to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. During the indoor season, four Akron student-athletes punched their tickets to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in College Station, Texas.

The Zips' women's team captured their eighth overall MAC Outdoor titles in May.

Mitchell was rewarded for his efforts this season as he was selected as the MAC Coach of the Year for the women during the outdoor campaign.

Akron concluded the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship, June 6-9, with the Zips turning in six performances that garnered first- or second-team All-America recognition.

Collecting first-team All-America recognition for the Zips was Bryan in the women's pole vault, Latimer in the men's long jump and Ludwig in the men's pole vault.

Earning second-team All-America honors for Akron in the men's long jump was senior Terrell McClain (Youngstown, Ohio), while Ortega and Siefring did so in the women's heptathlon. Juniors Rodrigo Iglesias (Logrono, Spain), Dara Perry (Akron, Ohio) and Abigale Wilson (Carrollton, Ohio) were tabbed as honorable mention All-America selections in the men's javelin, women's 100-meter hurdles and women's discus, respectively.

Collectively, the Zips established four school records, three for the women and one for the men's during the outdoor campaign.

Overall, Akron recorded 14 performances for the women and seven for the men among the top-five on the all-time Zips' outdoor lists.

Earning first-team All-MAC accolades during the outdoor season on the women's side were Bryan in the pole vault, Green in the 100 and 200 meters, Perry in the 100-meter hurdles, Siefring in the heptathlon and Wilson in the discus.

Taking home first-team laurels on the men's side was redshirt sophomore Ian Behm (Volant, Pa.) in the javelin, Latimer in the long jump, Ludwig in the pole vault and junior Curtis Richardson (Blacklick, Ohio) in the high jump.

The Zips also had eight student-athletes recognized with second-team honors. That list included; redshirt sophomore Malik Hudson (Cleveland, Ohio) in the men's decathlon, Iglesias in the men's javelin, McClain in the men's long jump, Ortega in the women's heptathlon, senior Ariadna Ramos Gandia (Barcelona, Spain) in the women's triple jump, senior Kwadarrius Smith (Orlando, Fla.) in the men's 100 meters and Wigal in the men's pole vault. Additionally, Wilson finished second in the women's shot put.

During the indoor campaign, a trio of Akron student-athletes collected first-team All-America recognition for the Zips in Bryan in the women's pole vault, Ludwig in the men's pole vault and Siefring in the women's pentathlon. Earning second-team honors for Akron was Latimer in the men's long jump.

Collectively, the Zips established four school records on the women's side during the indoor campaign.

Overall, Akron recorded 11 performances for the women and 10 for the men among the top-five on the all-time Zips' indoor lists.

Earning first-team All-MAC accolades on the women's side were Siefring in the pentathlon and long jump and Perry in the 60-meter hurdles.

Taking home first-team laurels on the men's side were Latimer in the long jump, Ludwig in the pole vault, junior Kamar Majid (Akron, Ohio) in the heptathlon and Richardson in the high jump.

The Zips also had seven student-athletes recognized with second-team honors. That list included; Frantz in the women's pole vault, Ortega in the women's pentathlon, Slone in the men's 60 meters, junior Cody Stine (Shelby, Ohio) in the men's high jump, Williams in the men's 400 meters, the men's 4x400 relay squad of redshirt junior Milton Greer (Copley, Ohio), Williams, Hudson and Slone. Additionally, Frantz was named the Women's Freshman Field Performer of the Meet.