Akron Track and Field to be Tested at Trio of Weekend Meets

Friday, February 9

Fayetteville, Ark.

University of Akron

Tyson Invitational

Photo by: Jeff Harwell

Akron Track and Field to be Tested at Trio of Weekend Meets

February 08 | Track & Field

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HUSKY CLASSIC: MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | MEET SCHEDULE (PDF) | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO ($) | ACCEPTED ENTRIES (PDF)

KENT STATE QUALIFIER: MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | MEET SCHEDULE (PDF) | LIVE STATS | ACCEPTED ENTRIES (PDF)

TYSON INVITATIONAL: MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | MEET SCHEDULE (PDF) | LIVE STATS | SEC+/WATCH ESPN (FRI) VIDEO | SEC+/WATCH ESPN (SAT) VIDEO | ACCEPTED ENTRIES (PDF)

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's and women's track and field teams are set to compete in a trio of meets this weekend as the Zips will participate at the Husky Classic, Tyson Invitational and Kent State Qualifier.

UP NEXT: The bulk of the Akron roster will travel to Kent to compete in the Kent State Qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 10. Scheduled to take part in the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., will be sophomore Lucy Bryan (Bristol, England), redshirt freshman Abby Helminiak (Toledo, Ohio), redshirt junior Jordan Latimer (Huber Heights, Ohio), junior Matt Ludwig (Chardon, Ohio), senior Ariadna Ramos Gandia (Barcelona, Spain), junior Curtis Richardson (Blacklick, Ohio), senior Jackie Siefring (Covington, Ohio) and junior Cody Stine (Shelby, Ohio), while redshirt junior Mackenzie Andrews (Toowoomba, Australia) will race at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash.

The Zips will go against a nine-team field at the Kent State Qualifier which includes; Akron, Ashland, Buffalo, Kent State, Michigan, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Tiffin and Toledo.

The meet will begin with the women's weight throw at noon before the women's 5,000 meters kicks off action on the track at 1 p.m. The men's 4x400 relay will conclude the day's festivities at approximately 6:20 p.m.

Nine men's teams and six women's squads ranked among the top 25 nationally in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I Indoor Track and Field National Team Computer Rankings released on Feb. 5 will be featured in a 32-team field at the Tyson Invitational, including; Akron, Albany, Arkansas, Arkansas Baptist, Auburn, Baylor, Coffeyville CC, Colorado, Fairleigh Dickinson, Florida State, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Loyola-Chicago, LSU, Missouri, Missouri Southern, North Carolina A&T, Northwestern State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Paradise Valley, Purdue, SMU, South Dakota, South Plains, Tennessee Tech, Texas, Virginia Tech, Windsor and Wichita State.

The men's collegiate pole vault commences field events on Friday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. ET, before runners hit the track at 3:15 p.m. ET for the women collegiate mile. Final-day competition on Saturday, Feb. 10, starts with the women's collegiate pole vault at noon ET before the men's collegiate 200 meters gets underway at 3 p.m. ET.

The Husky Classic will feature a 79-team field, including; Academy of Art, Adams State, Air Force, Akron, Alaska-Anchorage, Arizona, Arkansas, Azusa Pacific, Boise State, Bradley, British Columbia, Butler, Cal Poly, Cal-State Fullerton, Cal-State Northridge, California, Central Washington, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, College of Idaho, Colorado, Colorado State, Concordia (Ore.), Detroit, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Idaho, Idaho State, Iona, Linfield, Loyola Marymount, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northwest University, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific Lutheran, Penn State, Pomona-Pitzer, Portland, Sacramento State, San Francisco, San Francisco State, Santa Clara, Seattle Pacific, Seattle, Simon Fraser, Southern Oregon, Southern Utah, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Lutheran, Trinity Western, Tulane, University of Alberta, University of Victoria, UC Riverside, UMass-Lowell, UNLV, UT-Arlington, UT-Rio Grande Valley, Utah, UTEP, Washington, Washington State, Weber State, Western Oregon, Western State, Western Washington and Wyoming.

Andrews will run in the sixth of seven flights of the women's mile on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 6:27 p.m. ET.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: The Tyson Invitational will mark Akron's biggest challenge of the season as the Zips will go up against some of the top-rated athletes in the country.

In the women's pole vault, Lucy Bryan and Abby Helminiak face five of the top-six rated vaulters in the NCAA this season and nine of the top 15 overall. The Zips' duo comes into the competition owning the Nos. 4 (14-8/4.47m) and 22 (13-7.25/4.15m) marks in the country this season. The field includes the second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-ranked vaulters nationally in Alexis Jacobus (15-2.75/4.64m) and Victoria Hoggard (14-10.75/4.54m) from Arkansas, Bryan and Virginia Tech's Lisa Gunarsson (14-7.50/4.46m)

In the men's pole vault, it will be a battle of the top-two vaulters in the country in 2018 as Matt Ludwig, who owns the No. 2 mark (18-6.75/5.66m) in the nation will get his first look in 2018 at South Dakota's Chris Nilsen, who maintains a national-best clearance of 18-9.25 (5.72m). A year ago, Ludwig won the 2017 NCAA Outdoor title, while Nilsen placed third. During the indoor campaign, Nilsen captured the NCAA crown, while Ludwig finished third.

In the men's long jump, Jordan Latimer, who owns the No. 8 mark in the country this season having jumped 25-7.50 (7.81m) at the Akron Invitational, will square off against a pair of Texas Longhorns in Steffin McCarter and O'Brien Wasome, who hold the Nos. 5 (25-9.25/7.85m) and 7 (25-8/7.81m) marks nationally.

In the men's high jump, Cody Stine (No. 22 - 7-1/2.16m) and Curtis Richardson will face a field that includes Oklahoma's Vernon Turner (No. 2 - 7-6.50/2.30m) and Indiana's Jyles Etienne (No. 9 - 7-3/2.21m).

In the women's triple jump Ariadna Ramos Gandia, who enters the weekend with the 42nd-rated mark (41-1.50/12.53m) in the country and will face five competitors ranked ahead of her, including Iowa's Jahisha Thomas (No. 11 - 43-0.25/13.11m).

Additionally, Jackie Siefring, who is ranked fourth in the NCAA in the pentathlon and 14th (4,308) in the long jump (20-3.50/6.18m) will be tested in the long jump, 60-meter hurdles and 200 meters.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: The University of Akron men's and women's track and field teams continue to garner recognition for their efforts this season as the Zips were ranked 30th and 33rd, respectively, in the 2018 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I Indoor Track and Field National Team Computer Rankings released on Feb. 5.

The Zips' men's and women's squads are the highest-rated teams in the Mid-American Conference, while the men's and women's squads are ranked No. 21 and No. 25, respectively, in the latest Collegiate Indoor Dual Meet Rankings as compiled by Jesse Squire for Track and Field News. The Akron women and men are also each ranked seventh in the Great Lakes Regional polls.

ZIPS AMONG NATION'S BEST IN LATEST TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron currently has eight student-athletes ranked in the top-25 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS), including Matt Ludwig and Jackie Siefring who are second in the men's pole vault (18-6.75/5.66m) and women's pentathlon (4,308), respectively.

Also rated among the top-25 is Jordan Latimer (eighth in men's long jump – 25-7.50/7.81m), Lucy Bryan (fourth in the women's pole vault – 14-8/4.47m), Siefring (14th in the long jump – 20-3.50/6.18m), senior Patricia Ortega (Logrono, Spain) (15th in the women's pentathlon – 4,008) Abby Helminiak (22nd in the women's pole vault – 13-7.25/4.15m), Cody Stine (22nd in the men's high jump – 7-1/2.16m) and Mackenzie Andrews (24th in women's mile – 4:42.42).

CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP-FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips garnered a pair of school records a week ago at the Akron Invitational as part of seven overall top-five program marks.

Jackie Siefring established an indoor program and Stile Athletics Field House record mark of 4,308 en route to winning the women's pentathlon surpassing her own school-record score of 4,215. Posting the fourth-highest total in the event in indoor program history was Ortega, who registered a five-event cumulative score of 4,008.

Equally impressive in the women's pole vault was Lucy Bryan, who eclipsed Annika Roloff, the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Champion, school-record mark of 14-7.25 (4.45m).

Turning in the second-longest jump in indoor program history in the men's long jump was Jordan Latimer, who soared 25-7.50 (7.81m) in his first competition of the season to place second.

Winning the women's 800 meters with a career-best time of 2:08.34 was Mackenzie Andrews, who's performance stands as the fourth-fastest time in Akron indoor program history.

Cody Stine won the men's high jump equaling a career-high mark surpassing 7-1 (2.16m), a height which equals the third-best jump in indoor program history.

Senior Phil Jagers (Solon, Ohio) registered a career-best mark of 64-8 (19.71m) to claim victory in the men's weight throw. His effort stands as the fourth-longest throw in indoor program history.

For the second week in a row, junior Abigale Wilson (Carrollton, Ohio) established a career-best mark in the women's shot put to win the event with a throw of 50-7.50 (15.43m). Her performance stands as the fourth-longest throw in indoor program history.

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