Akron Set to Open Outdoor Campaign at Roadrunner Invitational

Friday, March 22

San Antonio, Texas

University of Akron

Roadrunner Invitational

Akron Set to Open Outdoor Campaign at Roadrunner Invitational

March 21 | Track & Field

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MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | MEET SCHEDULE (PDF) | LIVE STATS

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's and women's track and field teams are set to open their 2019 outdoor campaign this weekend as the Zips travel to San Antonio, Texas, to compete in the Roadrunner Invitational hosted by the University of Texas at San Antonio on Friday and Saturday, March 22-23.

UP NEXT: The Zips will go against a 10-team field at the Roadrunner Invitational which includes; Akron, James Madison, Oklahoma, Stephen F. Austin, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas State, Texas Rio Grande Valley and UTSA.

Akron will be challenged in the men's field by ranked teams from No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 8 Texas, while the women's team will face a field which includes the second-rated Aggies, 19th-ranked Longhorns and No. 26 Oklahoma.

The meet will begin with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon at 1 p.m. ET and 1:30 p.m. ET, respectively, on Thursday, March 21. Competition on the track commences on Friday, March 22, with the women's hammer at 2 p.m. ET. Final-day action begins on Saturday, March 23, with the women's high jump, men's pole vault, women's long jump, men's long jump and women's discus at 12 p.m. ET. Events on the track will kick off with the men's 2K steeplechase at 3 p.m. ET.

Live stats of the Roadrunner Invitational will be available at GoZips.com.

THIS WEEK IN AKRON TRACK AND FIELD WITH HEAD COACH DENNIS MITCHELL:

NATIONAL RANKINGS: The University of Akron track and field teams garnered recognition for their efforts during the indoor season as the Zips' men's squad ranked 35th in the final 2019 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division I Division I Men's Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index released on March 9.

The Zips' men's squad was the highest-rated team in the Mid-American Conference, while the men's and women's squads were ranked No. 11 and No. 17, respectively, in the final Collegiate Indoor Dual Meet Rankings as compiled by Jesse Squire for Track and Field News.

The Akron men and women also ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, in the Great Lakes Regional polls.

ZIPS AMONG NATION'S BEST IN LATEST TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron had seven student-athletes ranked in the top-25 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) during the indoor campaign, including senior Matt Ludwig (Chardon, Ohio), who was second in the nation in the men's pole vault (19-1.50/5.83m).

Also rated among the top-25 was senior Lucy Bryan (Bristol, England) (sixth in women's pole vault – 14-6.25/4.43m), senior Jordan Latimer (Huber Heights, Ohio) (eighth in men's long jump – 26-0.25/7.93m), redshirt sophomore Hesham Eldesouky (Nasr City, Egypt) (16th in the triple jump – 52-6/16.00m), and seniors Terrell McClain (Youngstown, Ohio) (17th in men's long jump – 25-7.75/7.80m), Mackenzie Andrews (Toowoomba, Australia) (19th in the women's mile – 4:35.63), and Curtis Richardson (Blacklick, Ohio) (24th in the men's high jump – 7-1.75/2.18m).

A YEAR AGO: The University of Akron track and field team registered four victories and 18 top-five performances to cap final-day efforts for the Zips at the Roadrunner Invitational hosted by UTSA (Texas at San Antonio) on March 24, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas.

Matt Ludwig won the men's pole vault surpassing 18-4.50 (5.60m).

Jackie Siefring was victorious in the women's 400-meter hurdles crossing the line in 59.04, while senior Dara Perry (Akron, Ohio) posted a winning time of 13.60 in the 100-meter hurdles.

Lucy Bryan claimed the women's pole vault eclipsing 13-11.25 (4.25m), while Jordan Latimer soared 25-4.50 (7.73m) to earn a second-place showing in the men's long jump.

Senior Abigale Wilson (Carrollton, Ohio) registered a then career-best throw of 174-3 (53.11m) to place third in the women's discus.

The Zips also received strong performances in the women's pole vault as senior Eboni Hall (Pickerington, Ohio), redshirt sophomore Abby Helminiak (Toledo, Ohio) and sophomore Jenna Frantz (Versailles, Ohio) finished second, fifth and fifth, respectively, registering marks of 13-5.25 (4.10m), 12-5.50 (3.80m) and 12-5.50 (3.80m).

Redshirt junior Preston Fillman (Hanoverton, Ohio) placed fourth in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.75.

Garnering fifth-place finishes in the men's high jump (6-6.75/2.00m) and men's triple jump (47-1.75/14.37m) were Curtis Richardson and junior Marcques Gibbs (Darby, Pa.).

Redshirt junior Ian Behm (Volant, Pa.) finished first in the men's javelin to direct the efforts of the Zips' track and field teams on the opening day of the Roadrunner Invitational hosted by UTSA (Texas at San Antonio).

The performance of Behm represented the second-best throw in outdoor program history. After missing the 2017 campaign due to injury, Behm registered a career-best mark of 231-7 (70.59m).

Wilson and senior Olivia Snyder (Navarre, Ohio), who earned third- and fifth-place finishes in the women's shot put with marks of 50-1.75 (15.28m) and 49-0.75 (14.95m).

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