Zips Set to Host 18th Annual Akron Invitational

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AKRON INVITATIONAL - MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | MEET SCHEDULE (PDF) | ACCEPTED ENTRIES (PDF) | LIVE STATS

AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron men's and women's track and field teams hosts its largest meet of the season as the Zips welcome 12 teams to the Stile Athletics Field House for the 18th Annual Akron Invitational this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4-5.

UP NEXT: The two-day Akron Invitational will commence at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4 with the women's pole vault and men's long jump, before running events get underway at 5 p.m. with the 60-meter hurdles as part of the women's pentathlon.

The final day of the meet commences on Saturday, Feb. 5, with the women's high jump and triple and men's triple jump at 11 a.m., as well as the 60-meter hurdles as part of the men's heptathlon. The final race, the men's and women's 4x400 relays are scheduled to start at 5:35 p.m.

Tickets are available at the door for $10 (cash only). Akron students with valid ID will be admitted free of charge. All fans should enter through the Akron student recreation center main entrance. A separate ticket is required for both the Friday and/or Saturday sessions, but tickets purchased for Saturday grants admission to both the Blue Section and Gold Invitational. Doors will open to the public at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4, and at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5.

The Zips will go against a 13-team field which includes Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Cleveland State, Detroit, Duquesne, Kent State, Mount St. Mary's, Ohio, Saint Francis, Toledo and West Virginia

Live stats from the Akron Invitational will be available at GoZips.com.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: The University of Akron track and field teams have garnered recognition for their efforts during the 2022 indoor season as the Zips are rated in the Event Squad rankings released on Jan. 31, 2022, as part of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index.

Akron is ranked 10th nationally in the women's pole vault and among the top 20 in three total events.

The Zips also rate 12th in the men's 400 meters and 19th in the men's long jump.

The Akron women and men are ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in the Great Lakes Regional polls.

ZIPS RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST IN 2022 TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron has a pair of student-athletes currently ranked in the top-25 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) during the 2022 indoor campaign, including, sophomore Zarik Brown (Dayton, Ohio), who is 17th in the nation in the men's 400 meters (46.72).

Also rated among the top-25 is junior Nuh Andu (Doha, Qatar) (25th in the men's high jump – 7-0.50/2.15m).

CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP-FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips recorded a trio of top-five performances in program history at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup on Jan. 29.

Senior Jacob Ondash (Hiram, Ohio) nearly became the second Zip to run a sub-4:00 mile as the turned in the second-fastest time in indoor program history crossing the line in a career-best time of 4:04.45.

Zarik Brown posted the third-fastest time in indoor program history in the men's 60 meters crossing the line in a career-best time of 6.70 to win the event.

Sophomore Blake Lucius (Crestline, Ohio) recorded the fifth-best performance in indoor program history in the men's 800 meters with a career-best time of 1:50.58.

NAME	EVENT/DATE	RANK – MARK
Fegor Clifford	Women's Triple Jump – Jan. 14	No. 5 – 40-3.50 (12.28m)
Charles Sanders	Men's 400 Meters – Jan. 14	No. 5 – 47.10
Zarik Brown	Men's 400 Meters – Jan. 21	No. 2 – 46.72
Jacqueline Pokuaah	Women's Triple Jump – Jan. 21	No. 3 – 41-4.25 (12.60m)
Jacob Ondash	Men's Mile – Jan. 29	No. 2 – 4:04.45
Zarik Brown	Men's 60 Meters – Jan. 29	No. 3 – 6.70
Blake Lucius	Men's 800 Meters – Jan. 29	No. 5 – 1:50.58

A WEEK AGO: The University of Akron men's and women's track and field teams registered a trio of triumphs en route to registering 19 overall top-five performances at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup hosted by Penn State on Saturday, Jan. 29.

For full recap (click here)

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Players Mentioned

Nuh Andu

Zarik Brown

Fegor Clifford

Blake Lucius

Jacob Ondash

Jacqueline Pokuaah

Charles Sanders

The University of Akron Athletics