Trio of Weekend Meets Ahead for Akron Track and Field

Thursday, April 11

Azusa, Calif.

All Day

University of Akron

Bryan Clay Invitational

Trio of Weekend Meets Ahead for Akron Track and Field

April 10 | Track & Field

BRYAN CLAY INVITATIONAL: MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO ($)
TIFFIN TRACK CARNIVAL: MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | LIVE STATS
TOM JONES MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL: MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | LIVE STATS

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's and women's track and field team will compete in a trio of meets this weekend as the Zips are set to participate in the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 11-13), Tom Jones Memorial Invitational (April 12-13) and Tiffin Track Carnival (April 12-13).

UP NEXT: Akron will send athletes to the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., hosted by Azusa Pacific, Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., hosted by Florida and the Tiffin Track Carnival hosted by Tiffin.

The Zips will open competition at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Thursday (April 11) running through Saturday (April 13), while also racing at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on Friday and Saturday (April 12-13).

The remainder of the squad will compete at the Tiffin Track Carnival on Friday and Saturday (April 12-13).

Live stats and video (where available) will be available at GoZips.com.

A WEEK AGO: The University of Akron track and field team registered 14 victories as part of 27 overall top-three performances on the final day of the Northeast Ohio Open on Saturday (April 6).

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Redshirt junior Hunter Garretson (Newcomerstown, Ohio) eclipsed 18-5.50 (5.63m) to best the field in the men's pole vault.
• Junior Adaeze Nwokike (Benin City, Nigeria) earned victories in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles in times of 15.34 and 63.50, respectively.
• Redshirt junior Jean Dieuvil (North Miami Beach, Fla.) won the men's 800 meters in 1:53.37.
• Redshirt junior Maddie Heimlich (Shelby, Ohio) won the women's 800 meters crossing the line in 2:14.43.
• Junior Cassidy Allen (Lakewood, N.Y.) eclipsed 11-9.25 (3.59m) to win the women's pole vault.
• Freshman Mason Birch (Strongsville, Ohio) recorded a career-best clearance of 6-2.75 (1.90m) to triumph in the men's high jump.
• Freshman Kayla Sucharski (Galena, Ohio) won the women's 10,000 meters in a career-best time of 37:28.69.
• Freshman Megan Hipple (Warren, Ohio) triumphed in the women's 1,500 meters in a career-best time of 4:34.20.
• Freshman Augustine Davis (Lewis Center, Ohio) won the women's triple jump with a mark of 34-9.50 (10.60m), while junior Ruth Webb (Akron, Ohio) triumphed in the women's high jump with a clearance of 5-1 (1.55m).
• Freshman Sade Lewis (Macedonia, Ohio) won the women's 200 meters in 26.88.
• The men's 4x400 relay team of freshman Braylyn Farrington (Alabaster, Ala.), senior Jameel Williamson (Columbus, Ohio), redshirt junior Jimmy Harkelroad (Huron, Ohio) and redshirt senior Charles Sanders (Cincinnati, Ohio) crossed the line first in a league-leading time of 3:10.79.
• The women's 4x400 relay squad of junior Jamari Davis (Ontario, Ohio), freshman Josephine Davis (Lewis Center, Ohio), Nwokike and sophomore Tai'Yanna Cage (West Palm Beach, Fla.) crossed the line first in 4:01.95.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: The University of Akron track and field teams have garnered recognition for their efforts during the 2024 outdoor season as the Zips are rated among the top-30 in the Event Squad rankings released on April 8, 2024, as part of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index.

Akron is ranked 15th nationally in the men's hammer.

ZIPS RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST IN 2024 TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron had one student-athlete ranked in the top-50 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) for the 2024 outdoor campaign, including, Hunter Garretson, who is first in the nation in the men's pole vault (19-1.50/5.83m).

Additionally, sophomore Brian Masai (Kitale, Kenya) is ranked fourth in the men's 5,000 meters (13:34.26).

GARRETSON NAMED ELITE 90 WINNER: Hunter Garretson was the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2024 NCAA Division Men's Track and Field Indoor Championship.

Garretson, who is majoring in mathematics, boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA, was presented with the award during a presentation on March 8.

Winning the honor for the second consecutive season, Garretson became only the third multiple-time recipient of the award in Division I men's track and field joining Cincinnati's Adrian Valles (2017-Indoor | 2018-Indoor) and Nebraska's John Welk (2013-Outdoor | 2014-Outdoor).

The honor is the third time a Zip has garnered the distinguished honor joining Tyler Sanda, who won the award as a member of the Akron men's soccer team in 2015.

GARRETSON AND MASAI NAMED MAC MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS: Hunter Garretson and Brian Masai were honored by the Mid-American Conference as its 2024 Indoor Track and Field Men's Most Outstanding Track and Field Performers of the Year, the league unveiled on Feb. 28.

Garretson captured his sixth career MAC title besting the field in the men's pole vault with a mark of 18-2 (5.53m). He owns the No. 2 mark in the NCAA this season in the pole vault with a mark of 18-9.25 (5.72m) set at the Al Campbell Invitational on Feb. 16.

Masai claimed a pair of league titles winning the men's mile and 3,000 meters in times of 4:07.77 and 8:12.57, respectively, while running the anchor leg of the fourth-place distance medley relay squad. He set a school-record time of 8:02.50 in the 3,000 meters at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 10.

CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP-FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips have added five overall top-five performance in program history to the record book during the 2024 outdoor campaign, including a pair of school-record efforts. Additionally, Akron posted 10 top-five marks during the indoor season.

Outdoor

NAME	EVENT/DATE	RANK – MARK
Brian Masai	Men's 5,000M – March 28	No. 1 – 13:34.26
Joy Nwokike	Women's 400M – March 30	No. 1 – 54.00
Hunter Garretson	Men's Pole Vault – March 30	No. 2 – 19-1.50 (5.83m)
Sharon Chepchirchir	Women's 10,000M – March 29	No. 2 – 35:05.70
Lane Graham	Men's Hammer – March 30	No. 5 – 206-5 (62.92m)

Indoor

NAME	EVENT/DATE	RANK – MARK
Jabari Neal-Jackson	Weight Throw – Jan. 19	No. 4 – 65-8 (20.03m)
Titus Kirui, Braylyn Farrington, Jean Dieuvil, Brian Masai	Men's DMR – Jan. 27	No. 2 – 9:43.92
Vanessa Horn, Jamari Davis, Jade Celestine, Adaeze Nwokike	Women's 4x400 Relay – Jan. 27	No. 3 – 3:44.78
Sharon Chepchirchir	Women's 5,000M – Jan. 27	No. 3 – 16:57.32
Hunter Garretson	Pole Vault – Feb. 16	No. 3 – 18-9.25 (5.72m)
Brian Masai	Men's 3,000M – Feb. 10	No. 1 – 4:02.50
Vanessa Horn, Jamari Davis, Jade Celestine, Joy Nwokike	Women's 4x400 Relay – Feb. 10	No. 2 – 3:42.84
Charles Sanders, Andrew Styles, AJ Jordan, Jimmy Harkelroad	Men's 4x400 Relay – Feb. 10	No. 5 – 3:11.34
Sharon Chepchirchir	Women's 5,000M – Feb. 23	No. 1 – 16:42.31
Joy Nwokike	Women's 60M – Feb. 24	No. 3 – 7.45