Zips to Compete at Pair of Weekend Meets

Friday, April 19

Columbus, Ohio

All Day

University of Akron

Jesse Owens Memorial Classic

April 18 | Track & Field

JESSE OWENS CLASSIC: MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | LIVE STATS
JIM GREEN INVITATIONAL: MEET INFORMATION (PDF) | LIVE STATS

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's and women's track and field team is set to participate in a pair of weekend meets as the Zips travel to the Jesse Owens Memorial Classic (April 19) and Jim Green Invitational (April 19-20).

UP NEXT: Akron is sending competitors to the Jesse Owens Memorial Classic in Columbus hosted by Ohio State as well as the Jim Green Invitational in Lexington, Ky., hosted by Kentucky.

The Akron women's distance runners will compete at the Jesse Owens Memorial Classic on Friday with the balance of the squad opening competition at the Jim Green Invitational on Friday before action on the track concludes on Saturday.

Live stats will be available at GoZips.com.

A WEEK AGO: The University of Akron track and field team garnered numerous season- and career-best times at trio of meets last weekend.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Freshman Timothy Chesondin (Eldoret, Kenya) registered the second-fastest time in program history in the men's 10,000 meters on the opening day of the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 11.
• Freshman Sharon Chepchirchir (Kapsabet, Kenya) recorded the third-fastest time in outdoor program history crossing the line in the women's 5,000 meters in a career-best time of 16:34.80 at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 12
• Redshirt senior Charles Sanders (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted a season-best time of 46.84 in the men's 400 meters at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on April 13.
• The men's 4x400 relay team of Sanders, freshmen Andrew Styles (Freeport, The Bahamas) and AJ Jordan (Columbus, Ohio) and redshirt junior Jimmy Harkelroad (Huron, Ohio) added a season-best time of 3:10.66 at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational.
• Redshirt senior Robert Artrip (Independence, Ohio) won the men's pole vault eclipsing 16-0 (4.88m) at the Tiffin Track Carnival.
• Junior Joy Nwokike (Benin City, Nigeria) bested the field in the women's 200 meters in a time of 24.02 at the Tiffin Track Carnival.
• Redshirt junior Davis Hedrick (Norwalk, Ohio) and redshirt sophomore Owen Wendl (Medina, Ohio) took the top-two places in the men's discus with marks of 161-0 (49.09m) and 159-10 (48.72m), respectively, at the Tiffin Track Carnival.
• Junior Ruth Webb (Akron, Ohio) triumphed in the women's triple jump with a mark of 34-7.75 (10.56m), at the Tiffin Track Carnival.

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 16, 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 13th nationally in the men's hammer as well as 20th in the men's shot put and 25th in the men's discus.

ZIPS RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST IN 2024 TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron has a trio of student-athletes 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 15th in the men's 5,000 meters (13:34.26) and Jimmy Harkelroad is rated 31st in the men's 400-meter hurdles (51.13).

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 seven 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
Timothy Chesondin	Men's 10,000M – April 11	No. 2 – 29:40.36
Sharon Chepchirchir	Women's 5,000M – April 12	No. 3 – 16:34.80
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