Akron Track and Field Set to Compete at Kentucky and Ohio State

Friday, May 1

Lexington, Ky.

All Day

University of Akron

Jim Green Invitational

Action Photo - Akron Track and Field - 4-30-26

Akron Track and Field Set to Compete at Kentucky and Ohio State

April 30 | Track & Field

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's and women's track and field team is set to compete at the Jim Green Invitational hosted Kentucky as well as the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State on Friday and Saturday (May 1-2).

UP NEXT: The Zips will compete at the Jim Green Invitational hosted by Kentucky and Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State on Friday and Saturday (May 1-2).

Live stats will be available at GoZips.com.

TOP TIMES IN THE MAC: The Zips currently own 11 overall performances that lead the Mid-American Conference during the outdoor campaign.

Outdoor

NAME	EVENT/DATE	RANK – MARK
Jackline Nanjala	Women's 400M	No. 1 – 52.87
Megan Hipple	Women's 10,00M	No. 1 – 33:25.83
Amari Pratt Te'Aira Branham-Patrick Vanessa Horn Mariyah Moore	Women's 4x100 Relay	No. 1 – 44.68
Braylyn Farrington AJ Jordan Jalen McCoy Andrew Styles	Men's 4x400 Relay	No. 1 – 3:08.29
Kaden Rambatt	Men's Pole Vault	No. 1 – 16-9.25 (5.11m)
Cassidy Allen	Women's Pole Vault	No. 1 – 13-8.50 (4.18m)
Owen Wendl	Men's Shot Put	No. 1 – 62-0.50 (18.91m)
Brook Boes	Women's Shot Put	No. 1 – 50-4.50 (15.35m)
Owen Wendl	Men's Discus	No. 1 – 184-0 (56.09m)
Lane Graham	Men's Hammer	No. 1 – 219-11 (67.03m)
Gabrielle Griffith	Women's Hammer	No. 1 – 194-9 (59.36m)

TOP TIMES IN THE MAC: The Zips registered 10 overall top performances in the Mid-American Conference during the indoor campaign.

Indoor

NAME	EVENT/DATE	RANK – MARK
Cassidy Allen	Women's Pole Vault	No. 1 – 14-2 (4.32m)
Isaac Baltic	Men's Pole Vault	No. 1 – 17-4.50 (5.30m)
Brook Boes	Women's Shot Put	No. 1 – 52-2.75 (15.92m)
Brook Boes	Women's Weight Throw	No. 1 –67-4.25 (20.53m)
Lane Graham	Men's Weight Throw	No. 1 – 67-4 (20.52m)
Megan Hipple	Women's 5,000 Meters	No. 1 – 15:53.23
AJ Jordan	Men's 200 Meters	No. 1 – 21.12
Jackline Nanjala	Women's 400 Meters	No. 1 – 53.92
Owen Wendl	Men's Shot Put	No. 1 – 60-8 (18.49m)
4x400 Relay (W)	Women's 4x400 Relay	No. 1 – 3:41.04

LAST TIME OUT:
The University of Akron track and field team garnered strong performances across a pair of weekend meets at the Penn Relays and Ashland Alumni Open.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Redshirt senior Cassidy Allen (Lakewood, N.Y.) won the women's pole vault at the Penn Relays eclipsing 13-7.25 (4.15m).
• Senior Taye Gonzalez (Lewis Center, Ohio) won the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Ashland Alumni Open in a career-best time of 9:21.55, while sophomore Emil Stanford (Sunbury, Ohio) crossed the line second in a career-best time of 9:38.65.
• Senior Benjamin Hudak (Tallmadge, Ohio) placed second in the men's long jump with a career-best mark of 22-4.25 (6.81m).
• Sophomore Sophia Spencer (Medina, Ohio) finished second in the women's 5,000 meters in a time of 18:40.75.
• Sophomore Kaden Rambatt (Sharon, Wis.) was fourth in the men's pole vault with a career-best clearance of 17-3.50 (5.27m).
• Redshirt senior Owen Wendl (Medina, Ohio) and sophomore Amari Noble (Virginia Beach, Va.) finished fifth in the shot put and discus, respectively, posting marks of 59-6.75 (18.15m) and 177-6 (54.11m-PR).
• Redshirt sophomore Jeffrey Usman (Warri, Nigeria) won the men's long jump with a career-best mark of 24-10 (7.57m).
• The men's 4x400 relay team of juniors Rennie Gittens, Jr. (Miami, Fla.) and AJ Jordan (Columbus, Ohio), sophomore Garrett Tiller (Streetsboro, Ohio) and junior Andrew Styles (Freeport, Bahamas) crossed the line in 3:08.34.
• Junior Braeden Quigley (Avon Lake, Ohio) added a career-best throw of 54-10 (16.71m) to place 10th in the men's shot put.
• Redshirt senior Gabrielle Griffiths (Fort Worth, Texas) placed seventh in the women's shot put with a career-best mark of 46-6 (14.17m).
• Freshman Amanda Rauch (Marietta, Ohio) finished second in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 12-9.50 (3.90m).
• Griffiths and redshirt senior Brook Boes (Tiffin, Ohio) posted marks of 190-6 (58.06m) and 180-4 (54.96m) in the women's hammer.
• Redshirt senior Lane Graham (Killbuck, Ohio) and junior Christopher Vance (Parma, Ohio) added marks of 210-3 (64.09m) and 196-5 (59.87m) in the men's hammer.
• Junior Bram de Raedt (Houthalen-Helchteren, Belgium) posted a time of 53.53 in the men's 400-meter hurdles.
• Sophomore Mercy Jebitok (Kapsabet, Kenya) ran the second-fastest time (16:11.82) in program history in the women's 5,000 meters.

AKRON GARNERS MAC POSTSEASON HONORS: Akron assistant coach Randy Overby was tabbed the Mid-American Conference Men's Assistant Coach of the Year after Akron captured back-to-back indoor team titles and its fourth consecutive overall league crown.

Brook Boes was selected as the MAC Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer of the Meet, after sweeping the throwing events winning the women's shot put (49-11.25/15.22m) and weight throw (68-4.50/20.84m).

Andrew Styles was honored as the MAC Men's Most Outstanding Track Performer of the Meet after winning the 200M (21.67) and 400m (47.99) and anchoring the winning 4x400 relay (3:16.25).

Megan Hipple was tabbed the MAC Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer of the Meet after a pair of All-MAC performances winning the women's 3K (9:18.79) and placing second in the 5K (16.03.86).

NATIONAL RANKINGS: The University of Akron track and field teams have garnered recognition for their efforts during the 2026 outdoor season as the Zips are rated among the Top 30 in the Event Squad rankings for nine events released on April 28, 2026, 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 rated 10th nationally in the men's shot put, 11th in the men's hammer, 14th in the women's hammer, 16th in the men's discus, 18th in the women's discus, 19th in the men's and women's pole vault, 26th in the women's shot put and 30th in the women's triple jump.

ZIPS RANKED AMONG NATION'S BEST IN 2026 TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron have three individual student-athletes ranked in the Top 50 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) for the 2026 outdoor campaign as Owen Wendl is 20th in the men's shot put (62-1/18.92m) and 50th in the men's discus (184-0/56.09m).

Additionally, Lane Graham is 25th in the men's hammer (219-11/67.03m), Cassidy Allen is 45th in the women's pole vault (13-8.50/4.18m) and Kaden Rambatt is 45th in the men's pole vault (17-3.50/5.27m).

CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips have added 21 overall top five performances and six school-record marks in program history to the record book during the 2026 outdoor campaign.

NAME	EVENT/DATE	RANK – MARK
Lane Graham	Men's Hammer – March 20	No. 4 – 210-0 (64.02m)
Jackline Nanjala	Women's 400M – March 21	No. 2 – 53.34
Brook Boes	Women's Shot Put – March 21	No. 5 – 50-4.50 (15.35m)
Vanessa Horn McKenzie McNitt Mariyah Moore Jackline Nanjala	Women's 4x400 Relay – March 21	No. 2 – 3:39.14
Amari Pratt Te'Aira Branham-Patrick Vanessa Horn Mariyah Moore	Women's 4x100 Relay – March 21	No. 3 – 44.68
Braylyn Farrington AJ Jordan Jalen McCoy Andrew Styles	Men's 4x400 Relay – March 21	No. 3 – 3:08.94
Rennie Gittens, Jr. AJ Jordan Garrett Tiller Andrew Styles	Men's 4x100 Relay – March 21	No. 4 – 40.02
Noah Nyageo	Men's 5,000M – March 26	No. 4 – 14:04.68
Owen Wendl	Men's Shot Put – March 28	No. 1 – 61-9 (18.82m)
Lane Graham	Men's Hammer – March 27	No. 2 – 212-6 (64.76m)
Megan Hipple	Women's 5,000M – March 27	No. 1 – 16:10.45
Gabrielle Griffiths	Women's Hammer – March 27	No. 5 – 156-4 (47.66m)
Owen Wendl	Men's Shot Put – April 3	No. 1 – 62-0.50 (18.91m)
Lane Graham	Men's Hammer – April 3	No. 2 – 219-11 (67.03m)
Jackline Nanjala	Women's 400M – April 4	No. 2 – 52.87
Gabrielle Griffiths	Women's Hammer – April 3	No. 5 – 194-3 (59.21m)
Vanessa Horn McKenzie McNitt Mariyah Moore Jackline Nanjala	Women's 4x400 Relay – April 4	No. 1 – 3:37.05
Braylyn Farrington AJ Jordan Jalen McCoy Andrew Styles	Men's 4x400 Relay – April 4	No. 3 – 3:08.29
Gabrielle Griffiths	Women's Hammer – April 9	No. 5 – 194-9 (59.36m)
Mercy Jebitok	Women's 1,500M – April 10	No. 4 – 4:22.33
Owen Wendl	Men's Shot Put – April 16	No. 1 – 62-1 (18.92m)
Megan Hipple	Women's 10,000M – April 16	No. 1 – 33:25.83
Mercy Jebitok	Women's 5,000M – April 23	No. 2 – 16:11.82

CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips added 25 overall top five performances and a trio of school records in program history to the record book during the 2026 indoor campaign.

NAME	EVENT/DATE	RANK – MARK
AJ Jordan	Men's 200M – Dec. 12	No. 4 – 21.12
Vanessa Horn	Women's 400M – Dec. 12	No. 2 – 54.31
Megan Hipple	Women's 5,000M – Dec. 6	No. 1 – 16:15.66
Cassidy Allen	Women's Pole Vault – Dec. 12	No. 4 – 14-1.75 (4.30m)
Brook Boes	Women's Shot Put – Dec. 12	No. 4 – 52-2.75 (15.92m)
Brook Boes	Women's Weight Throw – Dec. 12	No. 5 – 65-0.75 (19.83m)
Cassidy Allen	Women's Pole Vault – Jan. 16	No. 4 – 14-1.75 (4.31m)
Owen Wendl	Men's Shot Put – Jan. 23	No. 3 – 59-4.25 (18.09m)
Megan Hipple	Women's 5,000M – Jan. 30	No. 1 – 15:53.23
Noah Nyageo	Men's 5,000M – Jan. 30	No. 3 – 14:12.62
Vanessa Horn Mariyah Moore McKenzie McNitt Jackline Nanjala	Women's 4x400 Relay – Jan. 31	No. 1 – 3:41.04
Megan Hipple	Women's 3,000M – Feb. 7	No. 1 – 9:17.94
Noah Nyageo	Men's 3,000M – Feb. 7	No. 5 – 8:07.98
Lane Graham	Men's Weight Throw – Feb. 6	No. 4 – 66-3.25 (20.20m)
Abigael Kiplagat	Women's 5,000M – Feb. 6	No. 3 – 16:35.76
Cassidy Allen	Women's Pole Vault – Feb. 13	No. 4 – 14-2 (4.32m)
Owen Wendl	Men's Shot Put – Feb. 20	No. 2 – 60-8 (18.49m)
Lane Graham	Men's Weight Throw – Feb. 20	No. 2 – 67-4 (20.52m)
Te'Aira Branham-Patrick	Women's 60M – Feb. 20	No. 2 – 7.48
Jackline Nanjala	Women's 400M – Feb. 20	No. 2 – 53.92
Brook Boes	Women's Weight Throw – Feb. 20	No. 5 – 67-4.25 (20.53m)
Lane Graham	Men's Weight Throw – Feb. 27	No. 2 – 68-3.25 (20.81m)
Abigael Kiplaget	Women's 5,000M – Feb. 27	No. 3 – 16:30.74
Brook Boes	Women's Weight Throw – Feb. 27	No. 4 – 68-4.50 (20.84m)
Titus Kirui	Men's 5,000M – Feb. 27	No. 5 – 14:20.81