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Friday, March 14
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NCAA Indoor Championships
Garretson Set to Compete at NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
March 13 | Track & Field
NCAA INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS: MEET INFORMATION | SCHEDULE OF EVENTS | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
AKRON, Ohio – University of Akron track and field redshirt senior pole vaulter Hunter Garretson Newcomerstown, Ohio) is set to vie for a national title when the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted at the Virginia Beach Sports Center gets underway on Friday (March 14) in Virginia Beach, Va.
Coverage of the meet as well as live field event coverage will be provided on ESPN+ each day of competition.
UP NEXT: Garretson will represent the Zips at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend.
Garretson will compete for the Zips in the men's pole vault at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Garretson, who owns the No. 2 mark in the NCAA this season, will be making his fifth NCAA Indoor Championship appearance in the men's pole vault after earning First-Team All-America accolades on the strength of an eighth-place effort at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, where he eclipsed 17-8.50 (5.40m).
A year ago, he garnered Second-Team All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Garretson captured his eighth overall Mid-American Conference title with a mark of 17-9 (5.41m) at MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 1 in Ypsilanti, Mich.
AKRON MEN'S QUALIFIERS (Qualifying Rank-Qualifying Mark):
Pole Vault: Hunter Garretson (18-10-75/5.76m)
For the complete list of entries, please log on to NCAA.com
NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEET SCHEDULE: The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet begins on Friday (March 14) with the start of the men's heptathlon kicking off action on at 9:15 a.m. Field events start with the women's pole vault at 2 p.m. before running events kick off with the semifinal round of the men's mile at 3:30 p.m. and conclude with the running of the men's distance medley relay at 8:50 p.m.
The final day opens with the men's 60-meter hurdles as part of the heptathlon at 9:30 a.m. Field events start with the men's and women's high jump at 12 p.m. before running events begin with the final round of the women's mile at 3 p.m. The men's 4x400 relay closes out the day's action at 7:20 p.m.
For a complete schedule of events, log on to NCAA.com. Live results (click here) will be available throughout the meet as well as live video (click here).
The tentative schedule of events for the Zips at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships are as follows;
Friday, March 14
6 p.m. – Hunter Garretson (Men's Pole Vault)
NCAA CHAMPIONS: Akron's entries will be looking to add to the tradition of the Zips' track and field program, which already includes nine individual national champions. Christi Smith made history in 2000 when she became the first national champion in school history, capturing gold in the heptathlon. Stevi Large was the next to accomplish the feat, winning the women's hammer throw in 2009. Annika Roloff captured the women's pole vault in 2014. Shawn Barber became the school's first male champion claiming the indoor pole vault title in 2014 before again earning the crown at the 2015 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Clayton Murphy became Akron's first-ever NCAA champion in a running event winning the indoor 800 meters and outdoor 1,500 meters in 2016. In 2017, Matt Ludwig claimed the national title in the men's pole vault.
AKRON GARNERS TRIO OF MAC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD SPECIALTY AWARDS:
Hunter Garretson and freshman Bismack Kipchirchir (Eldama Ravine, Kenya) were honored by the Mid-American Conference as its 2025 Indoor Track and Field Men's Most Outstanding Track and Field Performers of the Year, the league unveiled on March 7.
Additionally, Akron assistant coach Randy Overby was tabbed by his peers as the Men's Assistant Coach of the Year.
Garretson earned his fifth consecutive MAC indoor pole title and eighth overall league championship besting the field at the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 1 with a mark of 17-9 (5.41m). His five indoor conference pole vault titles and eight overall combined (indoor/outdoor) pole vault championships are the most in league history.
Kipchirchir turned in a stellar effort at the MAC Championships garnering Most Valuable Performer and Freshman of the Year accolades with runner-up finishes in the men's mile, 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
He opened his championship run crossing the line second in the men's 5,000 meters in a career-best time of 14:29.74, the fifth-fastest time in indoor program history. In final-day competition, Kipchirchir placed second in the men's mile in a time of 4:12.45 before capturing Second-Team All-MAC honors in the men's 3,000 meters in a time of 8:11.78.
The Akron's men's team under Overby's tutelage dominated the sprints and hurdles at the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships (Feb. 28-March 1) scoring 54 points en route to securing its ninth overall indoor league title and first since 2020.
The team produced three All-MAC performances, with redshirt senior Jimmy Harkelroad (Huron, Ohio) earning First-Team honors in the 400M and 4x400 relay alongside sophomores Braylyn Farrington (Alabaster, Ala.), AJ Jordan (Columbus, Ohio) and Andrew Styles (Freeport, Bahamas), while also receiving Second-Team recognition in the 200M.
The 4x400M relay squad, consisting of Farrington, Harkelroad, Jordan, and Styles, claimed victory, as did Harkelroad in the 400M. Additionally, Jordan secured third-place finishes in the 60M and 200M, while junior Tysean Baronette (Middletown, Del.) (4th – 200M), sophomore Rennie Gittens, Jr. (Miami, Fla.) (4th – 60M), Farrington (4th – 400M), and Styles (5th – 400M) delivered strong performances. Under expert coaching, the team has recorded the MAC's top times this season in the 400M and 4x400 relay, along with the second-best marks in the 60M and 200M.
AKRON CROSS COUNTRY EARNS USTFCCCA ALL-ACADEMIC ACCOLADES: The Akron cross country team under the leadership of Zips' director of track and field/cross country Kendra Reimer-Gonzales and cross country head coach Evans Kiptoo garnered recognition for the squad's efforts in the classroom as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) tabbed Akron a Division I All-Academic team for the 2024 campaign.
The Akron men's squad was honored for recording a 3.335 GPA, while the women's team garnered recognition for its work in the classroom for the 11th straight year with a 3.356 cumulative GPA.
Overall, 209 women's teams and 183 men's teams earned All-Academic team honors.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: The University of Akron track and field teams have garnered recognition for their efforts during the 2025 indoor season as the Zips are rated among the Top 30 in the Event Squad rankings for three events released on March 11, 2025, 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 rated 14th nationally in the men's shot put, 19th in the women's weight throw and 28th in the men's triple jump.
ZIPS RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST IN 2025 TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron have two individual student-athletes ranked in the Top 50 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) for the 2025 indoor campaign as Hunter Garretson is second in the nation in the men's pole vault (18-10.75/5.76m).
Additionally, senior Cassidy Allen (Lakewood, N.Y.) is 45th in the women's pole vault (13-10/4.22m).
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 was 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.
CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips have added 28 overall top five performances and five school records in program history to the record book during the 2025 indoor campaign.
TOP MARKS:
Akron Men
Click Here
Akron Women
Click Here
AKRON, Ohio – University of Akron track and field redshirt senior pole vaulter Hunter Garretson Newcomerstown, Ohio) is set to vie for a national title when the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted at the Virginia Beach Sports Center gets underway on Friday (March 14) in Virginia Beach, Va.
Coverage of the meet as well as live field event coverage will be provided on ESPN+ each day of competition.
UP NEXT: Garretson will represent the Zips at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend.
Garretson will compete for the Zips in the men's pole vault at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Garretson, who owns the No. 2 mark in the NCAA this season, will be making his fifth NCAA Indoor Championship appearance in the men's pole vault after earning First-Team All-America accolades on the strength of an eighth-place effort at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, where he eclipsed 17-8.50 (5.40m).
A year ago, he garnered Second-Team All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Garretson captured his eighth overall Mid-American Conference title with a mark of 17-9 (5.41m) at MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 1 in Ypsilanti, Mich.
AKRON MEN'S QUALIFIERS (Qualifying Rank-Qualifying Mark):
Pole Vault: Hunter Garretson (18-10-75/5.76m)
For the complete list of entries, please log on to NCAA.com
NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEET SCHEDULE: The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet begins on Friday (March 14) with the start of the men's heptathlon kicking off action on at 9:15 a.m. Field events start with the women's pole vault at 2 p.m. before running events kick off with the semifinal round of the men's mile at 3:30 p.m. and conclude with the running of the men's distance medley relay at 8:50 p.m.
The final day opens with the men's 60-meter hurdles as part of the heptathlon at 9:30 a.m. Field events start with the men's and women's high jump at 12 p.m. before running events begin with the final round of the women's mile at 3 p.m. The men's 4x400 relay closes out the day's action at 7:20 p.m.
For a complete schedule of events, log on to NCAA.com. Live results (click here) will be available throughout the meet as well as live video (click here).
The tentative schedule of events for the Zips at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships are as follows;
Friday, March 14
6 p.m. – Hunter Garretson (Men's Pole Vault)
NCAA CHAMPIONS: Akron's entries will be looking to add to the tradition of the Zips' track and field program, which already includes nine individual national champions. Christi Smith made history in 2000 when she became the first national champion in school history, capturing gold in the heptathlon. Stevi Large was the next to accomplish the feat, winning the women's hammer throw in 2009. Annika Roloff captured the women's pole vault in 2014. Shawn Barber became the school's first male champion claiming the indoor pole vault title in 2014 before again earning the crown at the 2015 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Clayton Murphy became Akron's first-ever NCAA champion in a running event winning the indoor 800 meters and outdoor 1,500 meters in 2016. In 2017, Matt Ludwig claimed the national title in the men's pole vault.
AKRON GARNERS TRIO OF MAC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD SPECIALTY AWARDS:
Hunter Garretson and freshman Bismack Kipchirchir (Eldama Ravine, Kenya) were honored by the Mid-American Conference as its 2025 Indoor Track and Field Men's Most Outstanding Track and Field Performers of the Year, the league unveiled on March 7.
Additionally, Akron assistant coach Randy Overby was tabbed by his peers as the Men's Assistant Coach of the Year.
Garretson earned his fifth consecutive MAC indoor pole title and eighth overall league championship besting the field at the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 1 with a mark of 17-9 (5.41m). His five indoor conference pole vault titles and eight overall combined (indoor/outdoor) pole vault championships are the most in league history.
Kipchirchir turned in a stellar effort at the MAC Championships garnering Most Valuable Performer and Freshman of the Year accolades with runner-up finishes in the men's mile, 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
He opened his championship run crossing the line second in the men's 5,000 meters in a career-best time of 14:29.74, the fifth-fastest time in indoor program history. In final-day competition, Kipchirchir placed second in the men's mile in a time of 4:12.45 before capturing Second-Team All-MAC honors in the men's 3,000 meters in a time of 8:11.78.
The Akron's men's team under Overby's tutelage dominated the sprints and hurdles at the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships (Feb. 28-March 1) scoring 54 points en route to securing its ninth overall indoor league title and first since 2020.
The team produced three All-MAC performances, with redshirt senior Jimmy Harkelroad (Huron, Ohio) earning First-Team honors in the 400M and 4x400 relay alongside sophomores Braylyn Farrington (Alabaster, Ala.), AJ Jordan (Columbus, Ohio) and Andrew Styles (Freeport, Bahamas), while also receiving Second-Team recognition in the 200M.
The 4x400M relay squad, consisting of Farrington, Harkelroad, Jordan, and Styles, claimed victory, as did Harkelroad in the 400M. Additionally, Jordan secured third-place finishes in the 60M and 200M, while junior Tysean Baronette (Middletown, Del.) (4th – 200M), sophomore Rennie Gittens, Jr. (Miami, Fla.) (4th – 60M), Farrington (4th – 400M), and Styles (5th – 400M) delivered strong performances. Under expert coaching, the team has recorded the MAC's top times this season in the 400M and 4x400 relay, along with the second-best marks in the 60M and 200M.
AKRON CROSS COUNTRY EARNS USTFCCCA ALL-ACADEMIC ACCOLADES: The Akron cross country team under the leadership of Zips' director of track and field/cross country Kendra Reimer-Gonzales and cross country head coach Evans Kiptoo garnered recognition for the squad's efforts in the classroom as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) tabbed Akron a Division I All-Academic team for the 2024 campaign.
The Akron men's squad was honored for recording a 3.335 GPA, while the women's team garnered recognition for its work in the classroom for the 11th straight year with a 3.356 cumulative GPA.
Overall, 209 women's teams and 183 men's teams earned All-Academic team honors.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: The University of Akron track and field teams have garnered recognition for their efforts during the 2025 indoor season as the Zips are rated among the Top 30 in the Event Squad rankings for three events released on March 11, 2025, 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 rated 14th nationally in the men's shot put, 19th in the women's weight throw and 28th in the men's triple jump.
ZIPS RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST IN 2025 TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron have two individual student-athletes ranked in the Top 50 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) for the 2025 indoor campaign as Hunter Garretson is second in the nation in the men's pole vault (18-10.75/5.76m).
Additionally, senior Cassidy Allen (Lakewood, N.Y.) is 45th in the women's pole vault (13-10/4.22m).
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 was 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.
CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips have added 28 overall top five performances and five school records in program history to the record book during the 2025 indoor campaign.
| NAME | EVENT/DATE | RANK – MARK |
| Keegan Digby | Shot Put – Dec. 6 | No. 5 – 57-6.25 (17.53m) |
| Brook Boes | Weight Throw – Dec. 6 | No. 5 – 64-7 (19.68m) |
| Joy Nwokike | Women's 400M – Dec. 6 | No. 3 – 54.97 |
| Joy Nwokike | Women's 200M – Dec. 6 | No. 4 – 24.09 |
| Joy Nwokike | Women's 200M – Jan. 10 | No. 2 – 23.94 |
| Joy Nwokike | Women's 400M – Jan. 11 | No. 3 – 54.56 |
| Joy Nwokike | Women's 200M – Jan. 17 | No. 1 – 23.79 |
| Joy Nwokike | Women's 400M – Jan. 17 | No. 3 – 54.46 |
| Bismack Kipchirchir | Men's 3,000M – Jan. 17 | No. 4 – 8:08.57 |
| Hunter Garretson | Men's Pole Vault – Jan. 17 | No. 3 – 18-10.50 (5.75m) |
| Keegan Digby | Men's Shot Put – Jan. 17 | No. 5 – 58-3.25 (17.76m) |
| Mary Munga | Women's Mile – Jan. 25 | No. 5 – 4:50.08 |
| Bismack Kipchirchir | Men's Mile – Jan. 31 | No. 4 – 4:05.32 |
| Hunter Garretson | Men's Pole Vault – Feb. 7 | No. 3 – 18-10.75 (5.76m) |
| Mercy Jebitok | Women's 3,000M – Feb. 8 | No. 5 – 9:45.11 |
| Rukia Omulisia | Women's 60MH – Feb. 8 | No. 4 – 8.48 |
| Mercy Jebitok | Women's 5,000M – Feb. 15 | No. 1 – 16:23.67 |
| Braylyn Farrington Jimmy Harkelroad AJ Jordan Andrew Styles |
Men's 4x400 Relay – Feb. 15 | No. 4 – 3:11.12 |
| Joy Nwokike | Women's 400M – Feb. 14 | No. 1 – 53.29 |
| Bismack Kipchirchir | Men's 3,000M – Feb. 14 | No. 1 – 7:57.23 |
| Moses Lekokei | Men's 5,000M – Feb. 14 | No. 2 – 13:56.25 |
| Vanessa Horn | Women's 400M – Feb. 14 | No. 4 – 54.66 |
| Bismack Kipchirchir | Men's 5,000M – Feb. 28 | No. 5 – 14:29.74 |
| Owen Wendl | Men's Shot Put – March 1 | No. 5 – 58-9.50 (17.92m) |
| Joy Nwokike | Women's 60M – Feb. 28 | No. 1 – 7.34 |
| Rukia Omulisia | Women's 60MH – March 1 | No. 2 – 8.38 |
| Cassidy Allen | Women's Pole Vault – Feb. 28 | No. 5 – 13.10 (4.22m) |
| Vanessa Horn Rukia Omulisia Eve Clark Joy Nwokike |
Women's 4x400 Relay – March 1 | No. 5 – 3:44.85 |
TOP MARKS:
Akron Men
Click Here
Akron Women
Click Here
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