Akron Set for Trio of Weekend Meets

Thursday, April 16

Azusa, Calif.

All Day

University of Akron

Bryan Clay Invitational

Action Photo - Akron Track and Field - 4/15/26

April 15 | Track & Field

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's and women's track and field team will compete in a trio of weekend meets as the Zips will participate in the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., the John Papa Invitational in Slippery Rock, Pa., and the Sparky Adams Invitational in Berea, Ohio.

UP NEXT: The Zips will compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific on Thursday and Friday (April 16-17), while also participating in the John Papa Invitational hosted by Slippery Rock on Thursday. The squad will round out the weekend at the Sparky Adams Invitational hosted by Baldwin Wallace on Saturday (April 18).

Live stats from all three meets will be available at GoZips.com.

TOP TIMES IN THE MAC: The Zips have posted 14 overall performances that lead the Mid-American Conference during the outdoor campaign.

Outdoor

NAME	EVENT/DATE	RANK – MARK
AJ Jordan	Men's 200M	No. 1 – 20.77
Jackline Nanjala	Women's 400M	No. 1 – 52.87
Andrew Styles	Men's 400M	No. 1 – 46.87
Mercy Jebitok	Women's 1,500M	No. 1 – 4:22.33
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
Vanessa Horn McKenzie McNitt Mariyah Moore Jackline Nanjala	Women's 4x400 Relay	No. 1 – 3:37.05
Kaden Rambatt	Men's Pole Vault	No. 1 – 16-9.25 (5.11m)
Jeffrey Usman	Men's Long Jump	No. 1 – 24-1.50 (7.35m)
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 registered 14 victories as part of 40 overall top three performances on the final day of the Northeast Ohio Open on April 10 at the Lee R. Jackson Track and Field Complex.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Redshirt senior Brook Boes (Tiffin, Ohio) won both the women's shot put (45-4.50/13.83m) and discus (154-2/46.98m).
• Junior Braylyn Farrington (Alabaster, Ala.) bested the field in the men's 400 meters in 48.03.
• Freshman Jackline Nanjala (Kitale, Kenya) finished first in the women's 400 meters in a time of 54.87.
• Freshman Te'Aira Branham-Patrick (Dayton, Ohio) placed first in the women's 200 meters in a career-best time of 24.32.
• Junior Andrew Styles (Freeport, Bahamas) finished first in the men's 100 meters in 10.64.
• Junior Amari Pratt (Nassau, Bahamas) bested the field in the women's 100 meters in a career-best time of 12.16.
• Freshman Noah Nyageo (Kitale, Kenya) won the men's 1,500 meters in a career-best time of 3:50.72.
• Sophomore Mercy Jebitok (Kapsabet, Kenya) finished first in the women's 1,500 meters in a career-best time of 4:22.33, the No. 4 mark in outdoor program history.
• Junior Ty Munroe (Lewis Center, Ohio) captured the men's 800 meters in 1:53.69.
• Redshirt senior Ruth Webb (Akron, Ohio) won the women's high jump besting the bar at 5-5 (1.65m).
• Junior Mason Birch (Strongsville, Ohio) eclipsed 6-6.75 (2.00m) to take the title in the men's high jump.
• Freshman Amanda Rauch (Marietta, Ohio) eclipsed a career-best bar of 12-11.50 (3.95m) to win the women's pole vault.
• Junior Augustine Davis (Lewis Center, Ohio) captured the women's triple jump with a career-best mark of 38-2.75 (11.65m).

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).

Junior Megan Hipple (Warren, Ohio) 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 eight events released on April 14, 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 eighth nationally in the women's hammer, 10th in the men's shot put, 13th in the men's discus, 16th in the men's hammer, 17th in the women's pole vault, 18th in the women's discus, 21st in the women's triple jump and 22nd in the women's shot put.

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 redshirt senior Owen Wendl (Medina, Ohio) is 15th in the men's shot put (62-0.50/18.91m) and 48th in the men's discus (184-0/56.09m).

Additionally, Lane Graham is 18th in the men's hammer (219-11/67.03m), and Jackline Nanjala is 45th in the women's 400 meters (52.87).

CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips have added 20 overall top five performances and four school records 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

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