Coverage of the meet as well as live field event coverage will be provided on ESPN+ each day of competition.

UP NEXT: Garretson and Kipchirchir will represent the Zips at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week.

Garretson will compete for the Zips in the men’s pole vault at 7:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday (June 11) before Kipchirchir runs in the semifinal round of the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at 7:38 p.m. ET. The finals of the steeplechase are slated for 8:24 p.m. ET on Friday (June 13).

Garretson, who owns the No. 11 mark (18-1.75/5.53m) in the NCAA this season, will be making his third NCAA Outdoor Championship appearance in the men’s pole vault after earning First-Team All-America accolades on the strength of a runner-up effort at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, where he eclipsed 18-8.25 (5.70m).

Earlier this season, he garnered First-Team All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

 

Garretson captured his ninth overall Mid-American Conference title with a mark of 18-0.50 (5.50m) at MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 15 in Athens, Ohio, before posting a qualifying mark of 17-5.75 (5.33m) at the NCAA East Preliminary Round on May 28 in Jacksonville, Fla.

 

Kipchirchir will be making his NCAA Championship debut after registering a qualifying time of 8:42.88 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA East Preliminary Round on May 30 in Jacksonville, Fla. Kipchirchir also collected the MAC title in the event on May 16 in Athens, Ohio, in a time of 8:45.34.

 

Kipchirchir enters competition with the No. 8 time in the NCAA this season in the steeplechase crossing the line in a school-record time of 8:27.51 at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

AKRON MEN’S QUALIFIERS (Qualifying Rank-Qualifying Mark):

Pole Vault: Hunter Garretson (No. 11-18-1-75/5.53m)

3,000M Steeplechase: Bismack Kipchirchir (No. 8-8:27.51)

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 at 3 p.m. ET at Heyward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon on Wednesday (June 11), with the start of the men’s decathlon. Field events start with the men’s hammer at 4:30 p.m. ET before running events kick off with the men’s 4×100 relay semifinals at 7:05 p.m. ET and conclude with the running of the men’s 4×400 relay at 10:36 p.m. ET.

The second day opens with the men’s 110-meter hurdles as part of the decathlon at 12:45 p.m. ET. Field events start with the women’s hammer at 4:30 p.m. ET, before running events begin with the semifinal round of the women’s 4×100 relay at 7:05 p.m. ET. The semifinals of the women’s 4×400 relay closes out the day’s action at 10:36 p.m. ET.

Third-day competition commences on Friday with the women’s 100-meter hurdles as part of the heptathlon at 2:45 p.m. ET. The men’s high jumps kick off field events at 7:30 p.m. ET, before the running events take the track with the final of the men’s 4×100 relay at 8:02 p.m. ET. The men’s 4×400 relay final will conclude the men’s portion of the championship at 10:36 p.m. ET.

The final day of the championship kicks off with the women’s long jump for the heptathlon at 5 p.m. ET. The women’s high jump starts field events at 8:30 p.m. ET, before the final of the women’s 4×100 relay is slated to begin at 9:02 p.m. ET. The women’s 4×400 relay final will conclude the women’s portion of the championship at 11:21 p.m. ET.

 

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 Outdoor Track and Field Championships are as follows;

Wednesday, June 11

7:35 p.m. ET – Hunter Garretson (Men’s Pole Vault)

7:38 p.m. ET – Bismack Kipchirchir (Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase Semifinals)

 

Friday, June 13

8:24 p.m. ET – Bismack Kipchirchir (Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase Finals)

 

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.

 

TOP TIMES IN THE MAC: The Zips have registered 13 overall top performances in the Mid-American Conference during the outdoor campaign.

Outdoor

 
NATIONAL RANKINGS: The University of Akron track and field teams have garnered recognition for their efforts during the 2025 outdoor season as the Zips are rated among the Top 30 in the Event Squad rankings for six events released on May 20, 2025, 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 ninth nationally in the men’s pole vault, 13th in the men’s shot put, 17th in the men’s hammer and women’s hammer, 21st in the men’s discus and 22nd in the women’s discus.

 

ZIPS RANK AMONG NATION’S BEST IN 2025 TFRRS RANKINGS: Akron have four individual student-athletes ranked in the Top 50 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) for the 2025 outdoor campaign as Bismack Kipchirchir is rated eighth in the nation in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase (8:27.51).

 

Additionally, Hunter Garretson is 11th in the nation in the men’s pole vault (18-1.75/5.53m), redshirt junior Owen Wendl (Medina, Ohio) is 13th in the men’s discus (200-11/61.23m) and sophomore Mason Birch (Strongsville, Ohio) is 48th in the men’s high jump (7-0.25/2.14m).

 

OWEN WENDL NAMED MAC MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMER: Owen Wendl was honored by the Mid-American Conference as its 2025 Outdoor Track and Field Men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer of the Year, the league unveiled on May 22.

Wendl captured a pair of MAC titles winning the men’s discus and shot put with a pair of career-best marks. Wendl capped his championship efforts claiming the title in the men’s discus, the fourth MAC title of his Zips’ career, with a career-best mark of 200-10 (61.23m), just off the meet record of 201-9 and conference record of 205-9. His performance stands as the No. 13 mark in the United States in the discus in 2025.

Wendl opened the weekend capturing the men’s shot put for his third career league title with a career-best throw of 60-2.50 (18.35m). His effort stands as the No. 71 mark in the NCAA this season and the No. 2 effort in outdoor program history.

 

ZIPS CAPTURE MAC MEN’S OUTDOOR TEAM TITLE: The University of Akron men’s track and field team made it back-to-back-to-back Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field titles capturing the program’s 11th overall outdoor crown at the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Ohio at Goldsberry Track on May 17.

 

AKRON EARNS TRIO OF MAC CHAMPIONSHIP HONORS: Akron Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Kendra Reimer-Gonzales was named as the MAC Men’s Coach of the Year.

Bismack Kipchirchir was tabbed as the Most Valuable Performer of the Meet and league’s Men’s Track Freshman of the Year.

Freshman Rukia Omulisia (Nairobi, Kenya) was selected as the MAC’s Women’s Track Freshman of the Year

 

USTFCCCA HONORS GARRETSON AS GREAT LAKES REGIONAL FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:

Hunter Garretson was honored by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as the Great Lakes Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year, the USTFCCCA announced on March 20.

Garretson becomes the fourth Zip to collect All-Regional honors since 2007 joining Olympians Clayton Murphy (2016-Track) and Shawn Barber (2015-Field) and Cadeau Kelley (2008-Field). He previously captured the honor during the 2023 outdoor campaign.

 

GARRETSON EARNS FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA ACCOLADES:

Hunter Garretson captured First-Team All-America accolades on the strength of a third-place performance at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 14 in Virginia Beach, Va.

A five-time All-America honoree, Garretson captured First-Team laurels for the third time in his decorated career eclipsing 18-6.75 (5.66m).

After passing at the opening height of 17-7 (5.36m), Garretson cleared the next two bars of 17-11 (5.46m) and 18-3 (5.56m) on his initial runs at the heights.

He needed two attempts to clear 18-4.75 (5.61m) before besting the bar at 18-6.75 (5.66m) on his final attempt.

After missing his initial attempt at 18-8.34 (5.71m), Garretson passed his next two jumps. He was unable to clear the bar at 18-10.75 (5.76m) on each of his attempts and finished with a third-place effort.

 

GARRETSON NAMED ELITE 90 WINNER: Hunter Garretson was the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2025 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 14.

Winning the honor for the third consecutive season, Garretson became the first three-time recipient of the award in Division I track and field and ninth overall three-time honoree across all sports in Division I.

The honor was the fourth 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.

 

AKRON GARNERS TRIO OF MAC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD SPECIALTY AWARDS:

Hunter Garretson and Bismack Kipchirchir 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 4×400 relay alongside sophomore Braylyn Farrington (Alabaster, Ala.), AJ Jordan and sophomore 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), Rennie Gittens, Jr. (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 4×400 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. 

 

CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips added 28 overall top five performances and five school records in program history to the record book during the 2025 outdoor campaign.

 

 
CRACKING THE ALL-TIME TOP FIVE PERFORMANCES: The Zips added 28 overall top five performances and five school records in program history to the record book during the 2025 indoor campaign.
 

 
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