WVU Set for Annual Trip to Akron
January 31, 2019 02:22 PM | Track & Field
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team travels to the 15th Annual Akron Invitational from Feb. 1-2, in Akron, Ohio.
Competition at the Zips' Stile Athletics Field House is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Friday, with Saturday's action set to begin at 11 a.m. The meet officially opens on Thursday, Jan. 31, with throwing, pentathlon and heptathlon events.
Fans can follow along with the Mountaineers with the meet's live results page, presented by finishtiming.com. A live stream also will be available for gold division running events on Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m., on gozips.com.
"We believe we created a bit of momentum with many of last weekend's performances, especially from a lot of our younger girls, which we hope we can duplicate this week in Akron," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "Training continues to run very smoothly, and we're anxious to continue our indoor season at another impressive facility within our three-hour radius of Morgantown."
This weekend marks the seventh consecutive season WVU will compete at the Akron Invitational. The Mountaineers are one of 19 teams competing in the Rubber City this weekend, joining Akron, Ashland, Buffalo, Cleveland State, Dayton, Findlay, Indiana Tech, Kent State, Malone, Marshall, Mount St. Mary's, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, Penn, Fort Wayne, Saint Francis, Walsh and Xavier.
Last year, the Mountaineers earned two wins and registered a school-record performance at the meet, featuring victories by then-freshman McKenna Smith in the women's 400 meters (blue division) with a time of 57.08, and senior Shamoya McNeil in the women's triple jump (gold division) with a mark of 12.82 meters (42 feet, 0.75 inches).
Additionally, then-redshirt junior Madelin Gardner topped her own WVU record in the women's pole vault (gold division) with a mark of 4.37 meters (14 feet, 4 inches) in a second-place finish. The jump broke her previous program record of 4.15 meters, which she set at the Marty Pushkin Track Classic on Dec. 2, 2017.
In all, the Mountaineers recorded a total of 10 top-five finishes at Akron last season.
Last time out, WVU tallied three wins and 11 top-eight finishes at the Penn State National Open, from Jan. 25-26, in University Park, Pennsylvania. Gardner, who enters the week ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 and tied for No. 10 nationally in the pole vault, won the women's pole vault invitational with a meet-record mark of 4.25 meters (13 feet, 11.25 inches), while redshirt sophomore Antigone Archer (9:57.07) and redshirt freshman Hayley Jackson (2:48.70) won the women's 3,000 meters and 1,000 meters, respectively.
Through three competitions this indoor season, Gardner and Jackson have each tallied three victories.
The Akron Invitational marks the Mountaineers' fourth consecutive weekend competition. The team will compete for a total of seven straight weeks, which includes the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championship, from Feb. 22-23, in Lubbock, Texas.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Competition at the Zips' Stile Athletics Field House is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Friday, with Saturday's action set to begin at 11 a.m. The meet officially opens on Thursday, Jan. 31, with throwing, pentathlon and heptathlon events.
Fans can follow along with the Mountaineers with the meet's live results page, presented by finishtiming.com. A live stream also will be available for gold division running events on Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m., on gozips.com.
"We believe we created a bit of momentum with many of last weekend's performances, especially from a lot of our younger girls, which we hope we can duplicate this week in Akron," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "Training continues to run very smoothly, and we're anxious to continue our indoor season at another impressive facility within our three-hour radius of Morgantown."
This weekend marks the seventh consecutive season WVU will compete at the Akron Invitational. The Mountaineers are one of 19 teams competing in the Rubber City this weekend, joining Akron, Ashland, Buffalo, Cleveland State, Dayton, Findlay, Indiana Tech, Kent State, Malone, Marshall, Mount St. Mary's, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, Penn, Fort Wayne, Saint Francis, Walsh and Xavier.
Last year, the Mountaineers earned two wins and registered a school-record performance at the meet, featuring victories by then-freshman McKenna Smith in the women's 400 meters (blue division) with a time of 57.08, and senior Shamoya McNeil in the women's triple jump (gold division) with a mark of 12.82 meters (42 feet, 0.75 inches).
Additionally, then-redshirt junior Madelin Gardner topped her own WVU record in the women's pole vault (gold division) with a mark of 4.37 meters (14 feet, 4 inches) in a second-place finish. The jump broke her previous program record of 4.15 meters, which she set at the Marty Pushkin Track Classic on Dec. 2, 2017.
In all, the Mountaineers recorded a total of 10 top-five finishes at Akron last season.
Last time out, WVU tallied three wins and 11 top-eight finishes at the Penn State National Open, from Jan. 25-26, in University Park, Pennsylvania. Gardner, who enters the week ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 and tied for No. 10 nationally in the pole vault, won the women's pole vault invitational with a meet-record mark of 4.25 meters (13 feet, 11.25 inches), while redshirt sophomore Antigone Archer (9:57.07) and redshirt freshman Hayley Jackson (2:48.70) won the women's 3,000 meters and 1,000 meters, respectively.
Through three competitions this indoor season, Gardner and Jackson have each tallied three victories.
The Akron Invitational marks the Mountaineers' fourth consecutive weekend competition. The team will compete for a total of seven straight weeks, which includes the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championship, from Feb. 22-23, in Lubbock, Texas.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints
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