JONESBORO, Ark. (3/7/24) – A pair of Arkansas State men’s track and field athletes are set to compete for national championships in their respective events at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, held Friday and Saturday in Boston, Mass.

Sun Belt Conference champion Bradley Jelmert will compete in the men’s pole vault on Friday, with the event set to begin at 1 p.m. CT.

Fellow conference champion Colby Eddowes opens the heptathlon at 8:30 a.m. CT Friday with the first four events. The final three events will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW

Both days of competition will be broadcasted on ESPN Plus, while live results are also available via FlashResults. Streaming and results links can be found here.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Jelmert has been one of the nation’s most consistent pole vaulters, and that started on Dec. 9 at the Crimson and Gold Invitational in Pittsburg, Kan. The Watchung, N.J., native cleared a facility and meet-record height of 5.72m (18-9.25) – a mark that also broke the Sun Belt Conference indoor record. He has remained at No. 2 or better in the NCAA the entire season, and has won all six of his competitions this season. In his most recent outing, he broke the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships record in a gold-medal finish, vaulting 5.62m (18-5.25).

Eddowes achieved his qualifying mark in his first of two heptathlons this season, tallying 5,821 points to place second at the Lenny Lyles Invitational. His mark broke his own school record in the event, while also shattering the conference record. He competed in his second heptathlon of the year at the conference championships, scoring 5,760 points to take gold. His qualifying mark stands 13^th in the NCAA entering the championships.  

NOTABLES

·      Eddowes’ and Jelmert’s entry into the NCAA Indoor Championships marks the first time since 2018 (Jaylen Bacon [60 meters] and Itamar Levi [shot put]) in which two A-State men competed in the national meet.

·      Jelmert is the program’s first men’s pole vaulter in the championships since 2001 (Brad Tyler).

·      Eddowes becomes A-State’s first heptathlete ever in the indoor championships and first men’s multi-eventist at a national championships since 2008 (BJ Parrish).

·      A-State has not had an indoor first-team All-American since Jaylen Bacon placed fifth in the 60 meters in 2018. It has not had multiple first-team honorees indoors since 2014, when Sharika Nelvis won the 60-meter hurdles, Roelf Pienaar took bronze in the long jump and Richie Chavez placed sixth in the shot put.

SOCIAL MEDIA

For the latest on the A-State track and field and cross country programs, follow @AStateTrack on Twitter and @astatetfxc on Instagram, while also liking the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField.