FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Junior thrower Israel Oloyede competed in the weight throw contest at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Thursday, capping off his school record-breaking season with a national runner-up finish, a PR of 23.79m (78-0.75) and First Team All-America honors.

After transferring to Arizona from Paradise Valley Community College where he was the 2018 NJCAA Weight Throw Champion, Oloyede has had an impressive two seasons with the Wildcats. He initially put his name in the school record books during the 2020 season with a throw of 22.34m (73-3.5) at NAU Tune Up. His mark sent him to Albuquerque for the NCAA Championships before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. He was given All-America honors with no team distinction for the season.

This year, Oloyede has won two of four regular season weight throw contests, improving his school record mark three times before doing it again on Thursday. Along the way he picked up a meet record at the Texas Tech Shootout and Texas Tech Invitational, where he tied the previous record mark. He was also named Men's Field MVP at the Championships at the Peak meet for his first place finish and mark of 23.18m (76-0.75). 

"I'm extremely proud of him in terms of his overall development since he's been here at Arizona," said Head Coach Fred Harvey. "For him to progress to the level that he's at right now is pretty spectacular. Just watching his whole demeanor this championship and through the season, this easily was his best overall competition in terms of his consistency. It was spectacular. His ability to be able to navigate through the things we had to deal with with COVID and the uncertainty of competitions and staying true to the training plan, it really showed what he's capable of."

Three more Wildcats will compete in the Championships on Friday beginning at 10:00 a.m. MST with Jordan Geist and Samantha Noennig in the men's and women's shot put followed by Lillian Lowe in the women's high jump at 3:30 p.m.

"We're at the National Championships and this is the best of the best," said Coach Harvey. "With Jordan, we haven't seen his best meet yet and with what he's been doing in training, this is the time for him to have his best meet of the year. If he does that, he has an excellent opportunity to be at the top. Sam is the defending champion and she has not done anything this year to make you think that that's not gonna happen again."

A complete recap of the meet will be posted to ArizonaWildcats.com. You can also follow @ArizonaTrack on twitter throughout the day for live updates. 

 
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