FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. -- Furman senior Aaron Wier earned an All-American citation in the mile Friday at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which are being held at the Randal Tyson Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

Wier, a native of Versailles, Ky., posted a time of 4:09.80 for 15th place in the event to secure the honor.  He entered the meet in 14th place nationally after recording a career-best time of 3:58.88 in the event at the Camel City Invitational.  Wier finished second in the mile and fifth in the 800m at the SoCon championship meet.

Wier becomes the fourth All-American in the history of the Paladin men's indoor track and field program, joining Ryan Adams, who was honored as an All-American in both the mile and 3,000m in 2020, and Kim Piersol, who earned an All-American citation in the long jump in 1968.  He is the first Paladin to compete at the NCAA Championships since Allie Buchalski earned All-American honors in both the 3,000m and 5,000m at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships.  Last year, Adams and Gabbi Jennings qualified for the meet, which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 virus. 

The NCAA championship meet concludes on Saturday.  Junior Cameron Ponder will run in the 3,000m finals, which features 16 athletes, Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.  The event will be broadcast on ESPN3 and in the ESPN app, and live results will be available at www.furmanpaladins.com.

A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Ponder ranks fifth nationally with a time of 7:50.89 in the 3,000m, a career best which he posted Feb. 19 at the Camel City Invitational.  He recorded two sub-4:00 mile marks during the 2021 indoor season then won the mile and placed third in the 800m at the SoCon Championships.