FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – Furman junior Cameron Ponder earned first-team All-America accolades in the 3,000-meter run Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
 
A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Ponder recorded a time of 7:54.56 to finish eighth in the event at the championship. He qualified for the meet after ranking 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. Ponder tallied two sub-4:00 mile marks during the 2021 indoor season then won the mile and placed third in the 800-meter run at the SoCon Championships.
 
On Friday, senior Aaron Wier of Versailles, Kentucky, earned second-team All-America honors in the mile after placing 15th with a time of 4:09.80. 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 and Ponder became the fourth and fifth All-Americans, respectively, 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.
 
The two were the first Paladins to compete at the NCAA Championships since Allie Buchalski earned All-American honors in both the 3,000m and 5,000-meter run 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.