Feb. 9, 2004
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THIS WEEK —The men’s and women’s track teams will compete at the Cyclone Invitational Friday and Saturday in Ames. Competition is set to start at 3:30 p.m. Friday and 10:15 a.m. Saturday. All events will be held at Lied Recreation Center on the Iowa State University campus. Several teams and individuals are scheduled to compete in the annual event.
LAST WEEK — The women’s team provisionally qualified three athletes for the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships while at the Husker Invitational.Seniors Shellene Williams and Michelle Lahann and freshman Nikki Chapple all provisionally qualified with season and collegiate-best times. Williams qualified in the 200 meters for the second time this season, winning the event in 23.62. Her winning time broke a 14-year-old meet record, and it was the fourth consecutive week that she won an event. Lahann provisionally qualified in the mile, placing third in 4:47.23. Freshman Nikki Chapple placed fifth in the 3,000 meters with a qualifying time of 9:34.17.
On the men’s side, senior Tony Leick finished sixth in the 600 yard run with a time of 1:13.01 and teammate Jason Wakenight finished seventh. Senior Ken Kemeny brought home a seventh place finish in the shot put with a throw of 57-9. The 1,600 meter relay team of Zach Digney, Juan Coleman, Russ Peterson and Leick ran a 3:15.82.
NCAA QUALIFIERS — Seniors Ken Kemeny, Shellene Williams, Michelle Lahann and freshman Nikki Chapple have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, to be held March 12-13 in Fayetteville, AR. Kemeny has provisionally qualified in the shot put twice this season, with a best mark of 59-5 3/4. Williams has also qualified in the 200 meters twice, with a best mark of 23.62. Lahann and Chapple both qualified for the first time at the Husker Invitational last weekend, with Lahann running a 4:47.23 mile and Chapple running a 9:34.17 in the 3,000 meters.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESS CONFERENCE — Women’s Head Coach James Grant will hold a press conference Monday, February 23 at 2 p.m. to preview the upcoming Big Ten Indoor Women’s Championships, which will be hosted by the University of Iowa. The press conference will be held in the press room, which is located on the ground floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. One or two student-athletes will accompany Grant.
HAWKEYE COACHES — Larry Wieczorek is in his eighth year as Iowa’s men’s head track coach. As a runner, Wieczorek was a six-time Big Ten champion for Iowa, winning four track and two cross country titles. He was also a four-time all-American. In 1998, Wieczorek was inducted into the National Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame. He is assisted by former Iowa all-American and world-class 400-meter hurdler Pat McGhee and three-time all-American and two-time Big Ten shot put champion Scott Cappos.
James Grant is in his eighth year at the helm of the women’s track and field program. Grant and the Hawkeyes had success in 2003, as the team placed sixth at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. It was Iowa’s highest finish during Grant’s tenure. They also crowned a school-record six individual event champions, including two-time winner Shellene Williams who was the third female student-athlete in school history to win two events at the same conference meet. During his career at Iowa, Grant has coached one all-American and 14 Big Ten Champions. As a runner, Grant captained Eastern Michigan University’s 1970 and 1971 track teams, earning all-America honors while specializing in the 400-meter dash, 400-meter hurdles and the mile relay. Grant is assisted by Steve Callaway, who was a decathlete and pole vault school record holder at Indiana, and Layne Anderson, a three-time Southern Conference champion who set 10 school records at The Citadel.
NEXT COMPETITION — he Hawkeyes will host the co-ed Iowa Open Feb. 20 at the University of Iowa Recreation Buildling. Field events are set to start at 5:30 p.m., with running events starting at 6:30 p.m. Competing teams include Augustana, Coe and Loras.