Jan. 17, 2006
THIS WEEK — The men’s team will travel to Minneapolis, MN, for the Gold Country Classic. All events will be held at the University Fieldhouse on the University of Minnesota campus. The scheduled start time is 10 a.m.
LAST WEEK — The men kicked off the 2006 indoor season with the Hawkeye Open last Saturday in the University Recreation Building. Three men were crowned champs in their respective events. Junior Adam Hamilton won the weight throw with a mark of 62-1.25 feet and sophomore Matty Gorman jumped 23-3.25 feet to a first place finish in the triple jump. Eric MacTaggart was the two-mile champion with a time of 9:02.90, which was also a personal best.
Several athletes also set collegiate bests in the home meet. Here is a list of those athletes broken down by class:
— Seniors: Eric MacTaggart, two miles (9:02.90); Matt O’Hollearn, 600 meters (1:20.78).
— Juniors: Lee Elbert, 60 meters (6.91) and 200 meters (22.46); Jeff Kent, two miles (9:09.63).
— Sophomores: Ryan Jordan, weight throw (57-0.75); Max Milder, 60 meters (7.00) and 200 meters (22.25).
— Freshmen: David Chaplin, 200 meters (22.37); A.J. Curtis, Shot put (54-2.5); John Hickey, shot put (56-3); Ryan Kelly, high jump (6-2.75); Andy Napier, two miles (9:11.08); Daniel Peoples, 800 meters (2:00.11); Prince Riley, 600 meters (1:25.02); Mark Schaapveld, weight throw (46-5.5) and shot put (49-0.75); Tommy Tate, two miles (9:33.91); Bobby Windauer, shot put (35-6.5).
NCAA QUALIFIER — Shane Maier has provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 10-11 in Fayetteville, AR. The junior had a toss of 58-6 feet in the shot put in the Hawkeye Open to take first place.
IOWA MEN’S COACHING STAFF — Head Coach Larry Wieczorek is in his tenth at the helm of the Iowa men’s track team. During his career at Iowa, Wieczorek has coached 23 all-Americans and 35 Big Ten Champions. Iowa’s highest conference meet finishes during his tenure is second at the 1999 outdoor meet and fourth at the 1997 indoor meet. 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.
Scott Cappos is in his ninth year as an assistant coach at Iowa. While he is involved with all parts of the men’s track and field program, his main focus is developing the field event athletes. A three-time all-American at Indiana University, Cappos was the Big Ten shot put champion in 1990 and 1991 and as a five-time Canadian national champion, has competed in several international competitions.
Pat McGhee is in his 15th season as an assistant coach at Iowa. McGhee serves primarily as hurdling, jumps and sprints coach, but is involved in all facets of the squad. McGhee has trained 25 all-Americans and 39 Big Ten champions at Iowa. At Iowa, McGhee earned all-America honors in 1988 and 1989, placing second at the NCAA Championships in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and he tied for fifth in the 110-high hurdles in 1989. He won both events at the 1989 Big Ten meet, earning conference Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Meet honors. While he was competing, McGhee was ranked as high at 10th in the world in the 400-meter hurdles and competition has taken him to the European circuit and all over the world.