Jan. 17, 2006
THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa women’s track 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 Hawkeyes are off to a great start for the 2006 indoor season. Eight individuals and one relay team took first place in the Hawkeye Open last Saturday.
Sophomore standout Kineke Alexander picked up right where she left off last season with a four-second win in the 600 meters. Sophomore distance runners Jordan Laney and Meghan Armstrong took first place in the 800 meter run and the mile, respectively. Lindsey McCalla, Aditya Jones, Alexander, and Tiffany Johnson won the 1,600 meter relay in a time of 3:55.34.
The Iowa women dominated the field events with four golds and two second place finishes. Peaches Roach won the high jump, freshman Renee White won the long jump and freshman Amanda Chandler was tops in the shot put. Iowa went one-two in the weight throw when junior Rebecca Franklin took first place and classmate Erin O’Hern came in second place. Johnson also came in second in the triple jump.
Several athletes also set collegiate best marks in the Hawkeye Open:
— Juniors: Tiffany Johnson, 200 meters (25.36); Aditya Jones, 600 meters (1:40.03).
— Sophomores: Molly Esche, mile (5:11.91); Ashley Granger, 60 meters (7.89); Jessica Schmidt, mile (5:10.46).
— Freshmen: Krista Anderson, mile (5:41.79); Amanda Chandler, shot put (41-6); Jennie Docherty, 800 meters (2:20.34); Rachel Hawks, mile (5:39.00); Renee White, long jump (19-1.25) and 60 meters, (7.91).
HAWKEYE COACHES — James Grant is in his tenth year at the helm of the women’s track and field program. The past three seasons have been outstanding for Grant and the Hawkeyes. Iowa placed third at the 2004 Big Ten Indoor Championships in Iowa City and sixth at the 2003 conference outdoor meet. Both were Iowa’s highest placings during Grant’s tenure. The third-place indoor finish tied the team’s highest conference finish in school history. In the last three seasons, the Hawkeyes crowned 11 Big Ten champions, 38 regional qualifiers, 15 all-region selections, 24 NCAA qualifiers and three all-Americans, and set 17 school records.
Assistant coach Layne Anderson is in his third season at Iowa. He works with the distance runners and is also the head women’s cross country coach. A three-time Southern Conference individual champion, Anderson set 10 school records at The Citadel and was named team MVP three times. He was a member of a USATF national champion distance medley relay.
Victor Houston enters his second season with the Hawkeyes. His main area of responsibility are field events and multi-event athletes. As an athlete at Auburn, he won the 1996 NCAA decathlon title and placed seventh in that event at the 1997 national meet. The four-time all-American set Auburn school records in the decathlon (7,766), pentathlon (4.086), and ranks in the top 10 in the 110-meter hurdles, indoor and outdoor long jump (24-11 1/4), indoor high jump, triple jump and javelin.