Heading East

Jan. 31, 2006

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THIS WEEK — The Iowa track teams will be in three different locations this weekend. One group of men will head to New York, NY, to compete in the New Balance Invite while another group of men and women will head to the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame, IN. The majority of the women’s team will be competing in the Husker Invitational in Lincoln, NE.

LAST WEEK — The Iowa track teams had a successful outing at the Panther Invitational. Five Iowa men came home with gold medals and four women were first in their respective events as well as the 1,600-meter relay team.

The Hawkeye men dominated the throwing events, garnering first through fifth place in the weight throw and the top four spots in the shot put. Junior Adam Hamilton won the weight throw with a toss of 63-4.25 feet and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Sophomore Shane Maier won the shot put with a toss of 57-4.75 feet.

Senior Tony Rakaric won the mile in 4:22.70, freshman Tommy Tate was tops in the 3,000 meters (8:53.86) and freshman Prince Riley won the 400 meters in 50.17.

Juniors Peaches Roach and Tiffany Johnson won the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Roach took first with a time of 7.69 seconds and Johnson won the hurdles in 8.57. Junior Sarah Burgett won the pole vault when she cleared 11-5.75. Sophomore Kineke Alexander won the 200 meters with a personal best time of 24.13.

NCAA QUALIFIERS — Sophomore Shane Maier and junior Adam Hamilton have both provisionally qualified for the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships in field events.

Name                Event              Mark              Big Ten/NCAA RankAdam Hamilton#  Weight Throw    63-4.25 (19.31 m)       3rd/16thShane Maier#    Shot Put          58-11.25 (17.96 m)        3rd/27th* -- automatic qualifier, # -- provisional qualifier

MEN’S TEAM CAPTAINS CHOSEN — Seniors Tim Brodersen, Matt Esche and Matt O’Hollearn have been chosen as Hawkeye tri-captains this season. Brodersen was the 2005 Big Ten discus champion and placed third in that event at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet to earn all-region honors and qualify for the NCAA Championships. Esche was an all-region performer as part of the Hawkeye cross country team last fall. O’Hollearn is a middle distance runner for the Hawkeyes and has been a part of many successful Iowa relay teams over the past three seasons.

“Tim was chosen early in the season because of his success at the Big Ten Championships last year,” said Iowa Coach Larry Wieczorek. “Matt and Matt were both popular choices with the team. All three are good leaders who are outstanding in the classroom and the field.”

TOP TEN INDOOR PERFORMERS — Several student-athletes have made it onto Top Ten indoor performers lists for the first time this season, while others have improved their standings. Junior Lee Elbert is seventh on the 60 meter dash list with his time of 6.91 and freshman David Chaplin is eighth (6.95). Sophomore Ryan Jordan made the weight throwing list in the eighth spot with a toss of 57-0.75. Shane Maier improved his position to the number six slot in the shot put with a mark of 58-11.25.

Peaches Roach added her name to the 200-meter list in the sixth spot (24.42) and Kineke Alexander moved up to the fifth spot on that list with a time of 24.13. Sophomore Meghan Armstrong improved her position on the mile list with a time of 4:48.14 and freshman Krista Anderson is now on the list in the number eight spot (4:51.79). Anderson is also fifth on the 3,000 meter list with a time of 9:37.87. Freshmen Renee White and Amanda Chandler have jumped and thrown their way into the Top Ten list in the long jump and shot put; White is third in the long jump (19-1.25) and Chandler is tenth in the shot (43-2.25). Junior Erin O’Hern moved up to the second spot in the weight throw with a distance of 49-10.

QUOTING COACH WIECZOREK — “I feel good about things after the first three meets. They have set us up for the next two meets which will have higher level of competition from nationally strong teams. Things are positive and we’re on the way to being a good track team. We are having a build-up of meets leading to the Big Ten Championships and the NCAAs. It helps to be going against a strong field this weekend. We really want to see our people rise to the level around them.”

QUOTING COACH GRANT — “I think the season is going quite well. We had a slow start in the first meet, but we have picked up since. This weekend we will be competing against high level athletes from all over the country. This will be the first tough meet for us this season. Hopefully, we will qualify some athletes for the NCAA Championships.”

IOWA HEAD COACHING STAFF — Head Coach Larry Wieczorek is in his 10th season 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 Big Ten meet finishes during his tenure are 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 Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame.

James Grant is in his 10th year at the helm of the women’s track 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, while setting 17 school records.