NCAA Meet This Week

March 7, 2006

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THIS WEEK —The 2006 NCAA Indoor Championship meet is Friday and Saturday at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR. Kineke Alexander, Meghan Armstrong and Peaches Roach will be competing in the national meet.

2006 NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS —Junior Peaches Roach and sophomores Kineke Alexander and Meghan Armstrong will represent the University of Iowa in the national indoor meet. All three athletes rank first in the Big Ten in their respective events.

Roach has qualified in the high jump for the third consecutive year. In 2005, Roach earned all-American honors when she cleared 6-0 for sixth place.

Alexander is the only automatic qualifier for the Hawkeyes. She set a new school record and qualified for the 400 meters with a time of 52.01 at the Big Ten Championships. As a freshman, Alexander ran 54.06 and placed seventh to become an all-American. Alexander will also compete in the 200 meters.

Armstrong, a first time national qualifier, will be competing in the mile run. She qualified in a time of 4:40.59, which is the second fastest time in Iowa history.

                 2006 NCAA Indoor Championship Qualifiers    Name        Event       Mark    Big Ten/NCAA RankKineke Alexander#       200 Meters  23.49       1st/13thKineke Alexander*   400 Meters  52.01       1st/2ndMeghan Armstrong#           Mile            4:40.59     1st/4thPeaches Roach#          High Jump            6-0        1st/7th

QUOTING COACH GRANT —“All three athletes are placed pretty high in their events; Meghan is in the fourth spot, Kineke is second in the 400 meters and Peaches is ranked seventh in the high jump. If they can finish where they went into the meet, or even improve a place or two, they would be very happy and the coaching staff would be happy, too. If they place where they are ranked right now, they’d score enough points to be in the top 20, which would be very impressive. Nationals are so competitive that small increments can make a big difference.”

RECORDS FALLING — The Hawkeyes have rewritten the record books this season. Five individuals now hold the top marks in their events and one relay team also took over the first spot.

Kineke Alexander ran a 52.01 in the 400 meters to take over the previous top time of 52.65. Junior Tiffany Johnson broke the 60-meter hurdle record when she crossed the line in 8.33 and reset her own school record in the triple jump with a mark of 40-10.25. Becca Franklin threw the weight throw 53-0.25 to own the number-one spot. Lindsey McCalla, Ashley Granger, Alexander and Johnson ran 3:40.52 in the 1,600-meter relay to break the previous record by almost four seconds.

Sophomore Eric MacTaggart owns the best indoor 3,000 meter time after crossing the finish line in 8:00.81 at the Meyo Invitational.

TOP TEN INDOOR PERFORMERS —Several student-athletes have made it onto Top Ten indoor performance lists for the first time this season. Others have improved their standings. For a complete list of athletes and their top ten marks, please see the complete release.