April 17, 2006
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THIS WEEK — The Iowa men and women’s track teams will host the eighth annual Iowa Musco Twilight meet on Saturday at Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track in Iowa City. Field events are set to start at 2:30 p.m., with running event “B” sections starting at 3 p.m. and running event finals starting at 5:30 p.m. Competing teams include Drake, Iowa State, Minnesota, Marquette, Wisconsin La-Crosse and Iowa. Admission is $3, with University of Iowa students getting in free.
MUSCO MEET HISTORY — The annual Iowa Musco Twilight Meet was named for Musco Lighting of Oskaloosa, IA, which has supplied mobile lighting equipment for the events eight-year history. In it first four years, the meet produced 43 NCAA provisional qualifiers. Since the creation of the regional qualifying system in 2003, 154 competitors have achieved qualifying standards at the meet.
WOMEN’S TEAM MAKES TRACKWIRE 25 — The Hawkeye women’s track team is 19th in the most recent national outdoor rankings released by Trackwire. The list, compiled by Gary Verigin of www.trackwire.com, ranks schools according to a projected hypothetical score for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which is generated by a power ranking of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event. Iowa is ranked 19th with 11 points after opening the outdoor season ranked 20th. Texas is first with 65.
HAWKEYES BREAK RECORDS — Hawkeye juniors Micah VanDenend, Tiffany Johnson and Peaches Roach have set new school records this outdoor season.
VanDenend broke a 38-year-old 5,000-meter record at the Stanford Invitational, running a collegiate-best 13:55.96 for sixth place in the event. Iowa Head Coach Larry Wieczorek set the previous record of 13:56.0 in 1968.
Johnson broke her own 100-meter hurdles record of 13.57, set in 2005, with her collegiate-best 13.53 at the Mt SAC Relays. She now holds school records in the indoor and outdoor triple jump, 60-meter hurdles, 100-meter hurdles and as part of the indoor 1,600-meter relay.
Roach broke the 23-year-old school high jump record of 6-0 set in 1983 by Mary Mol with the collegiate-best 6-0 3/4 cleared at the Mt. SAC Relays. Roach holds the school indoor high jump mark, which is also 6-0 3/4.
LAST MEET — The men and women’s teams sent split squads to Missouri and out West last weekend. The Hawkeyes won five event titles, set two new school records and added an individual and relay to its list of NCAA Midwest Regional qualifiers.
The men’s team crowned three event champions at the Tom Botts Invitational in Columbia, MO, while junior Adam Hamilton won the hammer throw at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, AZ. At Tom Botts, senior Tim Brodersen won the discus, sophomore Shane Maier won the shot put and sophomore Kale Katt won the javelin.
At the Mt. SAC Relays, sophomore Kineke Alexander won the invitational 400 meters in 51.83. That time currently leads the nation and is .12 seconds off the school record she set in that event last year. She also ran the third leg on the 1,600-meter relay with juniors Lindsey McCalla, sophomore Ashley Granger and junior Tiffany Johnson. The group placed second to team USA’s High Performance squad by .01 seconds and qualified for the regional meet in 3:38.26. Junior Peaches Roach broke the 23-year-old school high jump record of 6-0 set in 1983 by Mary Mol with a collegiate-best 6-0 3/4 she jumped for fifth place. Johnson set the school 100-meter hurdles record (13.53) for the second time this season.
HAWKEYE COACHES — Larry Wieczorek and James Grant are in their 10th seasons at the helm of Iowa men and women’s track, respectively.
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 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 National Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame.
In his tenure with the Hawkeyes, Grant has coached eight all-Americans and 21 Big Ten champions. Iowa placed third at the 2004 Big Ten Indoor Championships in Iowa City and sixth at the 2003 conference outdoor meet – the team’s highest placings during Grant’s tenure. The third-place indoor finish tied the team’s highest conference finish in school history.
NEXT COMPETITION — The Hawkeye men and women’s track teams will compete in the 97th running of the Drake Relays, April 26-29 in Des Moines. Events will be held on Jim Duncan Track in Drake Stadium. The school is hoping for its 41st consecutive sellout, which is the longest streak in U.S. track history. The 18,000-seat stadium has been recently renovated. Tickets are available at (515) 261-3647.