Hawkeyes Head To NCAA Championships

June 5, 2006

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THIS WEEK — The Hawkeye men and women’s track teams will send seven athletes to the 2006 NCAA Championships, Wednesday thru Saturday in Sacramento, CA. All events will be held at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex. All-session reserved tickets are $70 and all-session general admission tickets are $55. Tickets can be purchased by calling (916) 566-6560. Events start at 10 a.m. each day.

ON THE AIR — Portions of Saturday’s events will be televised live by CBS. The air times are scheduled for 2:30-5 p.m. (CDT). Events with Hawkeye participants that could be shown are the men’s shot put finals, women’s 400-meter finals and the women’s 1,500-meter finals.

IOWA’S NCAA QUALIFIERS — The Hawkeye have qualified seven student-athletes for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Their events, qualifying marks and where they rank in the nation are listed below.

Name Event   Mark    NCAA RankingKineke Alexander  400 Meters  51.83   6thMeghan Armstrong  1,500 Meters    4:17.41 4thAdam Hamilton    Hammer  220-6 (67.20 m) 6thEric MacTaggart    10,000 Meters   28:50.23    15thShane Maier    Shot Put    62-2 1/4 (18.95 m)  16thPeaches Roach    High Jump   6-0 3/4 (1.85 m)    8thMicah VanDenend    5,000 Meters    13:55.96    13th="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/pre%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIOWA%20IN%20NCAA%20CHAMPIONSHIPS%20HISTORY%20--%3C/strong%3E%20The%20Iowa%20men's%20track%20team%20has%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20crowned%2013%20NCAA%20champions%20and%2080%20all-Americans%20in%20program%20history.%20Its%20highest%20finish%20at%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20the%20NCAA%20outdoor%20meet%20was%20a%20tie%20for%20seventh%20in%201967.%20The%20women's%20team%20has%20crowned%20four%20NCAA%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20champions%20and%2044%20all-Americans,%20and%20its%20highest%20finish%20at%20the%20NCAA%20outdoor%20meet%20was%2010th%20in%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%201992.%3C/p%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECOMPETITORS%20ATTEMPT%20TO%20JOIN%20HAWKEYE%20ELITE%20--%3C/strong%3E%20The%20seven%20student-athletes%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20competing%20at%20the%20NCAA%20Outdoor%20Championships%20will%20attempt%20to%20make%20their%20mark%20in%20the%20Iowa%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20records%20book%20this%20week.%3C/p%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3ESophomore%20%3Ca%20href="/roster.aspx?rp_id=5203" class="imported_story_link" oldlink="/sports/w-track/mtt/alexander_kineke00.html">Kineke        Alexander will try for her second NCAA 400-meter title and her fourth all-America honor        in that event. Alexander won the 400 meters at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships, and has        the sixth-fastest time in the nation going into the outdoor meet. She is the only Hawkeye        to earn three all-America honors in the same event, and is one of four three-time        all-Americans in school history. Distance runner Nan Doak has compiled Iowa's most        all-America honors, earning a total of six during her career (1981-85). Iowa has crowned        four NCAA champions in school history, with Doak winning the 10,000 meters in 1985, Tracy        Dahl winning the 5,000 meters in 1992 and 1993, and Alexander winning the 400 meters during        the 2006 indoor season.        

Junior Peaches Roach is a two-time all-American in the high jump, earning the honors at the 2005 and 2006 indoor meets. She is one of four two-time all-Americans in school history, and has the nationa’s eighth-best jump entering the meet. Sophomore Meghan Armstrong earned her first all-America honor in the mile at the 2006 indoor meet, and could be Iowa’s first all-American in the 1,500 meters since Tina Stec in 1994. She has the fourth-fastest 1,500-meter time in the nation entering the meet.

Junior Adam Hamilton is the only returning all-American for the men’s squad, earning the honor in the hammer throw at the 2004 meet. He redshirted the 2005 outdoor season. Hamilton could become Iowa’s first two-time all-American in the hammer, as he has the sixth-best throw entering the meet. All seven of Iowa’s all-Americans since 2001 have been throwers.

WOMEN’S TEAM MAKES TRACKWIRE 25 — The Hawkeye women’s track team is tied for 13th 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 tied with Alabama and Oregon for 13th in the rankings with 19 points. Texas is first with 59.

HAWKEYES SET RECORDS — Hawkeye juniors Micah VanDenend, Tiffany Johnson and Peaches Roach, and sophomore Meghan Armstrong have set 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’s collegiate-best 13.24 at the NCAA Midwest Regional broke the hurdles record of 13.53 she set earlier this season. She also smashed the triple jump mark of 40-9 1/2 she set in 2005 with her collegiate best 41-3 1/4 leap at the Iowa Musco Twilight VIII. Johnson 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 a collegiate-best 6-0 3/4 at the Mt. SAC Relays. Roach holds the school indoor high jump mark, which is also 6-0 3/4. Armstrong set the school 1,500-meter record with the 4:17.41 she ran at the Big Ten Championships. The previous record of 4:19. 71 was set in 1989 by Jeanne Kruckeberg.

HAWKEYES NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS — Nineteen University of Iowa track and field student-athletes were named to the 2006 academic all-Big Ten spring team. Honorees from the men’s team were Jake Berns, Tim Brodersen, Adam Hamilton, Dan Haut, Eric MacTaggart, Shane Maier, Jason Nolting and Matt O’Hollearn. Honorees from the women’s team were Meghan Armstrong, Sarah Burgett, Jenni Elbert, Molly Esche, Ashley Granger, Tiffany Johnson, Aditya Jones, Tammilee Kerr, Monica Mims, Erin O’Hern and Peaches Roach. The Hawkeyes boasted a total of 59 selections over nine spring sports.

BRODERSEN, HAMILTON NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT — Hawkeye throwers Tim Brodersen and Adam Hamilton are two of 11 student-athletes recently named to the ESPN The Magazine academic all-America men’s track and field second team for District VII.

Brodersen is a two-time Big Ten discus champion, winning titles in 2005 and 2006. The senior from Vermillion, SD, has a 3.52 grade-point average in art and secondary education. Hamilton earned all-America honors in the hammer throw in 2004 and won the 2006 Big Ten title in that event. He advanced to this week’s NCAA Championships in the hammer with his runner-up finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional. The junior from Milford, NH, has a 3.61 grade-point average in exercise science.

2006 NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS REVIEW — The Iowa women’s team placed 10th with 28 points and the men’s team placed 19th with 12 points at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Austin, TX. It was the highest finish for the women in school history, as their previous best was 12th in 2004. Texas won both the men and women’s team titles.

Sophomore Kineke Alexander became Iowa’s first women’s regional champion in school history when she won the 400 meters in a season-best 51.75. Sophomore Meghan Armstrong placed second in the 1,500 meters (4:23.33), and junior Peaches Roach placed third in the high jump (6-0 1/2). Earning all-region honors for the Hawkeyes were Alexander, Armstrong, junior Tiffany Johnson (100-meter hurdles – 8th), sophomore Racheal Marchand (5,000 meters – 7th), Roach and junior Shannon Stanley (1,500 meters – 8th). Johnson broke her 100-meter hurdle school record with a 13.24 in the preliminaries.

The men’s team was led by all-region selections Adam Hamilton and Shane Maier. Hamilton placed second in the hammer throw (217-11), while Maier placed fifth in the shot put (61-0 1/4).

2005 NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS REVIEW — Hawkeye sophomore Kineke Alexander earned her second career all-America honor, placing seventh in the 400 meters (51.94) at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, CA. Junior Peaches Roach placed ninth in the high jump (5-10 3/4), while junior Tim Brodersen (discus), senior Chris Voller (hammer) and senior Ken Kemeny (shot put) competed in the preliminaries of their respective events.