VanDenend Wins Big Ten Title

May 11, 2007

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA –

Senior distance runner Micah VanDenend won Iowa’s 165th Big Ten outdoor title Friday, placing first in the 10,000 meters in 30:28.50. VanDenend, who ran the event for the first time in his career, propelled the Iowa men’s team into first place in the team standings with 18 points after the first day of competition at the conference meet in University Park, PA. He is the first Hawkeye distance runner to win a Big Ten title at either the indoor or outdoor conference meet since 1994 when Kevin Herd won Iowa’s other 10,000-meter conference title (30:05.21).

The Hawkeye women’s team sits in third place with 16 points after Friday’s first day of competition. Junior distance runners Racheal Marchand and Diane Nukuri posted NCAA provisional qualifying performances in the 10,000 meters, placing third (34:50.37) and fourth (34:52.46), respectively. Also scoring points for the Hawkeyes was senior Becca Franklin, who placed fourth in the hammer throw (190-7). Hawkeye junior Tammilee Kerr currently sits in fourth place in the heptathlon with 3,079 points and three events to go on Saturday.

For the men’s team, senior Adam Hamilton did not defend his Big Ten hammer throw title, but contributed big team points with his runner-up finish of 206-4. Junior Ryan Niver currently sits in fifth place in the decathlon with 3,581 points and five events to go on Saturday.

Saturday’s events are set to start at 8:30 a.m. (CT) at Nittany Lion Track on the Penn State University campus.

FRIDAY’S TEAM STANDINGS
Men’s Team Standings
1. Iowa 18
Minnesota 18
3. Illinois 8
Purdue 8
Ohio State 8
6. Penn State 7
7. Wisconsin 6
8. Michigan 4
9. Indiana 1

Women’s Team Standings
1. Minnesota 25
2. Indiana 20
3. Iowa 16
4. Michigan 15
5. Purdue 11
6. Ohio State 10
7. Illinois 9
8. Wisconsin 5
9. Penn State 4
10. Michigan State 2

FRIDAY’S INDIVIDUAL EVENT RESULTS (WINNER PLUS IOWA PLACERS)
Decathlon Standings (After Five Events)
1. Nathan Brown (Wisconsin) 4,056
5. Ryan Niver (Iowa) 3,581

Decathlon 100 Meters
1. James Myles (Penn St.) 11.04
11. Ryan Niver (Iowa) 11.55

Decathlon 400 Meters
1. Joe Detmer (Wisconsin) 47.69
9. Ryan Niver (Iowa) 51.51

Decathlon Long Jump
1. Nathan Brown (Wisconsin) 22-9
8. Ryan Niver (Iowa) 21-5 1/4

Decathlon Shot Put
1. Nathan Brown (Wisconsin) 52-9 1/4
5. Ryan Niver (Iowa) 39-3

Decathlon High Jump
1. Lance Moe (Purdue) 6-10 3/4
4. Ryan Niver (Iowa) 6-6

Heptathlon Standings (After Four Events)
1. Bettie Wade (Michigan) 3,576
4. Tammilee Kerr (Iowa) 3,079

Heptathlon 100-Meter Hurdles
1. Gayle Hunter (Penn St.) 13.74
4. Tammilee Kerr (Iowa) 14.48

Heptathlon 200 Meters
1. Gayle Hunter (Penn St.) 24.00
4. Tammilee Kerr (Iowa) 25.79

Heptathlon High Jump
1. Bettie Wade (Michigan) 5-11 1/4
4. Tammilee Kerr (Iowa) 5-4 1/4

Heptathlon Shot Put
1. Bettie Wade (Michigan) 42-1 1/4
7. Tammilee Kerr (Iowa) 35-4

Men’s Hammer Throw
1. Adam Schnaible (Minnesota) 210-4
2. Adam Hamilton (Iowa) 206-4
9. Ryan Jordan (Iowa) 184-6
13. Mark Schaapveld (Iowa) 174-10
19. Kale Katt (Iowa) 166-8

Women’s Hammer Throw
1. Veronica Jatsek (Ohio St.) 208-2
4. Becca Franklin (Iowa) 190-7

Women’s Pole Vault
1. Vera Neuenswander (Indiana) 13-5 1/4
18. Sarah Burgett (Iowa) 11-3 3/4

Men’s 10,000 Meters
1. Micah VanDenend (Iowa) 30:28.50
10. Tommy Tate (Iowa) 31:05.23

Women’s 10,000 Meters
1. Jessica Gall (Indiana) 34:27.07
3. Racheal Marchand (Iowa) 34:50.37
4. Diane Nukuri (Iowa) 34:52.46

Click HERE for live meet results.

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