Feb. 4, 2008
Iowa City
THIS WEEK —
The University of Iowa men and women’s track teams will compete at the Meyo Invitational Friday and Saturday at South Bend, IN. Competition is set to start at 4 p.m. (CT) Friday and 7 a.m. (CT) Saturday. All events will be held at Meyo Field in the Loftus Center on the University of Notre Dame campus. The six-lane track is one-fifth of a mile long, making it one of the largest indoor tracks in the nation.
NCAA QUALIFIERS — The Hawkeyes have provisionally qualified five student-athletes in four events for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 14-15 in Fayetteville, AR. Their event, qualifying marks and where they rank in the Big Ten and the nation are listed below.
Name Event Mark Big 10/NCAA RankingMeghan Armstrong Mile 4:46.89 4th/12th 3,000 Meters 9:26.02 4th/5thJohn Hickey Shot Put 61-3 (18.67 m) 1st/5thTammilee Kerr Pentathlon 3,908 points 3rd/4thShane Maier Shot Put 58-3 (17.75 m) 3rd/11thDiane Nukuri Mile 4:48.48 5th/16th 3,000 Meters 9:24.25 1st/2nd="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%3ELAST%20MEET%20--%3C/strong%3E%3Cbr%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20The%20Hawkeye%20men's%20team%20crowned%20seven%20champions%20and%20posted%2024%20collegiate%20bests%20at%20the%20UNI%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Invitational%20in%20Cedar%20Falls.%3C/p%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3EHawkeye%20sophomore%20%3Ca%20href="/roster.aspx?rp_id=4606" class="imported_story_link" oldlink="/sports/m-track/mtt/rolling_dan00.html">Dan Rolling won the Group B heptathlon with a collegiate-best point total of 4,634. He won the high jump (6-9 3/4) and the 60 meters (7.25) as part of the heptathlon, and was competing in the pole vault, 1,000 meters and 60-meter hurdles for the first time in his collegiate career. Sophomore Mark Mankivsky won the heptathlon pole vault (14-5 1/4) for Group B, which was a collegiate-best mark. Senior Ryan Niver placed third in the Group A heptathlon with 4,933 points, which was only 51 points shy of the school record of 4,984 he holds in that event.
Juniors John Hickey and Andy Napier, and sophomore Paul Chaney, Jr., also picked up event titles for the Hawkeyes. Hickey won the shot put (58-9 1/4), Napier won the 3,000 meters (8:31.59) and Chaney won the 60 meters with a collegiate-best 6.89.
2008 MEN’S TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED —
Seniors Shane Maier, Max Milder and Micah VanDenend have been named team captains for the 2008 season. Maier and VanDenend both served as captains last season. Maier, from Storm Lake, IA, is the defending Big Ten indoor shot put champion and a two-time all-region honoree. He and four other Hawkeye throwers hold the school record for most times qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional (4). VanDenend, a native of Glenbard, IL, is the defending Big Ten 10,000-meter champion and won the 2006 NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional title. The three-time all-region honoree currently holds four of Iowa’s school distance records. Milder, a sprinter from Council Bluffs, IA, is a two-time regional qualifier, earning all-region honors as part of the 400-meter relay last season.
HAWKEYE WOMEN’S COACHING STAFF —
Head Coach Layne Anderson is in his first year as head women’s track and field coach at Iowa. In his four seasons as an assistant with the track and field team, there has been one national champion, 22 all-Americans and 18 Big Ten Champions. While competing for The Citadel in college, Anderson set 10 school records on his way to becoming a three-time Southern Conference champion. He is assisted by four-time Auburn all-American, 1996 decathlon national champion and Olympian Victor Houston and Hawkeye all-American and four-time Big Ten Champion Shellene Williams.
HAWKEYE MEN’S COACHING STAFF —
Head Coach Larry Wieczorek is in his 12th season at the helm of the Iowa men’s track team. He has coached 25 all-Americans and 42 Big Ten Champions at Iowa. The team’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 – and a four-time all-American. In 1998, Wieczorek was inducted into the National Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame. He is assisted by three-time Indiana all-American Scott Cappos and World Champion and four-time Northern Iowa all-American Joey Woody.
NEXT COMPETITION —
The men and women’s teams will send split squads to the Cyclone Classic in Ames, IA, Feb. 15-16 and the Husky Classic in Seattle, WA, Feb. 16. The Cyclone Classic will be held at the Lied Recreation-Athletic Facility on the Iowa State campus. The Husky Classic will be held at Dempsey Indoor facility, which houses a permanent 307-meter MONDO track and a full 100-yard FieldTurf infield equipped to host the field events.
Complete Release in PDF Format
Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.