Hawkeyes Hit The Road

Feb. 11, 2008

Iowa City, IA
THIS WEEK —
The University of Iowa men and women’s track teams will send split squads to the Cyclone Classic in Ames, IA, and the Husky Classic in Seattle, WA. The Cyclone Classic will be held Friday and Saturday at the Lied Recreation-Athletic Facility on the Iowa State campus. The Husky Classic will be held Saturday 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.

NCAA QUALIFIERS —
The Hawkeyes have provisionally qualified eight student-athletes in seven 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 RankingKineke Alexander  400 Meters  53.86            2nd/9thMeghan Armstrong  Mile             4:46.89             4th/16th             3,000 Meters   9:20.02          2nd/8thAdam Hairston    800 Meters  1:49.86          1st/9thJohn Hickey    Shot Put             61-3 (18.67 m) 1st/7thTammilee Kerr    Pentathlon  3,908 points    3rd/4thShane Maier    Shot Put             58-3 (17.75 m) 3rd/19thDiane Nukuri  Mile             4:48.48             5th/24th             3,000 Meters   9:20.07          3rd/9thRenee White    Triple Jump 42-0 1/2 (12.81 m)  1st/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/ahref="http:>

HAWKEYES BREAK RECORDS AT MEYO INVITE —
The Hawkeyes crowned two champions, broke two school records and posted five NCAA provisional qualifiers at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, IN last weekend.

The women’s team saw seniors Meghan Armstrong and Diane Nukuri better their previous 3,000-meter provisional qualifying times for third (9:20.02) and fourth (9:20.07) place, respectively. Senior Kineke Alexander provisionally qualified in the 400 meters with a season-best 53.86 for third place. Junior Renee White also provisionally qualified in the triple jump (42-0 1/2), placing second. Armstrong (1,200 meters), Alexander (400), Nukuri (1,600) and freshman Lauren Hardesty (800) ran on the distance medley relay that shattered the 27-year-old school record of 11:23.02 set in 1981 by almost three seconds, when the placed third in 11:20.11. The former record holders were Kay Stormo, Chris Davenport, Julie Williams and Penny O’Brien.

The men’s team was led by sophomore Adam Hairston, junior John Hickey and senior Shane Maier. Hairston won the 800 meters in 1:49.86, setting a school record and provisionally qualifying for the national meet. The previous record of 1:51.27 was set by Dave Novotny in 1996. Hickey and Maier placed first and second in the shot put with respective tosses of 57-3 1/2 and 56-6. It was Hickey’s fourth-straight win in the shot put.

MACTAGGART EARNS MUSIC AWARD —
Hawkeye junior distance runner Eric MacTaggart earned an “Outstanding Jury” award from the University of Iowa School of Music. MacTaggart missed the 2007 cross country season in order to participate in the Hawkeye marching band, which is a music education requirement. A trombone player, he was one of the brass area students to receive the honor which is awarded to those who receive an “A” on their semester-ending final performance exam from all four major professors who comprise the jury.

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 host the co-ed Iowa Invitational Friday, Feb. 22 in Iowa City. Events are scheduled to start at 5 p.m. at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Competing teams include Coe College, Iowa Central College, North Central College and Western Illinois University.

Complete Release in PDF Format

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