Men's Track & Field February 25, 2008

Hawkeyes Head To Big Ten Championships

Feb. 25, 2008

THIS WEEK — The Hawkeyes will compete at the Big Ten Championships Saturday, and Sunday in Madison, WI. All events will be held at the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center on the University of Wisconsin campus. All-session tickets are $25 for reserved seating, $20 for adult general admission, and $15 for students/seniors/youth general admission. Single session tickets, if available will go on sale at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 29. Ticket are available through the University of Wisconsin Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-462-2343 or uwbadgers.com.

NCAA QUALIFIERS — The Hawkeyes have provisionally qualified four student-athletes in three 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 Ranking
Adam Hairston – 800 Meters – 1:49.86 – 2nd/18th
John Hickey – Shot Put – 62-8 (19.10 m) – 1st/6th
Shane Maier – Shot Put – 58-11 1/4 (17.96 m) – 3rd/16th
Micah VanDenend – 5,000 Meters – 14:07.06 – 3rd/25th

HICKEY, HAIRSTON ARE BIG TEN CONTENDERS — Hawkeye junior John Hickey and sophomore Adam Hairston could be two of Iowa’s contenders for Big Ten individual titles this weekend. Hickey leads the conference in the shot put with the collegiate-best 62-8 he posted last weekend at the Iowa Invite. Hickey won the 2007 Big Ten outdoor shot put title. Hairston’s 800-meter time of 1:49.86 that broke the Iowa school record in that event ranks second in the Big Ten.

Senior Shane Maier is the defending Big Ten indoor shot put champion, and ranks third in the conference with his season-best throw of 58-11 1/4. Senior distance runner Micah VanDenend, who won the 2007 Big Ten outdoor 10,000-meter title, has the third-best 5,000-meter time (14:07.06) in the conference.

IOWA IN BIG TEN HISTORY — Iowa has won three Big Ten indoor track team titles and 73 event titles since the first meet was held in 1911. The Hawkeyes won titles in 1926 and 1929 and were co-champions with Michigan in 1963. Iowa has had two student-athletes earn Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year honors. Bashir Yamini earned the honor in 1996 for placing second in the high jump and Jeremy Allen earned it in 1998 for placing second in the shot put. Former Hawkeye Ed DeLashmutt set the Big Ten Indoor Championships 1,500-meter record of 3:49.90 in 1981. That record is now retired.

2007 BIG TEN INDOOR REVIEW — Junior Shane Maier became Iowa’s third Big Ten indoor shot put champion and the 73rd conference event winner in school history at the 2007 Big Ten Indoor Championships at Bloomington, IN. Maier threw a season-best 60-11 1/4 to win his first Big Ten title. Iowa finished seventh with 46.50 points. Wisconsin won its fifth-straight Big Ten indoor team title, scoring 120.

The Hawkeyes picked up over half of their team points in the shot put and high jump. Maier and sophomore John Hickey went 1-2 in the shot put. Hickey threw a collegiate-best 60-2 1/4 for second place, making him only the sixth Iowa shot putter to throw over 60 feet. In the high jump, redshirt freshman Trey Stross, junior Jeremy Petsche and sophomore Ryan Kelly placed fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively. Stross jumped a collegiate-best 6-9 3/4.

Freshman Paul Chaney, Jr., was Iowa’s only double-event scorer, placing seventh in the 200 meters (21.67) and eighth in the 60 (6.91). Iowa’s other top finishers were seniors Adam Hamilton (5th-weight throw) and Jeff Kent (10th-5,000 meters), juniors Micah VanDenend (2nd-5,000 meters) and Aaron Reed (9th-long jump), sophomore Prince Riley (7th-400 meters), and freshmen Adam Hairston (8th-800 meters) and Ray Varner (9th-400 meters).

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.

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 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.

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