April 15, 2008
- Big Ten Network: Programming Schedule
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
- gohawks.com
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 2008 Hawkeye Invitational Meet Information
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa men and women’s teams will host their first home meet of the outdoor season Saturday at Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track in Iowa City. Teams scheduled to participate in the co-ed event include Bradley, Drake, Iowa State, South Dakota State, Illinois-Chicago, Northern Iowa, Wisconsin, Marquette and Western Illinois. Field events are scheduled to start at 11 a.m., and running events are set to begin at 1:15 p.m. Admission is free.
MEN’S TRACK SIGNS 2008-09 CLASS — The Hawkeye men’s track program has signed four student-athletes to its 2008-09 recruiting class. Head Coach Larry Wieczorek announced the signing of D’Juan Richardson (Indianapolis, IN), Thomas Reynolds (Coralville, IA), Nick Holmes (Bartonville, IL) and Patrick Richards (Colorado Springs, CO) to national letters of intent.
“I feel like this is an exceptional recruiting class,” said Wieczorek. “Each of these student-athletes can come in and make an immediate impact on our program next season. They are outstanding students and individuals, as well as athletes.”
Richardson ran sprints and hurdles on the 2007 state champion Warren Central High School team. He won the 2008 state 55-meter hurdles title (7.41), placing third in the 110-meter hurdles (14.08) and the intermediate hurdles (37.4) at the state meet last season. He is currently ranked in the top 20 returning 110-meter hurdlers in the nation.
Reynolds was a thrower on the 2007 state champion Iowa City West High School team. He placed third in the discus at the state meet as a junior with a toss of 176-11. He has already thrown 181-10 in the discus and 57-8 in the shot put this season.
Holmes was selected Athlete of the Meet at the 2008 Illinois Prep Top Times Classic, winning the indoor mile with a meet record-setting 4:13.72. He also won the 2007 state 2A cross country championships for Limestone High School (14:21 – three miles), beating the runner-up by 27 seconds.
Richards was runner-up at the 2007 Colorado state track meet in the 200 (21.55) and 400 meters (47.66). He competes for Widefield High School.
WOMEN’S TRACK SIGNS 2008-09 CLASS — The Iowa women’s track team has signed five student-athlete distance runners for the 2008-09 season. Lindsay Anderson (Leeds, ND), Betsy Flood (Des Moines, IA), Brooke Eilers (Holland, MI), McKenzie Melander (Apple Valley, MN) and Danielle Berndt (Bloomington, MN) will all be joining the Hawkeyes.
Anderson, sister of current Hawkeye Krista Anderson, is a two-time North Dakota Gatorade Athlete of the Year. She is an 11-time state champion, winning four titles in cross country, five in the 1,600 meters and two in the 3,200 meters. She is a three-time Footlocker National High School Cross Country meet qualifier.
Flood is one of the top all-around prep runners in Iowa, winning state titles in the 800 and 1,500 meters and the distance medley relay. She is a member of the AAU record setting 3,200 meter relay team. Entering her senior season her personal best in the 800 meters is 2:13 and 4:35 the 1,500 meters.
Eilers has received all-state accolades in cross country and track. Her has a personal best time of 4:59 in the 1,600 meters and 10:49 in the 3,200 meters.
Melander posted a state runner-up performance in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in 2007. Her personal best time in the 1,600 is 4:59 and in the 3,200 is 10:52.
Berndt placed second in the state 3,200 meters (10:49) and fourth at the state cross country championships. She is also an excellent nordic skier having recently qualified for the national championships in Alaska.
LAST TIME OUT — Hawkeye juniors Andy Napier, A.J. Curtis, John Hickey and Renee White led the University of Iowa men and women’s track teams last week in Arizona by posting NCAA regional qualifying performances. The Hawkeye men sent competitors to the Mesa Classic at Mesa Community College, while members of both squads competed at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe.
White broke her own school triple jump record with her winning mark of 42-4. She set the previous Hawkeye best of 42-2 1/2 last season. A native of Portmore, Jamaica, White posted a jump of 42-2 to win the preliminary round and then added an extra two inches to her total in the first jump of the final round to secure the victory. The new school record also betters her previous regional qualifying mark.
Curtis posted regional qualifying performances in the discus at Mesa and the shot put at Tempe. The Brodhead, WI, native placed seventh in the discus (172-7) and second in the shot put (57-5 1/2).
Hickey, who was making his outdoor season debut, placed fourth in the invitational shot put with a throw of 60-7 3/4 Saturday. The Piermont, NY, native threw 61-9 1/2 in the prelims to qualify for the regional meet.
Napier placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a collegiate-best 9:01.20, which knocked over two seconds off his previous best and regional qualifying mark. Napier is from Antioch, IL.
Hawkeye junior Krista Anderson also won the 1,500 meters (4:43.73) at the Lee Calhoun Memorial in Macomb, IL, last Saturday. That was the only event the team competed in at the meet.
HAWKEYE WOMEN’S COACHING STAFF — Head Coach Layne Anderson is in his first year as head women’s track coach at Iowa. In his four seasons as an assistant with the track 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.
IOWA MUSCO TWILIGHT X — The Hawkeyes will host the 10th annual co-ed Musco Twilight Meet May 3 at Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track in Iowa City. The Big Ten Network will air a tape-delay broadcast of the meet on May 14 at 7 p.m. (CT). Competing teams include Drake, Minnesota, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin. Events are scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 each for groups of 15 or more. University of Iowa students and fans ages 18 and under will be admitted free of charge.
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