April 30, 2008
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THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa men and women’s track and fields teams will host the 10th annual co-ed Musco Twilight Meet Saturday at Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track in Iowa City. 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 for groups of 15 or more. University of Iowa students and fans ages 18 and under will be admitted free.
ON THE AIR — The Big Ten Network will air a tape-delay broadcast of the meet on May 14 at 7 p.m. (CT). Analysts Craig Virgin, Brent Stover and Suzy Favor-Hamilton will call the action, while Rebecca Haarlow will provide on-field interviews.
MUSCO MEET HISTORY — The annual Iowa Musco Twilight Meet was named for Musco Lighting of Oskaloosa, IA, which has supplied mobile lighting equipment for the event’s 10-year history. In its first four years, the meet produced 43 NCAA provisional qualifiers. Since the creation of the regional qualifying system in 2003, 225 competitors have achieved qualifying standards at the meet.
NCAA QUALIFIERS — Eleven Hawkeyes have qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, which will be held May 30-31 in Lincoln, NE. Seniors Diane Nukuri and Meghan Armstrong automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 meters, while senior Tammilee Kerr posted a provisional qualifying mark in the heptathlon. The national meet will be held June 11-14 in Des Moines, IA. Their event, qualifying marks and where they rank in the Big Ten, region and the nation are listed below.
Big 10/Region/NCAAName Event - Mark RankingMeghan Armstrong 1,500 Meters - 4:26.62 13th/17th/64th 10,000 Meters - 33:28.00 2nd/3rd/4thA.J. Curtis Discus - 172-7 (52.62 m) 2nd/13th/66th Shot Put - 57-11 3/4 (17.67 m) 7th/6th/34thMatty Gorman Triple Jump - 49-2 1/2 (15.00 m) 4th/19th/77thJohn Hickey Shot Put - 61-9 1/2 (18.83 m) 2nd/2nd/11thTammilee Kerr Javelin - 153-6 (45.34 m) 4th/11th/57th Heptathlon - 5,417 points 3rd/2nd/12thShane Maier Discus - 171-1 (52.15 m) 9th/15th/75th Shot Put - 56-4 (17.17 m) 12th/11th/64thRachael Marchand 5,000 Meters - 16:35.83 3rd/7th/38thAndy Napier 3,000 Steeplechase - 9:01.20 3rd/10th/46thDiane Nukuri 10,000 Meters - 33:17.01 1st/2nd/2ndJessica Schmidt 3,000 Steeplechase - 10:32.50 4th/12th/32ndRay Varner 400-Meter Hurdles - 51.27 1st/9th/24thRenee White Triple Jump - 42-4 (12.90 m) 1st/9th/23rd="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:>="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%3EHAWKEYES%20BREAK%20RECORDS%20--%3C/strong%3E%20The%20Hawkeye%20women's%20team%20has%20broken%20five%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20school%20records%20this%20outdoor%20season.%3C/p%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3ESenior%20distance%20runner%20%3Ca%20href="/roster.aspx?rp_id=5228" class="imported_story_link" oldlink="/sports/w-track/mtt/nukuri_diane00.html">Diane Nukuri broke the 3,000 and 10,000 meter records in April, and ran the lead leg on the record-setting 6,400-meter relay at the Drake Relays last weekend. Nukuri smashed the 17-year-old 10,000 meter record of 33:23.38 set in 1991 by Jennifer Brower at the Stanford Invite on April 4. Nukuri's second-place finish of 33:17.01 also automatically qualified her for the NCAA Championships in Des Moines in June. She also broke the 3,000-meter mark of 9:20.61 set in 1985 by Penny O'Brien at the Hawkeye Invitational April 19. Nukuri won the race win 9:18.82.
Junior Racheal Marchand, graduate student Sarah Henize and senior Meghan Armstrong ran the other three legs of the record-setting relay, posting a 19:15.42 for third place at Drake. Their time smashed the previous record of 20:39.12 – set in 2005 by former Hawkeyes Nikki Chapple, Jordan Laney, Katie Donlon and Michelle Sokol – by over one minute.
Junior Renee White broke her own triple jump record April 12 at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, AZ. Her winning mark of 42-4 broke the record of 42-2 1/2 she set last season.
BIG TEN ATHLETES OF THE WEEK — Seniors Meghan Armstrong and Diane Nukuri, and junior Andy Napier have earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors this outdoor season.
Armstrong earned her honor March 25 after winning the Shamrock Invite 1,500 meters in a regional-qualifying 4:26.62. She was also the first Hawkeye track student-athlete to earn the honor in women’s school history.
Nukuri earned her honor April 8 after breaking the 17-year-old school 10,000-meter record at the Stanford Invite in 33:17.01. That time beat her previous-best clocking by over 13 seconds and automatically qualified her for the NCAA Championships. Nukuri is a four-time Big Ten Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honoree.
Napier earned his first conference honor April 8 after winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Auburn Tiger Classic with a regional-qualifying and collegiate-best time of 9:03.85. The mark also ranks seventh on Iowa’s all-time best performers list.
LAST TIME OUT — The Hawkeyes saw two women’s school records fall and several placewinners at the 99th annual Drake Relays in Des Moines.
Senior Tammilee Kerr broke her own hepathlon school record of 5,332 with her runner-up total of 5,417. That performance also provisionally qualified Kerr for the NCAA Championships.
The Hawkeye women’s 6,400-meter relay of senior Diane Nukuri, junior Racheal Marchand, graduate student Sarah Henize and senior Meghan Armstrong shattered the school record of 20:39.12 by over one minute with their third-place finish of 19:15.42. Former Hawkeyes Nikki Chapple, Jordan Laney, Katie Donlon and Michelle Sokol set the previous record in 2005.
Iowa’s other top placewinners were senior Jessica Schmidt (5th-3,000 steeplchase) and the distance medley relay of freshmen Lauren Hardesty, Amanda Hardesty and Tiffany Hendricks, and junior Krista Anderson (7th).
The Hawkeye men were led by shot putters John Hickey, A.J. Curtis and Shane Maier. The trio placed second (60-3 1/4), third (57-11 3/4) and fourth (56-4) – respectively – in that event. The Hawkeye sprint medley relay of seniors Max Milder and Lee Elbert, freshman Chris Barton and sophomore Adam Hairston also placed second (3:21.24). Senior Ryan Niver placed seventh in the decathlon with a collegiate-best 6,837 points, which fell two points shy of the school record. Iowa’s other top placewinners were junior Andy Napier (6th-3,000 steeplechase), sophomore Ray Varner (8th-400-meter hurdles) and Hairston (8th-800 meters).
Three former Hawkeyes and a current staff member also competed at Drake. Former Hawkeye Peaches Roach placed placed third in the heptathlon (5,412) Friday. The two-time Drake Relays University 100-meter hurdles champion Tiffany Johnson placed fifth in the special invitation 100-meter hurdles (13.74) on Saturday. Johnson is the only women’s student-athlete in Hawkeye school history to win consecutive Drake titles in the same event. Former Hawkeye sprinter and current women’s assistant coach Shellene Williams placed fifth in the women’s 400 meters (53.62). Hawkeye men’s assistant coach Joey Woody placed fourth in the men’s 400-meter hurdles (50.93), competing in his last race at Drake.
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 at Iowa – winning four track and two cross country titles – and a four-time all-American. In 1998, he 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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