Feb. 9, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK — The Hawkeye men and women’s track teams will split competition between two meets this weekend.
Part of the group will compete at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, while the rest of the team will travel to the Husky Classic in Seattle, WA. Events at Iowa State are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, and will be held at the Lied Recreation Center on the Iowa State University campus. Events at the Husky Classic are set to start at 10:30 a.m. (CT) Saturday and will be held at the Dempsey Indoor Facility on the University of Washington campus.
LAST MEET — Iowa hit the road, sending the men’s shot putters to the New Balance Invite in New York, NY, and the rest of the team to the Meyo Invite in South Bend, IN. The Hawkeyes posted 19 collegiate bests and one NCAA provisionally qualifying mark over the weekend.
At the New Balance Invite, senior John Hickey placed second in the shot put with a season-best and provisionally qualifying mark of 60-7 3/4. Senior A.J. Curtis narrowly missed the provisional qualifying mark with his season best 56-7 1/4, which was good enough for eighth place. Senior Mark Schaapveld also recorded a season-best (53-3 3/4) in that event.
At the Meyo Invite, Hawkeye senior distance runner Racheal Marchand narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 3,000 meters with her collegiate-best time of 9:35.25. That time earned her 11th place and ranks eighth in school history. Junior Rhonda-Kaye Trusty placed fifth in the 200 meters (24.44) and sixth in the 60 meters (7.61) with collegiate-best times. The 200-meter time ranks seventh in school history. Sophomore Karessa Farley won the 60-meter hurdles prelims, and posted a season-best 8.48 in the finals for fourth place. Sophomore Bethany Praska placed 10th in the 400 meters with a collegiate-best 56.42, which ranks 10th in school history.
For the men’s team, sophomore Josh Bean placed sixth in the triple jump with a collegiate-best 48-10. That mark ranks fourth in in school history. Junior distance runner Jesse Luciano placed sixth in the 5,000 meters with a collegiate-best 14:20.99 that ranks seventh in school history. Sprinters Ray Varner, Paul Chaney, Jr., D’Juan Richardson and Patrick Richards continued to improve on the track. Chaney, Jr., placed ninth in the 200 meters (21.90) and 20th in the 60 meters (6.96). Richardson placed sixth in the 200 meters (21.79), 15th in the 60-meter hurdles (8.41) and 22nd in the 60 meters (6.97). Varner and Richards placed seventh (47.75) and eighth (47.78), respectively, in the 400 meters and ran on the 1,600-meter relay that placed third with a team-leading 3:11.36. Redshirt freshman Matt Banse posted a ninth-place finish in the shot put with a collegiate-best throw of 53-3 1/2.
IOWA’S NCAA QUALIFIERS — The Hawkeyes have provisionally qualified one student-athlete for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 14-15 in College Station, TX. His event, qualifying marks and where he ranks in the Big Ten and the nation are listed below.
| Name | Event | Mark | Big 10/NCAA Rank |
| John Hickey | Shot Put | 60-7 3/4 (18.48m) | 1st/7th |
HAWKEYE TRACK STAFF — The Hawkeye coaching staff has some new faces and responsibilities for the 2009 season. Larry Wieczorek is the men’s head track and cross country coach, and Layne Anderson is the women’s head track and cross country coach. The teams now share administrative responsibilities, coordinate their competition schedules and divide coaching responsibilities by event instead of gender. Assistant Scott Cappos, who is in his 13th year at Iowa, will coach the throws, while third-year assistant Joey Woody will coach the men’s sprints, short hurdles and relays, and women’s long sprints and hurdles. First-year assistant Clive Roberts will coach the women’s short sprints, hurdles and relays, as well as the horizontal jumps for both groups. First-year assistant Christi Smith will direct the multi-events and vertical jumps.
IOWA TRACK TO HOST CLINICS & CAMPS — The Hawkeye coaching staff are scheduled to host two ond-day throws and speed/hurdle clinics and one four-day summer camp in 2009. The first clinic is set for Feb. 22 and the second is Mar. 8. The summer camp is scheduled for June 21-25.
For more information contact Assistant Coach Scott Cappos at (319) 335-9392 or scott-cappos@uiowa.edu, or visit www.hawkeyetrack.com.
NEXT UP — The Hawkeyes are set to host the co-ed Iowa Invite Friday, Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Competing teams include Iowa, Bradley, Coe, Simpson, Augustana and North Central College.