Hawkeyes Compete at Home This Weekend

Feb. 16, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK — The Hawkeye men and women’s track teams will host the co-ed Iowa Invite Friday at 4 p.m. at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Competing teams include Iowa, Bradley, Coe, Simpson, Augustana and North Central College. Admission to the event is free and it will be the final home event for the Hawkeyes for the 2009 season.

LAST MEET — Iowa crowned three champions, set two school records and had four student-athletes post NCAA provisional qualifying performances at the Iowa State Classic last weekend in Ames. Seniors John Hickey, Racheal Marchand and Renee White, and sophomore Karessa Farley posted NCAA provisional qualifying marks in their respective events. Farley and Hickey set new school records with their winning performances. As a team, the Hawkeyes posted 34 collegiate-best performances at the event.

Farley won the 60-meter hurdles with a collegiate-best 8.30, breaking the record of 8.33 set in 2006 by former Hawkeye Tiffany Johnson. Hickey threw a collegiate-best 63-0 to win the shot put and break the school record of 62-10 1/2 set in 2001 by former Hawkeye Jeremy Allen. Hickey is the only Hawkeye in school history to throw 63 feet in the shot put. Only three other collegiate shot putters in the nation have thrown further this season. Sophomore Brian Marchese was Iowa’s third event winner – finishing first in the unseeded mile in a collegiate-best 4:11.89.

Marchand placed second in the 5,000 meters with a collegiate-best 16:18.23, which ranks sixth in school history. Former Hawkeye all-American Diane Nukuri won the event in 16:11.89 while competing unattached. White, who holds the school triple jump record of 42-4, placed second with a provisional mark of 41-7 3/4. She also placed 14th in the long jump with a season-best 18-5.

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 is 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 will hit the road Feb. 28-Mar. 1 for the Big Ten Indoor Championships. The men’s team will head to Penn State, while the women’s team will compete at Indiana.