May 16, 2009
Complete Day One and Two Results in PDF Format
COLUMBUS, OH — After today’s preliminary action, the Hawkeyes have earned spots in Sunday’s finals for eleven events. The few final events that happened today didn’t go unnoticed either, as the Iowa record-books were shaken up in a productive day for the Hawkeyes. At the end of day two, the men’s squad improved their standing to seventh place while the women are fighting along in tenth.
Juniors Dan Rolling and Frank Prill finished the decathlon today, earning fifth (6,811 points) and twelfth (6,429 points) place finishes, respectively. Rolling’s finish is a new collegiate-best that puts him third all-time at Iowa in the decathlon. Prill joins Rolling, also earning a new collegiate-best that puts Prill fifth all-time at Iowa for the decathlon.
Other final action on Saturday included the men’s discus, where senior A.J. Curtis placed second (170-5) with a regionally qualifying toss, with freshman teammate Ryan Lamparek (5th, 167-8) not far behind. Senior Hannah Roeder also put points on the board for Iowa in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (8th, 10:35.26), posting a collegiate-best regionally qualifying time that ranks third all-time at Iowa.
Saturday’s action was largely preliminary races, but the Hawkeyes made their presence known, qualifying for eleven events to be held on Sunday. Junior Ray Varner earned his spot in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a preliminary win (51.74) with freshman D’Juan Richardson (5th, 53.58) and sophomore Connor Elmitt (9th, 54.57) also moving on to the Sunday finals. Richardson also ran the first leg of the 400-meter relay team that qualified for the finals, followed by freshmen Zeke Sayon and Patrick Richards and junior Paul Chaney, Jr., (2nd, 40.73). Chaney will also represent Iowa in the 200-meter dash after his Saturday performance (3rd, 21.20) as well as in the 100-meter dash (2nd, 10.57) along with Sayon (5th, 10.72). Other qualifiers for the men include junior Adam Hairston in the 800 meters (3rd, 1:50.01) and sophomore Steven Willey in the 400-meter dash (5th, 47.16).
“I think we had a really good day,” says Iowa men’s head coach Larry Wieczorek. “I think we were on target to get the points we wanted today, and we have a real strong group going into tomorrow. I’m excited about where we stand.”
The women’s 400-meter relay team will also be in competition Sunday, consisting of sophomore Karessa Farley, junior Rhonda-Kaye Trusty, sophomore Kara-Aretha Graham, and senior Renee White (6th, 45.83). Farley and Trusty will also represent Iowa in individual events, with Farley in the 100-meter hurdles (4th, 13.53) and Trusty in the 200-meter (4th, 23.83) and 100-meter dash (7th, 11.95). The formidable freshman distance pair of Betsy Flood (7th, 4:24.91) and McKenzie Melander (11th, 4:26.99) will be in Sunday’s 1,500-meter final as well.
“It was a solid outing,” said Iowa women’s head coach Layne Anderson regarding Saturday’s action. “We advanced quite a few athletes and I think we’ll have some good opportunities to get some more points and start moving up the board.”
The final day of competition of the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships is scheduled to start at 9:30 am CDT.
DAY TWO BIG TEN OUTDOOR MEN’S TEAM STANDINGS
Place Team-Points
1. Minnesota – 67
2. Indiana – 41
3. Purdue – 30
T4. Ohio State – 26
T4. Michigan State – 26
6. Michigan – 25
7. Iowa – 20
8. Wisconsin – 17
9. Penn State – 12
10. Illinois – 9
DAY TWO BIG TEN OUTDOOR WOMEN’S TEAM STANDINGS
Place Team-Points
1. Minnesota – 54
2. Penn State – 47
3. Indiana – 45
4. Purdue – 42
5. Michigan – 36
6. Illinois – 26
7. Michigan State – 24
8. Wisconsin – 22
9. Ohio State – 13
10. Iowa – 3