May 26, 2009
THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa men and women’s track teams will send 20 competitors to the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional, Friday and Saturday in Norman, OK. All events will be held at the University of Oklahoma’s John Jacobs Track and Field Complex.
All-session tickets are $15 for adults, and $10 for youth, students and seniors (ages 55 and above). Single session tickets are $10 for adults, and $7 for youth, students and seniors (ages 55 and above). Tickets are available at www.soonersports.com or the University of Oklahoma Athletics Ticket Office at 800/456-4668. Live results will be available throughout the meet at www.soonersports.com.
Iowa’s qualifiers, their events and qualifying marks, and where they rank in the region and nation are listed below.
Men’s Qualifiers
Name – Event – Mark – Region/NCAA Rank
Matt Banse – Hammer – 187-7 (57.19) – 20th/107th
Chris Barton – 1,600-M Relay – 3:08.81 – 24th/53rd
Nick Brayton – Discus – 180-11 (55.15) – 9th/40th
Paul Chaney, Jr. – 100 Meters – 10.51 – 26th/92nd
Paul Chaney, Jr. – 200 Meters – 21.14 – 24th/86th
Paul Chaney, Jr. – 400-M Relay – 40.58 – 22nd/72nd
A.J. Curtis – Shot Put – 59-5 3/4 (18.13) – 7th/26th
A.J. Curtis – Discus – 176-0 (53.65) – 14th/57th
Adam Hairston – 800 Meters – 1:49.96 – 20th/85th
John Hickey – Shot Put – 60-1 3/4 (18.33) – 4th/20th
Ryan Lamparek – Discus – 177-3 (54.04) – 12th/50th
Patrick Richards – 400-M Relay – 40.58 – 22nd/72nd
D’Juan Richardson – 400-M Relay – 40.58 – 22nd/72nd
Zeke Sayon – 400-M Relay – 40.58 – 22nd/72nd
Zachary Schimp – Javelin – 206-3 (62.88) – 18th/85th
Erik Sowinski – 1,600-M Relay – 3:08.81 – 24th/53rd
Ray Varner – 400-M Hurdles – 51.00 – 5th/26th
Ray Varner – 1,600-M Relay – 3:08.81 – 24th/53rd
Steven Willey – 400 Meters – 47.04 – 20th/80th
Steven Willey – 1,600-M Relay – 3:08.81 – 24th/53rd
Women’s Qualifiers
Name – Event – Mark – Region/NCAA Rank
Karessa Farley – 100-M Hurdles – 13.44 – 6th/29th
Betsy Flood – 1,500 Meters – 4:24.91 – 16th/81st
McKenzie Melander – 1,500 Meters – 4:26.99 – 23rd/111th
Hannah Roeder – 3,000 Steeple. – 10:35.26 – 15th/62nd
Renee White – Long Jump – 20-0 1/4 (6.10) – 19th/69th
Renee White – Triple Jump – 43-10 3/4 (13.38) – 3rd/7th
NCAA MIDWEST REGION FACTS — The NCAA Midwest Regional is one of four qualifying meets for the NCAA Championships to be held June 10-13 in Fayetteville, AR. The top five finishers in each individual event and the top three relays from each of the four regionals will automatically advance to the national meet.
The Midwest regional features 39 schools from Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. The other three regions are the West in Eugene, OR, (40 men’s teams, 42 women’s teams), the Mideast in Louisville, KY, (78 men’s teams, 81 women’s teams) and the East in Greensboro, NC, (110 men’s teams, 112 women’s teams).
HAWKEYE REGIONAL FACTS — In the seven-year history of the NCAA Midwest Regional, the Hawkeye women’s team has sent 96 qualifiers to the meet and crowned two champions and 35 all-region selections. The men’s team has sent 105 qualifiers and crowned one champion and 25 all-region honorees. Iowa’s regional champions were Kineke Alexander (400 meters – 2006 and 2007) and Bill Neumann (javelin – 2003).
The Hawkeye men posted their best finish – 12th – in 2008, while the women’s team tallied their highest placing – eighth – in 2007.
Former Hawkeyes Kineke Alexander, Tiffany Johnson and Peaches Roach hold the women’s school record for times qualified to the regional meet in a career. All three are 10-time qualifiers. Alexander qualified in three events in 2005, four in 2006, two in 2007 and one in 2008. Johnson advanced in three events in 2005 and 2007, and four events in 2006. Roach qualified in three events in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and one event in 2004. The Hawkeye women posted the most qualifiers in school history in 2007 (21). In all the events, the Hawkeyes have qualified the most in the 5,000 meters (8).
Hawkeye senior A.J. Curtis hold the men’s school record for most times qualified for the regional with eight. He has qualified in the shot put and discus each of the past four seasons (2006-09). Iowa’s 20 qualifiers this season is a new school record, and the Hawkeyes have qualified the most student-athletes in the shot put (18) and discus (18) since the first regional meet.
2008 NCAA REGIONAL REVIEW — Hawkeye senior Kineke Alexander and juniors A.J. Curtis and John Hickey used their top-five individual finishes at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Lincoln, NE, to earn automatic bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Eight Hawkeyes also earned all-region honors by placing in the top eight in their events.
The Hawkeye men posted their highest finish in the six-year history of the regional meet, placing 12th with 25 points. Their previous best team finish was 15th in 2004. The Iowa women’s team placed 18th with 12 points.
Alexander placed second in the 400 meters with a season-best 52.24, Hickey placed second in the shot put (61-4 1/4) and Curtis placed third in both the discus (176-8) and shot put (59-5 1/2).
Six of Iowa’s other regional competitors placed in the top 12 in their events to earn a spot in the at-large pool. Junior Renee White led the group with her record-breaking triple jump performance. White broke her own school record by over a foot, recording a 43-10 on her first jump of the competition to place sixth. White had an outstanding meet, placing eighth in the long jump (20-3 3/4) and jumping over 20 feet in that event for the first time in her career. Junior Andy Napier ran a collegiate-best 8:57.54 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for seventh place, and sophomore Ray Varner placed eighth in the 400-meter hurdles with a season-best 51.07. Senior Tammilee Kerr placed 10th in the javelin (155-8), senior Jeremy Petsche placed 10th in the high jump with a collegiate-best 6-11 and senior Shane Maier placed seventh in the shot put (56-11 1/2) and 11th in the discus (164-2).
2009 BIG TEN OUTDOOR REVIEW — Hawkeye senior Renee White made her final attempt count, winning the Big Ten women’s outdoor triple jump with a school and meet record-breaking leap of 43-10 3/4.
The Hawkeye women finished the final day of the three-day Big Ten Championships in Columbus, OH, in 10th place with 31 points, while the Iowa men placed seventh with 69. Penn State won the women’s team title with 139, while Minnesota won the men’s team race with 130. The event was held May 15-17 at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
White gave the Hawkeyes an outstanding start on the final day of competition, winning her second career Big Ten triple jump title. Her mark broke the Big Ten meet record of 41-8 set in 1997 by Michigan’s Tania Longe and White’s own school record of 43-10 that she set last season. White beat runner-up Casey Taylor of Michigan by over nine inches, and her winning mark was over two feet more than her previous season best in that event. The senior from Portmore, Jamaica, is the first Hawkeye in women’s school history to win an outdoor conference title in the triple jump. White, who won the 2008 Big Ten indoor triple jump title, is the seventh two-time Big Ten champion in women’s school history.
Also scoring points for the Hawkeye women were junior Rhonda-Kaye Trusty, who placed fourth in the 100 (11.85) and 200 meters (24.11), and sophomore Karessa Farley, who placed fourth in 100-meter hurdles (13.56). Farley, Trusty, White and sophomore Kara-Aretha Graham ran on the 400-meter relay that placed sixth in 46.30. In the distance events, junior Jolly Burke placed seventh in the 10,000 meters with a collegiate-best 36:23.33, while senior Hannah Roeder improved her regional-qualifying time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by running a collegiate-best 10:35.26 for eighth place.
The Hawkeye men posted several top-eight finishes throughout the event to add to their team point total, but a disqualified relay and some missed opportunities resulted in a seventh-place finish.
Senior A.J. Curtis and junior Adam Hairston posted Iowa’s top individual finishes, with Curtis placing second in the discus (170-5) and Hairston placing second in the 800 meters (1:150.16). Senior John Hickey placed third in the shot put (59-9 1/2) in his final Big Ten event. Junior Paul Chaney, Jr. placed third in the 100 meters (10.59), fourth in the 200 meters (21.17), and anchored the 400-meter relay of freshman D’Juan Richardson, sophomore Zeke Sayon and freshman Patrick Richards to place third in 40.85. Sayon also placed fifth with a season-best 10.72 in the 100 meters.
Iowa’s three finalists in the 400-meter hurdles produced points as junior Ray Varner placed third (51.16), sophomore Conor Elmitt placed seventh (54.41) and Richardson placed eighth (54.42). Junior Dan Rolling placed fifth in the decathlon with a collegiate-best 6,811 points, which ranks third all-time at Iowa in the decathlon, and redshirt freshman Ryan Lamparek placed fifth in the discus (167-8). Sophomore Steven Willey placed sixth in the 400 meters (47.23), senior Andy Napier placed sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:10.82), senior Eric MacTaggart placed eighth in the 10,000 meters (30:57.35), and sophomore Josh Bean placed eighth in triple jump with a season-best 48-9 1/2 to round out Iowa’s top-eight finishers.
The 1,600-meter relay of Willey, sophomore Chris Barton, freshman Erik Sowinski and Varner brought the third-fastest time in the Big Ten to Columbus, but was disqualified after the race for impeding another team’s runner after a baton exchange.
VARNER NAMED BIG TEN TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK — Junior Ray Varner was named the Big Ten’s Men’s Co-Track Athlete of the Week April 8, sharing honors with Purdue’s Josh Hembrough. It was Varner’s first weekly honor, and Iowa’s first track athlete honored since Andy Napier in 2008.
Varner earned accolades for his two regional qualifying performances at Auburn’s Tiger Track Classic. The Wadsworth, IL, native posted a third place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.82. Later in the meet, Varner anchored Iowa’s 1,600-meter relay team, helping them to a fifth-place finish of 3:09.70. The other members of the regional-qualifying relay team were sophomore Steven Willey, freshman Patrick Richards and sophomore Chris Barton.
HAWKEYE COACHING 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.
MEN’S TEAM ANNOUNCES 2009 RECRUITING CLASS — The Hawkeye men’s track team has signed four student-athletes to national letters of intent for the 2010 season. Head Coach Larry Wieczorek is excited about the immediate impact that hurdler Ethan Holmes (Clinton, IA), distance runner Jeff Thode (Hoffman Estates, IL) and throwers Ben Stancombe (Bloomington, IN) and Matt Byers (Wichita, KS) will have on the Hawkeyes next season.
Holmes is the defending Class 4A state 400-meter hurdles champion (53.03), also winning that event at the 2008 Drake Relays. Stancombe is one of the top five returning hammer throwers (202-0) and one of the top nine weight throwers (67-10) in the nation. Competing for South High School, he is also the top returning shot putter (58-0) in the state of Indiana. Byers is one of the top three returning javelin throwers in the nation, recording a personal-best 219-8. He placed second at the Class 6A Kansas state championships, the USTAF Junior Championships and the USATF Junior Olympics last season. Thode is the fourth Illinois state cross country champion to join the Hawkeyes in recent years. He won the large school class at the 2008 state meet in November with a time of 14:18 on the three-mile course. He is also one of the top six returning milers in the nation, posting a 4:10.80 last spring.
WOMEN’S TEAM ANNOUNCES 2009 RECRUITS — The Hawkeye women’s track team has signed eight student-athletes to national letters of intent for the 2010 season. Head Coach Layne Anderson is excited about the immediate impact that multi-event competitor Missy Miller (Tipton, IA), high jumpers Megan Glisar (Sergeant Bluff, IA) and Eva Greenwalt (Fitchberg, WI), distance runners Megan Ranegar (Valparaiso, IN) and Sarah Boyd (Dunrobin, Ontario), thrower Ashlyn Gulvas (Pinconning, MI), sprinter and jumpr Emily Moore (Gillette, WY) and sprinter Raven Moore (Riverdale, GA) will have on the Hawkeyes next season.
Boyd placed third at the 2007 OFSAA Cross Country Championships (17:56), and has lifetime bests of 2:14 (800 meters) and 4:39 (1500 meters indoor). Glisar is a three-time Class 3A high jump state champion who placed third at the 2007 Nike Outdoor National Championships (5-8 3/4) and won the 2007 USA Youth Outdoor high jump title. Greenwalt qualified for the 2008 state meet in four events, placing third in the high jump. Her lifetime best clearance in that event is 5-8. A 2008 state champion in both the shot put and discus, Gulvas has posted lifetime best performances of 45-3 in the shot and 140-6 in the discus.
Miller is a four-time Class 2A state champion in track, having qualified in the maximum 12 events for three state championships, and a four-time state qualifier in cross country. She is a 10-time Drake Relays qualifier, and was part of two state championship cross country and track teams. Emily Moore is an 11-time Class 4A state champion in the jumps and sprints. Wyoming’s 2008 Track and Field Gatorade Player of the Year, she holds state records in the long lump (19-2 1/2), triple jump (39-7 1/2) and as a part of the 400-meter relay (48.30). She is a two-time triple jump all-American at the Nike Outdoor National meet, placing fourth in 2007 and second in 2008. Raven Moore was a Class 1A state champion in both the 100 (11.80) and 200 meters (24.50). Ranegar was the 2007 State Cross Country Runner-up and placed 20th at the Footlocker Midwest Regional in a time of 18:24.
LUCIANO, CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS EARN HONORS — The Iowa cross country teams were named to the 2008 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) all-academic team in March. Hawkeye junior Jesse Luciano also received individual all-academic honors.
The Iowa women’s team, who earned the honor for the sixth-straight season, had a combined GPA of 3.328 and is one of 162 teams to earn the award. The men’s team earned a team grade point average of 3.285 and is one of 110 teams to earn the award. For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA all-academic team award, they must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Meet. The team must also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative grade point average.
Luciano is one of 40 men’s cross country student-athletes to earn USTFCCCA all-academic honors. An accounting major from Villa Park, IL, he placed 15th at the NCAA Midwest Regional (31:32.55) and 43rd at the NCAA Championships (30:17.8). He has been named to the team for the second straight year. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must carry a minimum 3.25 cumulative grade point average and must finish in the top 15 (or top 10%) of the field at their respective NCAA regional meet or attain all-American status at the NCAA Championships.
The men’s cross country team was also among the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics programs singled out in April by the NCAA for ranking in the top 10 percent among their peers in the NCAA’s 2008 Academic Progress Rate. Every NCAA Division I institution calculates an APR for each athletics team each academic year. The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The NCAA honored 767 Division I teams that earned multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports, about 11.8 percent of all 6,484 Division I teams. Last year, 11.4 percent were recognized.
Head Coach Larry Wieczorek’s squad was one of 35 men’s cross country programs to rank among the Top 10 in APR among its peers and was joined by Michigan as the only Big Ten Conference programs included in that elite list.
IOWA TRACK TO HOST CLINICS & CAMPS — The Hawkeye coaching staff is scheduled to host a four-day summer camp 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 COMPETITION — The Hawkeye track teams will send qualifying student-athletes to the 2009 NCAA Championships, June 10-13 in Fayetteville, AR. All events will be held at the University of Arkansas’ John McDonnell Field. For ticket information contact the University of Arkansas Athletics Ticket Office at 800/982-4647 or www.arkansasrazorbacks.com.