Feb. 12, 2010
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AMES, IA – The University of Iowa track and field teams kicked off a weekend of action in Ames, IA, at the Iowa State Classic. Iowa made their presence known on the track with high finishes and in the record books with the men’s high jump, distance medley relay, and the women’s 200-meter dash.
Iowa took the top two spots in the men’s high jump, with freshman walk-on Brandon Oest winning in his collegiate debut with a 6-11 mark (2.11m). This jump leads the team and ties him for seventh all-time at Iowa along with current Hawkeye senior Dan Rolling. Junior Graham Valdes finished second with a career-best height of 6-9 (2.06m), and freshman Matt Newman finished fifth (6-7, 2.01m).
“Brandon has always been a Hawkeye fan and always wanted to compete for Iowa,” said Men’s Head Coach Larry Wieczorek. “He just walked on with us this semester. He’s now our leader in the high jump and earned his spot in the locker room.”
The men’s distance medley relay teams competed for the first time this season and performed well, placing second (9:51.05) and seventh (10:05.33) out of 18 competing teams. The second-place team, consisting of juniors Nick Kuczwara, Chris Barton, Dan Kuhlman, and freshman Nick Holmes, earned a mark that ranks fourth all-time at Iowa in the indoor distance medley. Senior speedster Rhonda-Kaye Trusty placed second in the 200-meter dash at 24.05, a collegiate-best that ranks sixth-all time at Iowa. Sophomore Lindsay Anderson place second in the non-seeded 5,000 meters with a collegiate-best 17:37.98.
“Rhonda was feeling a bit under the weather today,” said Women’s Head Coach Layne Anderson, concerned about his star sprinter. “She had a bit of the chills and we didn’t know whether she could compete today, so it was great to see her go out there competing and even better to see her do so well.”
Iowa continues competition in Ames, IA, Saturday at 9:30 a.m. CST.