Feb. 15, 2010
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- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch (2009-10 season)
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THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa track and field teams return home for the Iowa Invitational this Friday. The meet will take place at the UI Recreation Building with events slated to start at 5 p.m. CST.
LAST TIME OUT – IOWA STATE CLASSIC — Sophomore Erik Sowinski set a new school record in the 800 meters, winning with a time of 1:48.90. This beats his previous record, set at last weekend’s Meyo Invite. Sowinski now holds two all-time records at Iowa, setting the record for the 600 meters (1:18.05) at the 2009 Indoor Big Ten Championships.
Sophomore Betsy Flood became the second member of the women’s squad to provisionally qualify this season, placing third in the mile with a collegiate-best 4:46.09. This puts her fifth all-time at Iowa in that event. Junior Steven Willey and Adam Hairston met provisional qualifying marks for the second week in a row, Willey in the 400 meters (2nd, 47.15) and Hairston in the 800 meters (5th,1:49.26). Hairston’s finish places him behind Sowinski for second all-time at Iowa, and Willey’s finish moves him up to third all-time in the 400 meters. The men’s 1,600-meter relay team of Sowinski,WiIley, freshman Kevin Dibbern and senior Ray Varner hit the provisional qualifying mark for the third time this season, winning the event with a season-best 3:09.83.
Walk-on freshman Brandon Oest impressed in his collegiate debut, winning Friday’s high jump at 6-11 (2.11). Sophomore Jeffrey Herron placed fourth in Saturday’s high jump, hitting the same mark. Both now lead the team and are tied for seventh all-time at Iowa with current Hawkeye senior Dan Rolling. Junior Nick Kuczwara barely missed the provisional qualifying mark in the 800 meters (8th, 1:50.84), but his finish is good enough to place him third all-time in that event right behind Sowinski and Hairston. Senior Rhonda-Kaye Trusty’s fifth place finish in the 60-meter dash (7.57) is a team-leading collegiate-best that ranks fifth in the Iowa record books.
UP NEXT — Iowa begins it’s championship portion of the schedule with the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 27-28.
The men’s championships will be hosted by the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. Saturday events at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. CST and Sunday’s events will start at 10:20 a.m.
The women’s championships will be hosted by Penn State University in State Park, PA. Events will take place at the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility, with Saturday action commencing at 8 a.m. and Sunday events beginning at 10 a.m.