Iowa Begins Postseason at Big Ten Championships

May 11, 2010

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THIS WEEK – The University of Iowa track teams head to Bloomington, IN, and Indiana University for the 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Three days of competition kick off on Friday, May 14. The Big Ten Network will air a tape-delay broadcast of the championships on Saturday, May 22 at 3 p.m. CDT.

MUSCO ON BIG TEN NETWORK – The Musco Twilight Meet will be shown on a tape-delay broadcast May 16 at 5 p.m. CDT. Steve Schlanger and Craig Virgin will be calling the action while Molly Sullivan reports from the field.

WIECZOREK ON MUSCO – “I think it was an excellent atmosphere,” said Men’s Head Coach Larry Wieczorek. “It’s a great meet to show off Iowa track and field, and for our fans and our athletes to have a lot of fun. We had some tremendous competition and tremendous performances. Thode’s record was a highlight. He’s nearing that four-minute mile pace and he’s just a tremendous athlete for us. I think we definitely made progress going towards the Big Ten Championships.”

ANDERSON ON MUSCO – “I think it was definitely a special night,” said Women’s Head Coach Layne Anderson. “It was a great turnout. I was excited that the Hawkeyes on both squads came out and performed against some tough competition. Betsy Flood’s 3K stands out as a great performance, Tiffany Medenwaldt breaking the school record in the discus and placing second all-time in the hammer was great. We’ll look to carry some of this momentum and the momentum from the season into the Big Ten Championships in a couple weeks.

FLOOD EARNS WEEKLY BIG TEN HONOR – Sophomore Betsy Flood was named Big Ten Women’s Track co-Athlete of the Week for the week of May 5. Flood earned the honor after her winning 3,000-meter performance at the Musco Twilight XI meet the previous weekend. Her mark of 9:22.63 is a collegiate-best and ranks third all-time at Iowa.

THODE TAKES FACILITY RECORD – Freshman Jeff Thode has already made his marks in the Iowa record books in his debut campaign, and he added one more accolade to his resume at Musco. Thode’s win in the 1,500 meters (3:44.51) sets a new Musco Twilight and facility record for the Francis X. Cretzmeyer track. The previous facility record (3:46.47) was set by Rob Meyers in 2000.

MEDENWALDT SETS SCHOOL DISCUS RECORD – Sophomore Tiffany Medenwaldt broke the UI discus record with her winning toss of 161-3 (49.16m) at Musco. This breaks a nearly 20-year record set by Denise Taylor in 1992. Medenwaldt also placed second in the hammer throw, and her mark of 171-11 (52.40m) puts her second all-time at Iowa.

HERRON JUMPS TO TOP OF BIG TEN – Iowa sophomore Jeffery Herron made a successful shift Saturday from the high jump to the long jump, winning with a collegiate-best mark of 24-9 (7.54m). This puts Herron at the top of the Big Ten rankings and 41st nationally. His mark also ranks ninth all-time at Iowa.

IOWA SQUADS IN TOP THIRD OF MIDWEST REGION –Both UI squads earned spots in the top third of the Midwest Region in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll. The men’s team is ranked fourth while the women’s team is ranked 12th. In the national poll, the men are ranked 36th. They are the second-highest rated Big Ten school, only behind Penn State at 22 and one spot ahead of Indiana at 37th.