Dec. 4, 2010
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
Complete Results in PDF Format | Wieczorek and Anderson video interviews
IOWA CITY, IA – The University of Iowa track and field squads kicked off their indoor season today with the 2010 Intrasquad meet at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. The Hawkeyes welcomed back a wealth of talent as well as a group of newcomers. The women’s competition was won by the Gold Squad (47-45), while the Black Squad claimed the men’s title (68-50) and the overall victory (113-97).
The men’s 4×400 event was one of the most exciting events of the night. The race pitted Iowa’s all-Americans from the 4×400 team last year against each other with the final two runners, Patrick Richards and Erik Sowinski, anchoring the race. Richards edged his teammate for the Black team winning time of 3:16.68. Sowinski ran through the finish line at the 3:16.71 mark.
The women’s 60-meter dash featured Erin Jones, a freshman from Highland Village, Texas, as the winner with a time of 7.73. Raven Moore followed closely, running 7.83, and Ashley Wilkinson rounded out the top three posting a time of 7.97. Brittany Dlhy ran a solid 1,000-meters for the Gold team. The junior from West Branch, IA, recorded a time of 3:01.02. Freshman Lena Placzek came in second, finishing at the 3:01.27 mark.
Sowinski and Adam Hairston ran neck and neck in the 1,000-meter run. The duo holds the top two times in the indoor 800-meter run in Iowa’s records books, 1:48.90 and 1:49.26, respectively. Sowinski was able to hold on to the lead in the final stretch, finishing with a 2:26.55, while Hairston was right on his heels, posting a time of 2:26.96. Justin Austin made his Hawkeye debut Saturday afternoon. The sophomore transfer student from the University of Kentucky made an impact with his first place 60-meter dash time of 6.86. Austin posted a 6.82 in the preliminary run.
“We are excited about kicking off the season today,” head women’s track and field coach Layne Anderson said. “The vast majority of our girls have been in a fall conditioning program, and it is just good to get in here and get a measuring stick for what our fall conditioning has done for us. We’ve had some good performances today, and we are definitely better than we were a year ago which is exciting.”
In the field events, sophomore Rachel Curry posted a personal best in the shot put with a toss of 13.94 meters. Sophomore Kelsey Taylor took first place in the weight throw with a 16.92 meter throw, and freshman Carissa Leacock recorded a 5.53 meter long jump for first place.
Junior Matt Banse earned first place in the weight throw with a mark of 18.57 meters. Junior Troy Doris was another Hawkeye to make his debut Saturday afternoon. Doris recorded a 6.82 meter jump in the long jump for the top spot. Senior Graham Valdes and Jeffery Herron edged out Brandon Oest in the high jump competition. Valdes and Herron both jumped 2.05 meters.
“We are very excited about this season,” Larry Wieczorek said of his men’s track and field team. “We expected the intensity today to be high because we know this kicks off our season. We are excited about the athletes in every event. My goal as a head coach is to push these guys so that we can score in every event at the Big Ten Championships.”
The Hawkeyes will return to action after the New Year with their first official meet at the Illinois Open, Jan. 8.