Jan. 19, 2011
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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa track and field teams travel to Minneapolis, MN to compete in the Jack Johnson Classic Friday and Saturday.
The event, held at the University Fieldhouse, is scheduled to begin Friday afternoon with the Pentathlon at 3 p.m. and the running events of the Heptathlon. The Heptathlon field events and the remainder of the meet will be held Saturday. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
“We are excited to take the next step forward in our 2011 indoor campaign,” women’s Head Coach Layne Anderson said. “With eight other teams scheduled to compete we will need to raise our level of performance to keep pace with the competition. We have a young group that is rapidly learning what is required to compete at the Big Ten level, but it is also exciting to see the progress with each passing week.”
NINE HAWKEYES SET PERSONAL RECORDS AT IOWA OPEN
Nine members of the Iowa track and fields teams set new personal records at the Iowa Open last weekend, including three women and five men. Redshirt freshman Ben Stancombe posted collegiate bests in the shot put (15.24m) and weight throw (14.95m) competitions.
Senior Tiffany Hendricks (600m, 1:35.01), juniors Nick Brayton (weight throw, 49-0 ¾), Ryan Lamparek (weight throw, 61-0 ¼) and Troy Doris (60m, 6.83), and sophomores Megan Ranegar (mile, 5:04.94), Kelsey Hart (mile, 5:04.95), Majesty Tutson (weight throw, 55-8 ½) and Jordan Mullen (60m-hurdles, 7.88) were among the other student-athletes that posted collegiate bests at the indoor home opener.
800 CLUB
The Iowa women’s track team is full of experience, something that was evident in the 800-meter run at the Iowa Open. The Hawkeyes, led by senior Bethany Praska, took the top seven spots in the event. Praska finished the race in 2:11.22, the seventh best time in program history.
Hawkeye veterans Lauren and Amanda Hardesty, Betsy Flood, McKenzie Melander and Nicole Erickson finished 2-6, while freshman Adriana Alexia notched her name in the top-seven finishers with a time of 2:20.18.
IOWA HAWKEYES IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
The men’s and women’s teams have multiple athletes ranked among the nation’s top-50 competitors.
The women’s team boasts four 800-meter runners in the top-50. Praska is No. 5 with her first place time of 2:10.22, followed by No. 15 L. Hardesty (2:11.80), No. 21 Flood (2:12.73) and No. 34 Melander (2:13.43). The women’s 1,600-meter relay team ranks 50th in the country with the time of 3:49.41.
The men in Black and Gold had four student-athletes break into the top-50 following the Iowa Open. Jodan Mullen is ninth nationally wtih a 7.88 time in the 60-meter hurdles. No. 20 Jeff Thode returned to action last weekend, running a 4:10.05 mile. Ryan Lamparek, 35th in the weight throw, and Chris Barton, 48th in the 400-meters, also rank among the top-50.
WILLEY AMONG NATION’S BEST
Senior Steven Willey ran a 47.72 in the 400 meters to take first place at the Illinois Open. Willey’s flat-track time converts to a banked-track time of 47.12, the sixth fastest time in the country.
MULLEN HURDLES INTO TOP TEN
Sophomore Jordan Mullen captured first place with a personal-best 7.88 performance in the 60-meter hurdles at the Iowa Open. Mullen’s time ranks No. 9 nationally and No. 2 in program history.
COMING UP
Iowa will split its competitors between the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. and the UNI Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Razorback Invitational is scheduled for Jan. 28-29 and the UNI Open will be held on Jan. 29.
HEAD COACH Larry Wieczorek
Larry Wieczorek is in his 24th season as head men’s cross country coach and his 15th season as head men’s track and field coach at the University of Iowa. He served as an assistant track and field coach for 12 years before taking the helm in 1997.
Last season, Wieczorek guided 28 qualifiers, made up of 20 student-athletes competing in 13 individual events and two relays to the NCAA Outdoor Championships preliminary round.
HEAD COACH Layne Anderson
Layne Anderson is in his third year as head coach of the University of Iowa women’s cross country and track and field teams. He has served as the Hawkeyes’ head women’s cross country coach for the past seven seasons, and was the interim head women’s track and field coach in 2008. From 2003-07, he served as an assistant women’s track and field coach for the Hawkeyes.