Jan. 29, 2011
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Complete Results in PDF Format | Razorback Invitational Highlights
Fayetteville, Ark. – The University of Iowa track and field teams finalized competition at the Razorback Invitational Saturday. Iowa runners on the men’s team have shown they are not content with where the bar is set, as they have continued to compete above it and break records at multiple events this year. Justin Austin set two school records yesterday, but two more Hawkeyes were determined to be above the best, setting two more school records today.
Leading the women’s team was the 1,600-meter relay team with a school record setting time of 4:39.15. Senior Tiffany Hendricks got out of the blocks to start the team off and handed off to Nicole Erickson for the second leg. Bethany Praska and freshman Ashley Liverpool finished the fastest race in school history for the Hawkeyes.
Junior Brooke Eilers finished second in the mile race with a time of 4:57.69 while fellow Hawkeye Lauren Hardesty ran a second place time of 4:47.02 in the mile invite race, a heat of the event for the most elite student-athletes at the invitational.
Freshman Erin Jones continued to compete like a veteran in Arkansas. Jones finished in the top-20 in both the 60-meters and 200-meters events. The Highland, Texas native placed 10th in the 60 and 14th in the 200 with times of 7.68 and 24.20, respectively.
“We made some significant strides as a program this weekend, despite some sicknesses on the team,” women’s Head Coach Layne Anderson said. “A few of our freshmen are really growing up quickly and we are slowly becoming a solid all-around track and field team. We have the potential to have an exciting next month if we continue to believe that the best is still in front of us.”
Erik Sowinski finished third in the 800-meter invite with his school record setting time of 1:48.75. Sowinski, a junior from Waukesha, Wisconsin, previously held the school record in the 800-meters with a time of 1:48.90 set last year at the Iowa State Classic.
Sophomore Ethan Holmes finished the 60-meter hurdles in a collegiate best time of 8.13 seconds. Holmes, native of Clinton, Iowa, placed fifth in the event.
Iowa’s men 1,600-meter relay team took the crown in the event with a top-3 all-time Iowa performance of 3:07.84. Patrick Richards came out of the blocks to set the tone for the Hawkeyes before passing the baton off to Erik Sowinski for the second-leg. Holmes ran the third leg before handing it off to Steven Willey to anchor the race.
Black and Gold newcomer, Troy Doris, won the triple jump competition beating out the No. 1 and No. 5 ranked nationally competitors with his leap of 54-0 (16.46m). Doris’ mark is the best in Iowa history by nearly two feet and was the fourth school record set this weekend. Paul Jones set the previous school record at 52-1 ¼ (15.88m) 20 years ago.
Doris and Austin automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the triple jump (54-0) and 200-meters (20.83).
The Hawkeyes venture to South Bend, Ind. next weekend to compete in the Meyo Invite.