Jan. 8, 2011
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Complete Results | Illinois Open Video Highlights
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Iowa men’s track team opened the 2011 indoor season in Champaign with the Iowa vs. Illinois meet. This is the third year for the event and the Hawkeyes earned their third victory with an 83-74 decision. Iowa took first in 10 of the 14 events it competed in and 10 of 15 overall with no one entered in the pole vault competition. The Hawkeyes set the bar high in the first event of the season with eight finishes ranking among Iowa’s all-time bests.
Iowa started the meet with three wins in the field events. Senior Graham Valdes took first place in the high jump with a 2.09 meter jump while junior Jeffery Herron earned first in the long jump after he leapt 7.12 meters. Junior Matt Banse hit 19.45 meters in the weight throw. Banse took second in the event but his efforts were good enough for a new personal record and a fifth place spot on Iowa’s all-time top performers list.
Newcomer Troy Doris had an outstanding start to his Hawkeye career. Doris recorded 15.37 meters in the triple jump, good for a first place finish and a second place spot on Iowa’s all-time top performers list. In addition to his performance in the triple jump, the junior recorded a second place finish in the long jump with a mark of 7.07 meters.
The Hawkeyes took control of the meet in the events on the track, taking seven wins in nine races. Junior Justin Austin earned a first place finish in both the 60 meters and 200 meters with times of 6.76 seconds and 21.49 seconds, respectively. In his first competition as a Hawkeye, Austin penciled his name into both all-time top performers’ categories.
Senior all-American Steven Willey ran a 47.72 in the 400 meters to take the first place finish. Willey holds the school record in the event with a time of 46.75.
“We had a pretty doggone good day,” Head Coach Larry Wieczorek said of his team’s performance. “Clearly our newcomers were outstanding performers today for us. We also had a number of guys that had some all-time best finishes. We are really happy because this is the third year we have had this event and this is our third win. I think we have a long way to go, but this is a terrific start to the season.”
The Hawkeyes will be back in action next weekend when they host the Iowa Open. Five teams are visiting Iowa City for the January 15th event. The meet is schedule to start at 11 a.m. and will be held at the University of Iowa Recreation Building.