Feb. 23, 2011
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MEN’S BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 15th ranked men’s team travels to Champaign, Illinois this weekend to compete in the 2011 Indoor Big Ten Championships. The event, held on the campus of the University of Illinois, is scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with the Heptathlon 60 meters. The Championships will run through Sunday afternoon with the 4×400 meter relay finals set to run at 3:25 p.m.
Coverage of all the action throughout the weekend can be found on hawkeyesports.com or fightingillini.com on the track and field championship information page.
The men’s team finished the Big Ten Championships in fifth place last season with 56 points at the conclusion of the two-day competition.
WOMEN’S BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Iowa women’s track and field team heads to West Lafayette, Indiana this weekend to compete in the 2011 Indoor Big Ten Championships. Action at the Lambert Fieldhouse is slated to begin with the Pentathlon 60-meter hurdles event at 9 a.m. Saturday and continue through Sunday afternoon.
Fans can stay up to speed on the action at Purdue by checking the official Championship information page on purduesports.com or hawkeyesports.com on the track and field schedule pages.
TAYLOR CRUSHES SCHOOL RECORD
Sophomore Kelsey Taylor crushed the school record in the weight throw competition Friday at the Iowa Invitational. Taylor’s throw sailed two feet further than the previous program best, setting the new best mark at 60-4 ½ (18.40m). Taylor’s toss surpassed sophomore Majesty Tutson for the top spot on the record list. Tutson, an Iowa City native, set the record with a throw of 58-4 (17.78m) two weeks ago at the Iowa State Classic.
HAWKEYES RACE INTO TOP 25
The men’s track and field team broke into the national rankings after impressive performances at the ISU Classic and Huskie Invite. The Hawkeyes debuted on the national list at 14th but moved to 15th on this week’s USTFCCCA rankings. Iowa’s No. 14 ranking was the highest ranking the men’s program has achieved since the 1998 team placed 11th at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
WATCH FOR FALLING RECORDS
The Hawkeyes have broken 12 school records, including three that have been broken twice this season, and posted an additional 18 marks that rank inside the program’s all-time top 10 performances. This season’s school record holders include:
| Event | Name | Mark | National/Big Ten |
| Weight Throw | Kelsey Taylor | 60-4 1/2 (18.40m)) | -/10 |
| 60 meters | Justin Austin | 6.71 | 27/2 |
| 200 meters | Justin Austin | 20.83 | 7/1 |
| 60m Hurdles | Jordan Mullen | 7.75 | 10/2 |
| Triple Jump | Troy Doris | 54′ (16.46) | 4/1 |
| 600 meters | Steven Willey | 1:17.94 | -/2 |
| 800 meters | Bethany Praska | 2:06.20 | 13/3 |
| 800 meters | Erik Sowinski | 1:47.98 | 9/3 |
| 3,000 meters | Jeff Thode | 8:00.38 | 37/7 |
| 1,600 meters relay | Tiffany Hendricks | 3:39.15 | 35/2 |
| Nicole Erickson | |||
| Bethany Praska | |||
| Ashley Liverpool |
AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS
Hawkeye student-athletes Justin Austin, Troy Doris and Erik Sowinski have automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in College Station, TX, March 11-12. Austin ran a school record 20.83 at the Razorback Invitational to qualify in the 200 meters. Doris recorded a school record 54′ (16.46m) triple jump at the Razorback Invite to earn his automatic qualification. Sowinksi was the most recent Hawkeye to qualify after he ran a school-record setting time of 1:47.98 in the 800 meters at the Huskie Invite in Spokane, Washington last weekend.
Austin’s 200 meter time ranks sixth in nation. Doris ranks fourth nationally.
COMING UP
The Last Chance meet is scheduled for March 5. The event provides an opportunity for student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Championships that will take place March 11-12 in College Station, TX.
Athletes not traveling to the Last Chance or the NCAA Championships meet will kick off their 2011 outdoor season. The first competition is scheduled for March 18-19 at the Shamrock Invite in Coastal Carolina.
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.