April 18, 2011
- Big Ten Championships – Iowa City, Iowa
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- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
Updated Schedule of Events | Heat Sheets
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa Track and Field team returns home this weekend to host the 12th annual Musco Twilight Meet Saturday. Field events at Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track will begin at 2 p.m. Running events will start at 3:30 p.m. and final sections will begin at 6 p.m. Participating teams include Iowa, Drake, Illinois (men), Iowa State, Minnesota, North Central, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois and Wisconsin.
MUSCO ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK
A tape-delay broadcast of the meet will air on the Big Ten Network on Sunday, May 8 at 6 p.m. CDT. Bernie Guenther and Craig Virgin will provide event coverage and analysis. Christina Meister will report from the field.
MUSCO PROMOTIONS
Children in attendance will be able to race Herky the Hawk at approximately 6:15. Visit a UI marketing representative for registration information. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., free t-shirts will be distributed to the first 250 fans. UI students and youth 18 and younger are admitted free. Admission is $3 for adults.
FRANCIS X. CRETZMEYER OUTDOOR TRACK
The University of Iowa track and field teams practice and compete at the Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track during the outdoor season. Located within walking distance of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and Pearl Field, the track was completed in 1986. The facility was named after the late Francis X. Cretzmeyer, who coached the men’s and women’s cross country and track teams from 1948-78 and led the Hawkeyes to five Big Ten team titles. Resurfaced in 1993 and 2009, the $2 million Olympic-sized outdoor track features an eight-lane, 400-meter Martin surface, which is considered to be one of the finest running mediums in the world. Cretzmeyer track will play host the 2011 Big Ten Outdoor Championships May 13-15.
MUSCO TWILIGHT XII
The annual Iowa Musco Twilight Meet was named for Musco Lighting of Oskaloosa, Iowa, which has supplied mobile lighting equipment throughout the event’s 12-year history. Head Coach Larry Wieczorek decided in 1999 to host the inaugural twilight event. The event has gone on each year since with the exception of 2009, when the track was resurfaced following the 2008 flood.
WHEN THE SCHOOL RECORD ISN’T ENOUGH
Sophomore Matt Byers broke a nine-year old javelin school record at the LSU Invite (April 2). Byers registered a toss of 245-8 (74.89) to best Bill Neumann’s 2002 school record (244-8), which also happened to be the Big Ten record. Byers won the Big Ten javelin title as a freshman last season and currently ranks No. 6 in the country.
LOCAL CHAPTER IN THE RECORD BOOK
Iowa City native Majesty Tutson climbed to the top of the school record list with a discus toss of 166-10.5 (50.87) at the Sun Angel Classic April 9. Tutson’s discus performance ranks fifth among Big Ten performers and 35th nationally. Tutson also ranks eighth in Iowa program history in the hammer throw.
STILL D’JUAN
Junior D’Juan Richardson owns the conference’s top spot in the 400 meter hurdles following a career best performance at the War Eagle Invitational (4/16). Richardson clocked a 51.12 to grab the No. 9 spot on Iowa’s top performer’s list. His mark is ranked No. 13 nationally.
BETHANY GETTING HISTORICAL
Senior Bethany Praska has made the most of her senior campaign. The Longmont, Colo., native set the 800 meter outdoor record at the War Eagle Invitational with a 2:05.46 performance. Praska set the indoor 800 meter record and captured a Big Ten 800 meter title during the indoor season. She also earned All-American honors following a seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships.
WILLEY OR WON’T HE?… HE WILL
Senior All-American and defending Big Ten 400 meter champion Steven Willey captured a first-place finish in his outdoor season debut at the Sun Angel Classic. Willey’s 46.48 performance currently ranks third among Big Ten competitors and 23rd nationally. His effort ranks seventh among Iowa’s all-time top performers.
HIGH MARKS IN THE 110-HIGH HURDLES
Sophomores Jordan Mullen and Ethan Holmes rank second and third, respectively, among the Big Ten’s 110m hurdles leaders. Mullen placed second (13.79) and Holmes fourth (14.02) at the War Eagle Invitational April 16 to climb to fourth and sixth, respectively, on Iowa’s top performers list.
RELAY DOMINANT
The men’s 4×1 team ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten and 16th nationally with a 39.86 mark. Tevin-Cee Mincy, Zeke Sayon, Paul Chaney and Justin Austin own the third fastest mark in program history.
4×4 DOIN’ WORK
The women’s 4×4 team – Bethany Praska, Tiffany Hendricks, Ashley Liverpool and Nicole Erickson – rank second in the Big Ten and 20th nationally with a 3:36.52 mark, the second best mark in school history by .26 seconds.
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Nicole Erickson anchored the 4×4 team to a near-school record last week. |
ROLLING 800s
Junior Erik Sowinski and senior Adam Hairston rank second and sixth, respectively, amongst Big Ten competitors in the 800 meters. Sowinski ran 1:48.15 while capturing first place at the LSU invitational (4/2) and Hairston ran 1:49.53 to place fifth at the Sun Angel Classic (4/9). Sowinski’s time ranks eighth nationally. He and Hairston rank third and fourth, respectively, on Iowa’s 800m all-time performers list.
A PAIR IN OF TOP 5s
Freshman Ashley Liverpool and senior Bethany Praska rank second and fourth, respectively, among the Big Ten’s 400 meter competitors. They are the only teammates ranked in the conference’s top five. Liverpool’s time of 53.87 ranks fourth in Iowa school history and Praska’s 54.15 mark ranks seventh.
2011 NCAA OUTDOOR QUALIFICATIONS
The top 48 individual event performers and top 24 relay teams from each region (East/West) will qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. A complete list of NCAA participants will be announced Thursday, May 19.
BIG TEN OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Iowa will host the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 13-15 at the Cretzmeyer Track in Iowa City, Iowa. Visit the Championships page on hawkeyesports.com for complete meet information.
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.