April 9, 2011
MT. VERNON, Iowa – Members of the University of Iowa men’s and women’s track team competed at the Cornell Open in Mt. Vernon Saturday. Eight Hawkeyes were crowned champions.
Sophomore Rachel Curry took first place in the shot put competition, hitting 44-4 (13.51m) with her throw. Curry placed fourth in the discus, recording 136-8 (41.66m). Freshman Amanda Stahle also competed in the discus. Stahle hit 140-1 (42.71m) to take second.
Freshman Ashley Wilkinson ran well Saturday, taking first and second in the 200 and 400 meters, respectively. Wilkinson, an Iowa City native, paced a group of Hawkeyes in the 200, finishing first in 26.47 followed by Mary Kate Schmitt (27.69) and Emelia Thompson (28.32). Wilkinson finished the 400 in 59.31.
Thompson and Schmitt were also top finishers in the women’s long jump. Thompson, from Norway, Iowa, took the top spot with her leap of 16-5 (5.00m) while Schmitt finished runner-up with a mark of 15-9 ½ (4.81m).
Rounding out the Iowa women’s list of top competitors was Kirsten Weismantle. The sophomore won the pole vault competition after reaching 10-11 ¾ (3.35m).
Sophomore Kyle Reid was also a pole vault champion at Cornell. Reid took the men’s crown, finishing at 13-11 ¼ feet (4.25m). Brandon Oest was the second Hawkeye champion in the field for the men’s team. Oest posted a high jump mark of 6-6 ¾ (2.00m).
On the track, junior Chase Kadlec paced the Black and Gold. Kadlec was the individual champion in the 1,500 meter run, clocking a 4:02.10. The Wheaton, Ill. native was also a key element in Iowa’s winning 4×800 meter relay team. Kadlec ran the second leg of the race, taking the handoff from Andrew Smith. Team captain Mark Battista ran the third leg and senior James Paul anchored the relay. The Hawkeyes posted a time of 8:09.08.
Smith, Battista and Paul all finished in the top-10 in the 1,500 meter run. Smith came in third (4:04.82), while Battista (4:06.91) and Paul (4:09.21) placed seventh and 10, respectively.
On the track for the women’s team was Danielle Berndt, second place finisher in the 1,500. Berndt finished in 4:40.56 followed closely by Jackie Laesch in third with a time of 4:44.07. Freshmen Katherin Rehn placed fifth (4:46.50) and sophomore Kelsey Hart recorded a time of 4:50.78 for ninth place.
The Hawkeyes are set to compete next weekend at the Mt. Sac Relays held in Walnut, Calif.