Flood Finishes Runner-Up in 10,000

May 13, 2011

Complete Results

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Betsy Flood and Matt Banse paced the University of Iowa track and field team at the opening day of the Big Ten Track and Field Championships at Cretzmeyer Track. Flood ran to a runner-up finish in her 10,000-meter debut and Matt Banse scored a fourth place finish with a personal best in the hammer throw.

Banse was the first Hawkeye to compete in the championships, earning five points for the team with his fourth place finish. The Strawberry Point, Iowa, native recorded a personal best mark of 199-11 (60.94m) with his second throw in the finals.

In the women’s hammer competition, redshirt freshman Ashlyn Gulvas and sophomore Kelsey Taylor advanced to the finals. Gulvas placed seventh with a toss of 174-10 (53.42m) and Taylor took ninth with her mark of 170-11 (52.11m). Sophomore Jasmine Simpson also competed in the hammer throw, hitting 165-1 (50.33m).

Sophomore Kristen Weismantle reached a new career height in the pole vault. Weismantle reached 12-0 (3.66m), the third highest mark in program history.

Flood capped the night by leading a trio of Hawkeyes in the 10,000 meter run. The junior ran in the top three of the pack for the majority of the race, making a move to second place at the 31 minute mark. With the last 250 meters, she pushed ahead to take the lead, but just missed the first place finish, taking second with a time of 35:05.10. The Des Moines, Iowa, native moved to eighth on Iowa’s all-time top-performers list. Senior Amanda Hardesty and freshman Katherin Rehn also ran the 25 laps around the track. Hardesty clocked a 36:38.45 while Rehn finished in 39:30.96.

 

 

“We had a great start to the weekend,” head women’s coach Layne Anderson said. “We had a personal record in the pole vault and scored some points today. We scored points in the hammer, which is the first time we’ve done that in a number of years, and then to end with Betsy Flood taking second was great. We are excited about today and optimistic about what lies ahead.”

Competition resumes Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. with the decathlon 110 meter hurdles. The Big Ten Championships run throughout the weekend at Cretzmeyer Track. All-session tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for youth. Single day passes can be purchased for $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Visit hawkeyesports.com for complete Championship information and results.