Hawkeyes Set to Split Competitors Between Three Meets

Feb. 8, 2012

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa track and field team will be sending athletes to the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa; the Tyson Invite in Fayetteville Ark., and the Husky Invite in Seattle, Wash. Live results for all events will be available at hawkeyesports.com.

TYSON INVITE
Hawkeye junior Justin Austin will head to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Tyson Invite. The meet will be held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas. Austin is set to compete in the 200 meters starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

HUSKY INVITE
Juniors Jeff Thode and Nick Holmes, senior Erik Sowinski, and freshmen Kevin Lewis will all head to Seattle, Wash for the Husky Invite. The meet will be held at the Dempsey Indoor track on the campus of the University of Washington. The four will compete in four different events. They include the 800 meters (Sowinski), mile (Thode), 3,000 meters (Holmes, Lewis, Thode), and 5,000 meters (Lewis).

IOWA STATE CLASSIC
The rest of the Hawkeyes will head to Ames, Iowa, for the Iowa State Classic. The meet will be held at the Lied Recreation-Athletic Facility and is set to begin at 11 a.m. Friday and continue through Saturday.

IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeye men’s team is ranked 20th in the latest USTFCCCA poll.

ATOP THE BIG TEN
Senior Troy Doris’s triple jump leap of 53-5 (16.28m) ranks first in the Big Ten. That mark also ranks third in the nation. Junior Jordan Mullen’s time of 7.78 in the 60-meter hurdles currently ranks second in the Big Ten, while senior Erik Sowinski is ranked third in the conference for his performance in the 600m at the adidas Classic. Sowinksi ran a time of 1:16.91 to break the school record. Graduate Student Mareike Schrulle is ranked third in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:23.97.

4X4 IN TOP 25
The men’s 1,600-meter relay team of Patrick Richards, Justin Austin, Kaleb VanCleave, and Erik Sowinski is currently ranked 24th in the nation. The team ran a season best time of 3:11.20 at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 27-28. The men’s 1,600-meter relay team is the defending Big Ten Champions.

MEET THE RECORD HOLDERS
Seven Hawkeyes on the 2012 roster account for 10 individual school records. They include: Justin Austin: 60 (6.69) and 200 meters (20.80) Troy Doris: Triple Jump (54-0/16.46m) McKenzie Melander: Mile (4:39.78) Jordan Mullen: 60-meter hurdles (7.75) Erik Sowinski: 600 (1:16.91) and 800 meters (1:47.98) Kelsey Taylor: Weight Throw (60-4 1/2/18.40) Jeff Thode: Mile (3:58.72) and 3,000 meters (8:00.38)

NEXT ON THE BLOCK
Iowa will return to action hosting the Iowa Invitational on Feb. 17.