April 14, 2012
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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Iowa men’s track and field team took the title at the Tom Botts Invitational Saturday. The men tallied a team score of 252 to win the meet. The Hawkeye women captured a second place finish with a team score of 130. Together the Hawkeyes recorded 12 first place finishes.
“It was a total team effort today,” said director of track and field Larry Wieczorek. “We improved significantly as a team. From top to bottom it was a really outstanding meet.”
The Hawkeyes recorded first place finishes in the both the men’s and women’s discus. Freshman Gabe Hull took the title for the men with a personal best toss of 188-8 (57.52). That mark ranks fifth all-time at Iowa. Junior Majesty Tutson took the title for the women with a toss of 171-8 (52.33m).
Juniors Ethan Holmes (51.73) and Keaton Rickels (52.34) and senior D’Juan Richardson (52.95) finished first through third, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles for the Hawkeye men. Kelsey Quinn recorded a second place finish in the event for the women. Quinn clocked a personal best time of 1:00.28. That time ranks 10th all-time at Iowa.
Freshman Annemie Smith recorded a personal best finish in the hammer throw. Smith finished second with a toss of 183-4 (55.89m). That mark ranks second all-time at Iowa. Sophomore Jasmine Simpson also recorded a personal best finish in the event. Simpson finished third with a toss of 181-1 (55.20m). That mark ranks fourth all-time at Iowa.
Freshman Brittany Holst finished sixth in the pole vault. Holst reached a personal best height of 11-0 ¼ (3.36m). That mark ranks sixth all-time at Iowa.
Freshman Jack Eckert recorded a personal best finish in the javelin. Eckert captured a third place finish with a toss of 187-0 (57.01m). That mark ranks eighth all-time at Iowa.
Junior Jordan Mullen returned to the team for the first time since the 2012 indoor season. Mullen captured a first place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.88. Senior Dan Davis followed close behind with a personal best time of 14.01. That time ranks seventh all-time at Iowa. Eckert also competed in the event. Eckert finished sixth with a personal best time of 15.94.
Junior Jeff Thode took the title in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:49.40. Nick Holmes and Ben Witt also competed in the event. Holmes finished third crossing the line in 3:52.47, while Witt recorded a personal best time of 3:57.04 to finish 11th.
Thode also finished first in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:48.32. Freshman Jon Michael Brandt finished second in the event with a time of 15:02.11, while Holmes took third recording a time of 15:29.62. Sam Chaney (5th; 15:44.85) also competed in the event.
Senior Patrick Richards ran to a first place finish in the 400 meters. Richards recorded a time of 47.56. Freshman Kaleb VanCleave followed close behind, finishing third with a time of 48.35.
Senior Graham Valdes and junior Brandon Oest finished first and second, respectively, in the high jump. Both Valdes and Oest reached a height of 6-7 (2.01m).
Junior Josh Larney captured a first place finish in the 100 meters when he crossed the line in 10.64. Sophomore Tevin-Cee Mincy (3rd; 10.80), senior Richardson (5th; 10.90), and freshman Caleb Mere (7th; 11.32) also competed in the event.
Sophomore Erin Jones recorded a first place finish in the 200 meters. Jones crossed the line in 23.86. Sophomores Ashley Liverpool (2nd; 24.05) and Raven Moore (3rd; 24.54) also competed in the event.
The Hawkeyes dominated both 1,600-meter relay races. The women’s team of junior Hannah Simonson, sophomore Ashley Liverpool, senior Nicole Erickson, and freshman Victoria Sack finished first with a time of 3:40.16. The men’s team also captured a first place finish. The team of junior Ethan Holmes, Van Cleave, Rickels, and Richards crossed the line in 3:09.56.
“I thought we had an outstanding day from start to finish,” said head track and field coach Layne Anderson. “We certainly had some great performances. This is another step forward in preparing for the Big Ten Championships.”
The Hawkeyes will host the 13th annual Musco Twilight on April 21.