Hawkeyes Send Three Events to Finals

April 27, 2012

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DES MOINES, Iowa – The University of Iowa track and field teams competed in day two of the Drake Relays Friday. The Hawkeyes qualified for finals in three different events.

The men’s 6,400-meter relay team of junior Nick Holmes, freshman Ben Witt, junior Jeff Thode, and freshman Kevin Lewis grabbed a ninth place finish with a time of 17:02.26. Lewis, the anchor for the Hawkeyes, ran shoulder to shoulder with Missouri junior Ricky West with two laps to go before West pulled ahead and eventually finished first (16:47.87). The Hawkeyes time of 17:02.26 ranks third all-time at Iowa.

“The pace started out slow, and with two laps to go I tried to stretch it out a little bit,” said Lewis. “I was trying to really make him work for it, and not just let people go by.”

The men’s 1,600-meter relay was an exciting race from start to finish. The team of senior Patrick Richards, freshman Brennan Davey, junior Keaton Rickels, and senior Erik Sowinski finished fifth overall with a time of 3:09.37 to qualify for the finals. The men’s 1,600-meter finals are set to being at 5:55 p.m. Saturday.

The women’s distance medley relay team of graduate student Mareike Schrulle, senior Nicole Erickson, sophomore Lena Placzek, and junior Brooke Eilers ran to an eighth place finish. The team crossed the line in 11:40.57. That time ranks seventh all-time at Iowa.

Junior Ethan Holmes and senior Dan Davis each qualified for the 110-meter hurdles finals. Holmes captured a fourth place finish clocking a time of 14.21 (-1.0 wind), while Davis crossed the line seventh with a time of 14.19 (-1.6 wind). The 110-meter hurdles finals are set to begin Saturday at 3:16 p.m.

Junior Josh Larney qualified for the 100 meters final. Larney finished eighth overall with a time of 10.67. The 100 meters finals are scheduled to begin at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.

The Iowa men’s 3,200-meter relay team of sophomores Nathan Prom and Kyle Slaymaker, freshman Kyle Wheeler, and junior Ryan Weir clocked a time of 7:38.15 to finish fifteenth. That time ranks eighth all-time at Iowa.

The women’s 400-meter relay team just missed qualifying for the finals. The team of sophomores Erin Jones, Raven Moore, Ashley Liverpool, and junior Hannah Simonson finished ninth with a time of 46.45.

Matt Byers captured a fourth place finish in the javelin. The junior recorded a mark of 231-11 (65.20m).

Junior Majesty Tutson recorded a mark of 170-10 (52.07m) in the discus. Tutson’s mark was good enough for an eighth place finish.

Hawkeye seniors Jeffery Herron and Graham Valdes put on a show in the high jump despite the event being delayed due to weather. Herron leapt to a second place finish when he cleared the 7-0 ½ (2.15m) mark, while Valdes finished sixth with a leap of 6-10 ¾ (2.10m).

“The biggest thing was just composure,” said senior Graham Valdes. “We wanted to entertain the fans that stuck it through the weather. We didn’t want to come out badly.”

The Hawkeyes will return to action Saturday in day three of the Drake Relays. The action is set to begin at 8 a.m.