April 26, 2013
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DES MOINES, Iowa – University of Iowa senior Majesty Tutson broke the school discus record en route to a Drake Relays Championship on Friday. Four individuals and a relay team qualified for event finals.
Tutson took the women’s discus title. The senior recorded a school record-setting toss of 181-1 (55.19m) on her second attempt. Tutson set the previous school record of 177-10 (54.21m) at the Jim Click Shootout on April 6. Tutson is the first woman in school history to win a Drake Relays title in the discus.
“I felt a little inconsistent, but you know it only takes one throw, and I caught one and it felt great,” said Tutson.
Senior Matt Byers earned a second-place finish in the men’s javelin. Byers recorded a mark of 229-6 (69.95m). Byers finished just behind the 2012 NCAA Javelin Champion Tim Glover (239-6; 72.94m) of Illinois State.
Seniors Jordan Mullen and Ethan Holmes both qualified for the 110-meter hurdles final. Holmes won his heat when he crossed the line in 14.53 (-4.9 wind).
“A -4.9 headwind is no joke,” Holmes said. “It’s all about competing today. Everyone is running in the same wind. You can’t really be upset with the times, because everyone is running slow. It was good to go out there and win my heat in front of basically a home crowd.”
Mullen ran to a second-place finish in his heat when he clocked a time of 14.32 (-2.9 wind). The 110-meter hurdles final are scheduled for Saturday at 2:52 p.m. (CT).
“First off, it’s a pleasure to be back on the blue oval,” Mullen said. “I got out really good. I ran five or six strong hurdles there and then I wanted to stay smooth. It’s going to be an exciting race tomorrow.”
Justin Austin finished second in his heat to qualify for the 100 meters final. The senior recorded a time of 10.79 (-3.2 wind). The men’s 100 meters final is set to begin Saturday at 2:28 p.m. (CT).
“It was pretty windy,” Austin said. “I tried to get out and stay low, but I didn’t really get a good start at all. I just kept it smooth, tried to stay as low as I could to fight off this wind and tried to finish strong.”
Freshman Lake Kwaza ran to a first-place finish in her heat to qualify for the 100 meters final. Kwaza crossed the line in 12.10 (-3.9 wind). The women’s 100 meters final is schedule for Saturday at 2:23 p.m. (CT).
“Basically all I thought about was driving, turning over and getting to the finish,” said Kwaza. “[Running in the wind] was a challenge, but staying down the first 40 or 50 meters really helped.”
The men’s 400-meter relay team qualified for the event finals. The quartet of seniors Mullen and Austin, junior Tevin-Cee Mincy and senior Josh Larney clocked a time of 40.55 to finish second in their heat.
“Our exchanges could be a lot better,” said Larney. “We’ve run a lot fast this year. We were being safe because of this headwind. We were really just trying to make it to finals.”
The men’s distance medley team of junior Nathan Prom, sophomore Brennan Davey, senior Ryan Weir and sophomore Ben Witt ran to a fifth-place finish. Prom led the pack early before falling into fourth-place at the end of the first 1,200 meters. Davey fell into sixth-place on the 400-meters leg before Weir slide into third-place on the final lap of the 800 meters. Witt battled near the front of the mile pack to cross the finish line in a season best time of 9:53.83. That time ranks fifth all-time at Iowa.
Khanishah Williams earned a fifth-place finish in the women’s high jump. The sophomore cleared a height of 5-9 ¼ (1.76m).
The Drake Relays resume Saturday at 8:00 a.m. (CT).