T&F Notebook: Illinois Twilight

April 8, 2014

Weekly Release

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa track and field team competes at the Illinois Twilight on Saturday at the University of Illinois Track Stadium. Throwing events begin at 12 p.m. (CT). Field events begin at 4 p.m. (CT), and running events begin at 5 p.m. (CT).

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Follow @IowaXC_TF on twitter for updates on the team. Links to live results can be found on the schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.

ABOUT THE ILLINOIS TWILIGHT
The Illinois Twilight is a scored track meet with standard NCAA scoring: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. Competing teams include Bradley, Eastern Illinois, Illinois, Indiana State, Iowa, IUPUI, and Loyola. Start lists for the Illinois Twilight will be posted Thursday.

FOUR LAPS FOR THE RECORD
Freshmen Elexis Guster and Alexis Hernandez, and sophomores MonTayla Holder and Lake Kwaza ran 3:34.83 to break the school’s 1,600-meter record at the Arkansas Spring Invitational. The quartet bested the previous record, set in 2011, by more than one second (3:35.93). The 2011 team of Bethany Praska, Tiffany Hendricks, Ashley Liverpool, and Nicole Erickson won the Big Ten Championship. The 2014 team leads the conference.

HOLDER HITS THE HAT TRICK
Sophomore MonTayla Holder won three titles at the Arkansas Spring Invitational on April 5. She matched her personal-best, set at the 2013 NCAA Championships, with a time of 59.71 in the 400-meter hurdles. It was the second 400-meter title of her career (2013 Lee Calhoun). Holder also ran the third leg of the winning women’s 400- and 1,600-meter relays.

NEED A LIFT? ASK FOR GABE
Junior Gabe Hull leads all Hawkeyes in the men’s discus, hammer, and shot put. Hull is in the points (conference top 8) in both the discus and shot put. His season-best in the discus (193-2; 58.89m) ranks third, and his season-best in the shot put (57-11 1/4; 17.66m) ranks eighth. He ranks 17th in the Big Ten in the hammer (173-10; 52.98).

SMITH, SIMPSON AND GULVAS ARE IN THE POINTS
Three Hawkeyes hold hammer throw marks that rank inside the Big Ten’s top eight and among Iowa’s all-time top 10 list. Junior Annemie Smith’s mark of 198-1 (60.38m) leads the Big Ten and is a school record. Seniors Jasmine Simpson (189-0; 57.62m) and Ashlyn Gulvas (183-4; 55.87m) rank third and seventh, respectively, in the Big Ten. The trio placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively, at the Arkansas Spring Invitational.

WILLIAMS, ROUW GET AIRBORN
Sophomore Khanishah Williams and freshman Madison Rouw rank second and fourth in the Big Ten high jump. Williams cleared 5-8 1/2 (1.74m) and Rouw 5-7 1/4 (1.71m) at the Arizona State Invite. William’s career best of 5-11 1/4 (1.81) ranks third in school history.

MILLER-LEACOCK, LEACOCK-MILLER
Seniors Zinnia Miller and Carisa Leacock rank third and fourth in school history in both the long jump and triple jump. Miller jumped 20-1 1/2 (6.13m) at the Arizona Invite to rank third all-time at Iowa and fourth this season in the Big Ten. Leacock’s career best ranks fourth all-time at Iowa (19-11 1/2; 6.08m). Leacock ranks third all-time in the triple jump, landing at 40-10 1/2 (12.46m) in 2012. Miller has closed the gap in 2014, jumping 40-9 (12.42m) at the Arkansas Spring Invitational. That mark ranks fourth all-time at Iowa and third in the Big Ten.

LEWIS MAKES A JUMP IN THE 5K
Following his season debut at the Stanford Invitational, junior Kevin Lewis jumped two spots from No. 7 to No. 5 on the all-time top 10 list of 5,000 meter performances. Lewis trimmed more than five seconds off his personal record, completing the race in 14:02.78, a time that ranks fourth in the Big Ten.

MEET THE RECORD HOLDERS
Six Hawkeyes share three school records. Freshmen Elexis Guster and Alexis Hernandez, and sophomores MonTayla Holder and Lake Kwaza set the 1,600-meter record (3:34.83) at Arkansas Spring Invitational. Junior Annemie Smith set the hammer throw record (198-1; 60.38m) at the 2014 ASU Invite on March 28. Senior Tevin-Cee Mincy ran the first leg on the school-record-setting 400-meter relay team (39.48) at the 2013 NCAA Championships.

RETURNING OUTDOOR ALL-AMERICANS
The Hawkeyes return three outdoor All-Americans from 2013. Senior Tevin-Cee Mincy and sophomore Klyvens Delaunay grabbed first team honors for their performances at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Mincy ran the first leg on the sixth-place finishing 400-meter relay team (39.77), while Delaunay captured an eighth-place finish in the triple jump (52-2 1/2; 15.91m). Junior Gabe Hull earned second-team honors for his 15th-place finish in the discus (184-6; 56.25m).

NEXT ON THE BLOCK
The Hawkeyes travel to Walnut, Calif., to compete at the Mount Sac Relays on April 18-19.