T&F Notebook: NCAA Championships

June 9, 2014

T&F Notebook

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa track and field team travels to Eugene, Oregon, to compete at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 11-14. Eleven Hawkeyes advanced to the NCAA final site to compete in the championship field of 24. The championships are hosted by Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon and are set to begin Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. (CT) and conclude at 5:55 p.m. Saturday.

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.

ON YOUR TELEVISION/COMPUTER
ESPNU will provide live coverage Friday beginning at 6:30 p.m. (CT) and Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT). ESPN3 will provide a live stream of the events beginning Wednesday and Thursday at 5:55 p.m.

HAWKEYE QUALIFIERS
The Iowa women are represented by a total of five student-athletes competing in four individual events and one relay. The Hawkeyes are ranked 10th or better in two events including the 200 meters (Brittany Brown; 6th) and the long jump (Zinnia Miller; 9th).

The Iowa men will send six student-athletes to compete in two individual events and one relay. Junior Gabe Hull is ranked 12th in the discus, while the men’s 400-meter relay team is ranked 13th.

PAST CHAMPIONS
Thirteen Hawkeye student-athletes have combined for 14 NCAA titles since Eric Wilson won the 220 meters in 1921 and 1923. Tracy Dahl and Ed Gordon also won multiple NCAA titles — Dahl in the 5K (1992-93) and Gordon in the long jump (1929-31). The women’s last NCAA champion was Kineke Alexander (2006, 400m). The men’s most recent title came from Bashir Yamini (1998, long jump). Erik Sowinski earned a runner-up finish in the 800 meters in 2012.

LAST LAP FOR WIZ
Director of Track and Field Larry Wieczorek will coach his final meet this week. Iowa has crowed 53 All-Americans with Wieczorek at the helm. That list of honorees includes sprinters, middle distance and distance runners, hurdlers, relay teams, jumpers, throwers, and cross country standouts.

Babatunde Amosu — TRIPLE JUMP
Junior Babatunde Amosu placed 12th in the triple jump at the West Prelim and enters the final site as the No. 21 seed following a mark of 51-3 3/4 (15.64m) in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Amosu’s personal-best triple jump leap of 52-4 3/4 (15.97) ranks third all-time at Iowa.

Brittany Brown — 200 METERS, 4X1 RELAY
Brittany Brown placed seventh in the 200 meters at the West Prelim and enters the finals as the No. 6 seed, the highest seed of any Hawkeye, following her school record setting performance (22.95) in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Brown also anchored the 400-meter relay team that finished eighth in the West Region. The team is seeded 18th.

MonTayla Holder — 400-METER HURDLES, 4X1 RELAY
Sophomore MonTayla Holder is making her first career appearance at the NCAA Championships’ final site after placing ninth in the 400-meter hurdles (58.19) at the West Prelim. Her qualifying time ranks No. 24. Holder set a personal-best time of 57.81 earlier this season, which ranks third in school history.

Gabe Hull — DISCUS
Junior Gabe Hull is making his second appearance at the NCAA Championships’ final site. He earned second-team All-America honors with a 15th-place finish in the discus a year ago with a toss of 184-6 (56.25m). Hull, the current discus school record holder (207-1; 63.11m), is seeded 12th.

Zinnia Miller — LONG JUMP, TRIPLE JUMP
Zinnia Miller is making her first career appearance at the NCAA Championships’ final site. The senior placed fourth overall in the women’s long jump with a personal-best leap of 20-6 1/2 (6.26m) at the West Prelim to earn the No. 9 seed. Her mark ranks second all-time at Iowa.

Miller will also represent the Hawkeyes in the triple jump. She is seeded 19th in the event after a seventh-place finish (41-11 1/2; 12.79m) at the West Prelim. Her personal-best triple jump mark of 42-0 1/2 (12.81m) ranks second all-time at Iowa.

WOMEN’S 4X100
The women’s 400-meter relay team of Lake Kwaza, Elexis Guster, MonTayla Holder and Brittany Brown finished eighth at the West Prelim in 44.72. The team is seeded 18th.

The team of Kwaza, Guster, Alexis Hernandez, and Brown broke the school record with a first-place performance (44.51) at the Drake Relays on April 26.

MEN’S 4X100
The men’s 400-meter relay team of Tevin-Cee Mincy, O’Shea Wilson, James Harrington, and Keith Brown is seeded 13th following a third-place finish (39.55) at the West Prelim.

The team clocked a season-best time of 39.35 to take the Big Ten Title on May 18. Their time ranks second all-time at Iowa.

QUALIFIERS/EVENT/SCHEDULE (CT)
Babatunde Amosu, Junior (London, England)
? Triple Jump — Saturday, 2:30 p.m. (trials/finals)
Brittany Brown, Freshman (Upland, Calif.)
? 400-meter relay — Wednesday, 6:15 p.m. (s); Saturday, 4:10 p.m. (f)
? 200 meters — Thursday, 6:15 p.m. (s); Saturday, 4:49 p.m. (f)
MonTayla Holder, Sophomore (Indianapolis, Ind.)
? 400-meter relay — Wednesday, 6:15 p.m. (s); Saturday, 4:10 p.m. (f)
? 400-meter hurdles — Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. (s); Friday, 6:41 p.m. (f)
Gabe Hull, Junior (Bloomington, Ind.)
? Discus — Friday, 6 p.m. (trials/finals)
Zinnia Miller, Senior (Abaco, Bahamas)
? Long Jump — Wednesday, 6:15 p.m. (trials/finals)
? Triple Jump — Friday, 5:25 p.m. (trials/finals)
Women’s 4X100-Meter Relay (Kwaza, Guster, Holder, Brown)
? Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. (s); Saturday, 4:03 p.m. (f)
Men’s 4X100-Meter Relay (Mincy, Wilson, Harrington, Brown)
? Wednesday, 6:15 p.m. (s); Saturday, 4:10 p.m. (f)

MEET THE RECORD HOLDERS
Seven Hawkeyes on the 2014 roster share five school records. They include:
Brittany Brown — 200 meters (22.95)
Annemie Smith — hammer throw (198-1; 60.38m)
Kwaza, Guster, Hernandez, Brown — 400-meter relay (44.51)
Guster, Hernandez, Holder, Kwaza — 1,600-meter relay (3:34.83)
Tevin-Cee Mincy ran the first leg on the school-record-setting 400-meter relay team (39.48).