Dec. 3, 2015
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa track and field team previews the 2016 season hosting the annual Black & Gold Intrasquad on Friday and Saturday. A discus competition will kick off the weekend Friday at 1 p.m. inside the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. The remaining field and running events begin Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (CT) at the UI Recreation Building.
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“This weekend will be important to see what athletes do on a meet day,” said UI director of track and field Woody. “It’s a dry run. It’s more than a practice. You’ve got officials and starters there, there is a lot more hype to it, and it’s an opportunity to compete black against gold. It adds a little more vibe to things There is no reason they can’t go out and set personal best and set themselves up for a great indoor season.”
The Hawkeyes welcome back six All-Americans and two Big Ten Champions.
The Iowa men return three members of the 400-meter relay — juniors Aaron Mallett and Vinnie Saucer, Jr., and senior James Harrington — that placed 12th at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Mallett, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, is the Big Ten Champion in the 110-meter hurdles. He collected a pair of individual All-America finishes last season in the indoor 60-meter hurdles (6th) and outdoor 110-meter hurdles (5th).
Mitch Wolff, a senior from Plainfield, Illinois, sealed second-team All-America honors for his 16th-place performance in the men’s 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
On the women’s side, Iowa’s roster features two returning All-Americans. Junior Elexis Guster (Atlanta, Georgia), a two-time Big Ten Champion in the 400 meters, ended her 2015 track campaign with second-team All-America honors in the event, while junior Brittany Brown (Upland, California) earned second-team honors in the 200 meters after finishing runner-up at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and 17th at the NCAA Championships.
Along with Brown and Guster, Iowa also welcomes back All-Big Ten honorees Lake Kwaza (Sycamore, Illinois) and MonTayla Holder (Indianapolis). The quartet finished second at the Big Ten Championships in the 400-meter relay.
Brown (200 meters/22.89), Kwaza (100 meters/11.40), and Mallett (110-meter hurdles/13.40) each set school records in their respective events last season.
“It’s been a good fall so far,” said Woody. “Now we get a chance to see what they can do under a little pressure of competition and wearing that Iowa uniform.”
The Hawkeyes officially open the 2016 season Jan. 9 at the Border Battle in Champaign, Illinois. Live results of the Intrasquad will be available on the track and field schedule page of hawkeyesports.com. Admission is free.
