Mar. 11, 2016
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — University of Iowa track and field junior Aaron Mallett advanced to the men’s 60-meter hurdle final for the second-straight year at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Friday.
Mallett automatically qualified for the finals after winning his heat in 7.71, the fourth-fastest preliminary time.
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“I thought Aaron had a great race today,” UI director of track and field Joey Woody said. “He was knocked around a little bit from the guy on his inside, but he recovered well and kept his composure over the third, fourth, and fifth hurdle and finished strong.”
The men’s 60-meter hurdle final will also feature top-ranked Devon Allen of Oregon (7.58) and seventh-seeded Oladapo Akinmoladun of Nebraska (7.76), who finished runner-up to Mallett at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 27. The men’s 60-meter hurdle national championship will be contested Saturday at 4:25 p.m. (CT).
“He has just as good of a shot as anybody else to win the national championship,” Woody said. “Anything can happen in the final. If he does what he did today as far as getting out well, he definitely can run in the 7.60-low range. He has the speed to do it and his rhythm has been great, so I think he’s ready to roll.”
Two Hawkeyes — junior Elexis Guster and senior Will Teubel — had their first individual NCAA indoor appearances end in the semi-finals, collecting second-team All-America accolades.
Guster (53.86) finished 16th in the women’s 400 meters.
“Elexis got out well but was caught in the third position at the cut,” Woody said. “That’s indoor track; you can’t put yourself in a position that gives somebody the opportunity to get in front of you and slow you down. Unfortunately, it didn’t go her way today, but she’s still a Big Ten champion and had a great indoor season in the open 400. She’s definitely determined to put up a great relay leg for our women tomorrow.”
Guster returns to the track Saturday to anchor the 11th-seeded women’s 1,600-meter relay at 6:55 p.m. She is joined by senior MonTayla Holder, freshman Briana Guillory, and junior Alexis Hernandez.
Teubel (1:49.73) raced to 13th place in the men’s 800 meters.
“Will came in as the last qualifier and ended up moving to 13th,” Woody said. “It’s definitely a progression for him. This is his first time competing at this level of competition. I’m proud of Will and his season. I know he’ll take what he did this season into outdoors. He’s one of those guys that just keeps fighting.”
