T&F Notebook: Drake Relays

April 27, 2016

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa track and field team competes at the 107th Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, from Thursday through Saturday. The Hawkeyes begin action Thursday at 4 p.m. (CT) and continue through Saturday at Drake Stadium on Drake University’s campus. General admission is $5 on Thursday, $35 for adults and $20 for youth Friday, and $40 for adults Saturday.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Live results are available on the track and field schedule page at hawkeyesports.com. Follow @IowaXC_TF on twitter for updates and relevant statistics on the team.

STREAM/WATCH DRAKE RELAYS
The Drake Relays will be televised on NBC Sports Network at 2 p.m. (CT) on Saturday. Thursday, Friday, and the early part of Saturday will be streamed online at USATF.tv.

HAWKEYE HISTORY
The Hawkeye men have claimed 52 Drake Relays titles dating back to 1923, while the women have registered 18 first-place finishes. The Hawkeye women have claimed at least one title four of the last five years, including the 2011 sprint medley relay (Jones, Hendricks, Liverpool, Praska; 3:48.63), the 2012 6,400-meter relay (Flood, Laesch, Ranegar, Melander; 19:16.73), the 2013 discus (Majesty Tutson; 181-1; 55.19m), and the 2014 400-meter relay (Kwaza, Guster, Hernandez, Brown; 44.51).

THE WOODY RELAYS
Drake Relays Hall of Famer Joey Woody is making his second appearance at the Drake Relays as University of Iowa director of track and field. Woody was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 2002. He is the only athlete in Relays history to be named outstanding performer in both high school and in college. In 1992, he was named outstanding high school performer while competing for Iowa City High School. In 1994, he was named outstanding collegiate performer while competing for Northern Iowa.

HAWKEYES TO WATCH
Thirteen Hawkeyes represent the men’s squad in individual events at the Drake Relays, including junior All-American Aaron Mallett (110-meter hurdles), redshirt freshman Reno Tuufuli (discus, shot put), senior Kevin Spejcher (high jump), junior All-American Mitch Wolff (400-meter hurdles), and senior James Harrington (100 meters).

Seniors MonTayla Holder (400-meter hurdles) and Lake Kwaza (100 meters), junior Mahnee Watts (800 meters), and graduate student Khanishah Williams (high jump) highlight the field for the Hawkeye women.

The Hawkeye men and women appear in six relay events — 4×100, 4×200, 4×400, 4×800, distance medley relay, and sprint medley relay — Friday and Saturday. The Iowa men also compete in the 4×1,600 on Thursday at 5:05 p.m.

MALLETT GARNERS THIRD B1G HONOR
Junior All-American Aaron Mallett was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week following two first-place finishes, including running the nation’s fourth-fastest time in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, at Musco Twilight on April 23. In his third hurdle race of the season, the defending Big Ten champion registered a conference-leading, season-best 13.50 in the 110-meter hurdles before running second leg on the winning 400-meter relay (40.33). He has led the Big Ten in the 110-meter hurdles for four straight weeks since the Pepsi Florida Relays on April 1.

The award is the third of Mallett’s career. He is the fourth Hawkeye this season to earn weekly conference honors. Freshman Christian Brissett and junior Maddie Rouw were recognized March 23, and junior All-American Elexis Guster earned the award on April 13.

HAWKEYES CHECK IN AT NO. 22
The University of Iowa men’s track and field team debuted at No. 22 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top 25 Division I National Team Computer Rankings released Monday.

Iowa owns seven top 25 nationally-ranked individual performances: Aaron Mallett (4/110-meter hurdles), Reno Tuufuli (8/discus), James Harrington (14/200 meters), Mitch Wolff (16/400-meter hurdles), Carter Lilly (20/800 meters), Noah Larrison (22/400-meter hurdles), and Kevin Spejcher (24/high jump).

ROOKIE & RECORDS
Only a freshman, Briana Guillory holds three school records. The Antioch, California, native became the fastest woman in program history in the 100 meters at Musco Twilight on April 23. Her personal-best 11.35 bested senior Lake Kwaza’s school record of 11.40 set in 2015. Guillory’s time ties for first in the league and 24th nationally. She also took part in two school record-setting relay performances that each rank among the nation’s top 20 — 400-meter relay (20/44.04) and 1,600-meter relay (16/3:32.63).

2ND TIME, 2ND ALL-TIME
In just her second triple jump appearance of the season, sophomore Jahisha Thomas improved by over a meter to place second on Iowa’s all-time list in a collegiate best and winning mark of 42-3 1/2 (12.89m) at the Musco Twilight on April 23.

ALL-TIME SPRINTER SWEEP
Freshman Briana Guillory (11.35), senior Lake Kwaza (11.40), and junior Brittany Brown (11.42) are 1-2-3 on Iowa’s all-time list in the women’s 100 meters. Prior to 2015, the 100-meter school record (11.45) remained untouched for 30 years (Vivien McKenzie, 1985).

Brown (22.89), Kwaza (23.17), junior Elexis Guster (23.38), and Guillory (23.46) take up the first four all-time spots in the 200 meters, with the three latter times recorded this season.

BRITT QUALIFIES FOR USATF JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Redshirt freshman Nia Britt earned the opportunity to represent the Hawkeyes in the women’s shot put at the USATF Junior Championships from June 24-26 in Clovis, California. The Sherman Oaks, California, native registered a qualifying and winning mark of 48-6 (14.78m) while competing unattached at Musco Twilight on April 23.

NEXT ON THE BLOCK: B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS
On Sunday, May 15 at 1:40 p.m. (CT), the network will provide live coverage on BTN2Go, for the first time, of the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships from Lincoln, Nebraska. Later that evening the championships will air on the network at 6 p.m.

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