Track & Field Notebook: Iowa Heads to NCAA Indoor Championships

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THIS WEEK 
The University of Iowa track and field team will send 10 individuals and two relays to the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, this weekend. The meet runs Friday and Saturday and begins at 12 p.m. (CT) on both days.

FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow the meet on the live results page at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive. Results will be posted on the team’s official twitter account @iowaxc_tf. A live stream of the meet is available on ESPN3. Tickets for the meet are available on 12thman.com/ncaatrack.

HAWKEYE QUALIFIERS
Iowa will send 10 athletes, including two relays to the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend. The qualifiers include:

  • Junior Mar’yea Harris, 400 meters
  • Junior Briana Guillory, 400 meters
  • Junior Chris Douglas, 60-meter hurdles
  • Senior Jahisha Thomas, long jump, triple jump
  • Senior Brittany Brown, 200 meters
  • Men’s 1,600-meter relay
  • Women’s 1,600-meter relay

 

IOWA AT INDOOR NATIONALS
Iowa returns five 2017 All-Americans to join four first-time indoor NCAA qualfiers — Chris Douglas, Bradford Garron, Sarah Plock, and Sheridan Champe. 

Iowa has a total of 96 indoor All-Americans — 55 men and 41 women. Of Iowa’s 96 All-Americans, 43 have been on the track, 32 have been in relays, and 18 have been won in field events. Iowa earned nine All-America honors in 2017.

THOMAS MAKES HISTORY AT B1GS
Senior Jahisha Thomas claimed two Big Ten titles to sweep the horizontal jumps at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Thomas set personal best marks in the long jump (21-0 3/4; 6.42m) and triple jump (43-4 1/2; 13.22m) to rank ninth and 10th, in the nation, respectively.

Thomas became the sixth individual in Big Ten history to win conference titles in both events and first Hawkeye to win a triple jump championship. In addition, Thomas’ long jump is the third longest in Big Ten history and triple jump is tied for eighth longest in conference history.

Following the meet, Thomas was named the Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of the Championships.

QUALIFIERS/EVENT/SCHEDULE (CT)

Brittany Brown, Senior (Upland, California)
200 Meters — Friday, 7:50 p.m. (P), Saturday, 6 p.m. (F)
4×4 — Saturday, 6:55 p.m.

Brown is making her second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Brown won her second Big Ten indoor title in the 200 meters, running a team-leading time of 23.08, which ranks 16th in the country heading into the meet. Brown finished fifth at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships for first-team All-America honors.

Brown will also run on the women’s 1,600-meter relay.

Sheridan Champe, Senior (Amherst, Ohio)
4×4 — Saturday, 6:55 p.m.
Champe will make her first appearance at the Indoor Championships. Champe ran the first leg on Iowa’s bronze medal squad from the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Iowa’s 3:33.31 from the conference meet ranks second in school history and is 12th in the country heading into the meet. Iowa last earned All-America honors in the 1,600-meter relay in 2016.

Chris Douglas, Junior (Deerfield, Illinois)
60-Meter Hurdles — Friday, 6:55 p.m. (P), Saturday, 5:10 p.m. (F)
Douglas qualified for his first NCAA Indoor Championships. Douglas is tied for the second best time in the conference with a mark of 7.76 in the event. Douglas finished fourth in the hurdles at the Big Ten Championships and ranks third in school history in the event. Iowa has had an indoor All-American in the hurdles for three-straight years.

DeJuan Frye, Junior (Lacey, Washington)
4×4– Saturday, 6:40 p.m.
Frye returns to the national meet for the second time in his career. Frye helped Iowa post a 3:05.33 at the conference meet to qualify for NCAAs as the 10th seed. Frye is one of three returnees from Iowa’s 2017 squad that placed fifth at nationals.

Bradford Garron, Freshman (Evanston, Illinois)
4×4– Saturday, 6:40 p.m.
Garron is the lone freshman to qualify for nationals. Garron ran the third leg on Iowa’s 10th-ranked 1,600-meter relay, which ranks second in school history (3:05.33). Garron joins a group that returns to nationals for the second-straight year.

Briana Guillory, Junior (Antioch, California)
400 Meters — Friday, 6:40 p.m. (P), Saturday, 5 p.m., (F)
4×4 — Saturday, 6:55 p.m.

Guillory returns to the NCAA Championships for the second time in her career. Guillory, the 400 -meter Big Ten Champion, ran a personal best 52.08 at the conference meet to win her first Big Ten title. She ranks fifth in the NCAA and has yet to lose to a college athlete this season. Guillory will also run the third leg on Iowa’s 1,600-meter relay.

Mar’yea Harris, Junior (Auburn, Washington)
400 Meters — Friday, 6:25 p.m. (P), Saturday, 4:50 p.m. (F)
4×4 — Saturday, 6:40 p.m.

Harris is one of four Hawkeyes competing in multiple events at the national meet. Harris ran the 12th fastest time in the country at 45.95. The school-record holder in the event is making his second-straight appearance at the national championships. Harris earned second-team All-America honors in the 400 meters and first-team honors in the 1,600-meter relay in 2017. Harris will run the final leg in the relay.

Collin Hofacker, Sophomore (Freedom, Wisconsin)
4×4 — Saturday, 6:40 p.m.
Hofacker will make his second appearance at indoor nationals. Hofacker qualified for nationals last year in the 1,600-meter relay and helped Iowa to a fifth-place finish in the event. Hofacker ran the lead leg on Iowa’s bronze medal squad at the Big Ten Championships. They ran 3:05.33 for second in school history.

Jahisha Thomas, Senior (London, United Kingdom)
Long Jump — Friday, 7:10 p.m. (F)
Triple Jump — Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (F)

Thomas makes her second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Thomas will compete in the long jump for the second-straight year and triple jump for the first time after winning Big Ten titles in both events at the conference meet. Thomas became the sixth individual to win both events in Big Ten history. Thomas ranks ninth in the nation in the long jump (21-3 1/4, 6.42 meters), and 10th in the triple jump (43-4 1/4, 13.22m).

Sarah Plock, Junior (Iowa City, Iowa)
4×4 — Saturday, 6:55 p.m.
Plock makes her first trip to nationals in her  first season with the Hawkeyes. The transfer from Iowa State ran the final leg of Iowa’s third place relay at the Big Ten Indoor Championships for a time of 3:33.31.

NEXT ON THE BLOCK
Iowa prepares for its outdoor debut at the Willie WIlliams Classic on March 17-18 in Tuscon, Arizona.

 

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