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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa track and field team travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete at the 109th Drake Relays inside Drake Stadium from Thursday to Saturday.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow results at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive. Notable results from each meet will be posted on the team’s official twitter account @iowaxc_tf. All live results links will be posted on the team’s schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
SCREEN TIME
The 2018 Drake Relays Presented by Hy-Vee is broadcast live from Drake Stadium via USATF.TV and NBCSN coverage.
NBCSN will broadcast the Relays on Saturday from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Beginning at 4 p.m., NBC Sports Gold will provide a live stream of the Relays.
The USATF.TV broadcast will require a RunnerSpace +PLUS subscription. All events from the USATF.TV and NBCSN broadcast windows will be made available for on-demand viewing on USATF.TV.
2017 DRAKE RELAYS
The Hawkeyes won six events in 2017 to win the men’s Hy-Vee Cup for the first time in program history. The men won five events, including three relays — 4×800, 4×400, and the sprint medley. The sprint medley relay victory broke an 88-year drought in the event (1929) and the 1,600-meter relay victory is Iowa’s first since 1967. Aaron Mallett won Iowa’s second 110-meter hurdle title (1988) and Reno Tuufuli won Iowa’s third discus title and first since 2014.
The women captured a title in the 400-meter relay for the second time in three years. Taylor Chapman, Briana Guillory, Alexis Hernandez, and Brittany Brown won the title in 45.17.
CAPTURE THE FLAG
Eight current Hawkeyes have combined to win 13 Drake Relays flags. Brittany Brown anchored the winning 400-meter relays in 2014 and 2017.
Carter Lilly and Mar’yea Harris each have three flags to their credit. Both men ran on the winning sprint medleys in 2016 and 2017. Harris anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay in 2017 with Collin Hofacker and DeJuan Frye, and Lilly anchored the winning 3,200-meter relay in 2017 with Matt Manternach and Tysen VanDraska.
Reno Tuufuli won the Drake Relays flag in the discus last season.
DRAKE RELAYS RECORDS
Iowa holds two Drake Relays meet records and both are in the long jump. Former Hawkeye All-American and Olympic Gold Medalist Anthuan Maybank has held the men’s long jump record since 1993 with a jump of 27-feet 1-inch (8.26m). Maybank still holds the indoor and outdoor long jump school records and the outdoor 400 meters record.
Former Hawkeye Big Ten Champion Aisha James holds the women’s long jump meet record with a 22-foot 3-inch (6.78m) jump from 2003. James’ mark set the school record that she still holds today.
DRAKE RELAYS HALL OF FAMERS
Iowa has six former athletes in the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame, including Charles Jones (two-mile), George Saling (120-yard hurdles), Ed Gordon (broad jump), Frank Cuhel (hurdles), and Ted Wheeler (mile), Anthuan Maybank (sprints/long jump), and Larry Wieczorek (distance/Director of Track and Field).
Wieczorek was inducted in 2013. Former UI head coach Francis X. Cretzmeyer was inducted in 1986.
UI Director of Track & Field Joey Woody was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002 as an athlete for Northern Iowa. He is the only athlete in Drake Relays history to win the Athlete of the Meet award in high school (1992) and college (1994). Woody has a son named Drake.
NCAA LEADERS
Iowa has five athletes and one relay represented in the NCAA top 10.
Sophomore Laulauga Tausaga: Discus (5th; 196-feet, 5-inches)
Men’s 4×400 meter relay: 7th (3:04.38)
Senior Jahisha Thomas: Long Jump (8th; 21-feet, 1.5-inches)
Junior Reno Tuufuli: Discus (10th; 193-feet, 8-inches)
Senior Brittany Brown: 200 meters (10th; 22.76)
Senior Will Dougherty: Decathlon (10th; 7,673 points)
BIG TEN LEADERS
The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in six events and one relay.
Senior Brittany Brown: 200 meters (22.76)
Junior Mar’yea Harris: 400 meters (45.71)
Junior Andrea Shine: 10,000 meters (33:50.25)
Sophomore Nathan Mylenek: 3,000-meter Steeplechase (8:48.66)
Men’s 4×400 Meter Relay: 3:04.38
Senior Jahisha Thomas: Long Jump (6.44m, 21-1.5)
Sophomore Laulauga Tausaga: Discus (59.86 meters, 196-5)
HAWKEYES RANKED #1 IN MIDWEST REGION
The Hawkeye men are ranked first in the Midwest Region according to ustfccca.com. Iowa holds the top spot with a total score of 673.58 points. The Iowa women are ranked second in the region with 245.65 points.
HARRIS OPENS WITH FASTEST 400
Junior Mar’yea Harris opened the outdoor season with the fastest 400 meter time in the Big Ten at the Battle on the Bayou on April 7. Harris won the event with a time of 45.71, which is the fastest opening 400 meter time in his career.
DOUGLAS HITS PR
Junior Chris Douglas got a big win in the 400-meter hurdles at the Battle on the Bayou on April 7. Douglas set a new personal best and entered Iowa’s all-time list at No. 8 with a time of 50.90. His new time places him third in the Big Ten and 13th in the country.
MEN’S 4X400 METER RELAY HOLDS TOP SPOT IN NCAA
The men’s 1,600-meter relay of Collin Hofacker, Antonio Woodard, DeJuan Frye, and Mar’yea Harris hold the No. 7 spot in the nation. Iowa’s time of 3:04.38 set at the Florida Relays is also first in the Big Ten. Iowa is the only Big Ten team in the nation’s top 10.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Iowa has 98 athletes on its roster in 2018. There are 36 freshmen, 27 sophomores, 19 juniors, and 16 seniors. Of the 98 student-athletes, 34 are from Iowa followed by 19 from Illinois. The team also has seven international athletes.
MYLENEK, SHINE LEADING IOWA DISTANCE
Sophomore Nathan Mylenek and junior Andrea Shine lead Iowa’s distance events with two conference-leading marks in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 10,000 meters, respectively, set at the Stanford Invitational on March 30.
Mylenek recorded the second-fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase time in school history at 8:48.66, while Shine’s 33:50.25 in the 10,000 meters is the sixth-fastest time in program history. Nationally, Mylenek is 15th and Shine is 21st.
COUNTING CURRENT ALL-TIME HAWKEYES
Iowa holds a total of 56 current marks in the program’s all-time top-10 with 34 on the women’s side and 24 on the men’s side. In addition, the women have seven school-record holders on the roster, including Briana Guillory (400-meter relay, 1,600-meter relay), Brittany Brown (100 meters, 200 meters, 800-meter relay), Marta Bote Gonzalez (3,000 meter Steeplechase), Laulauga Tausaga (Discus, shot put), Sarah Plock (800-meter relay), Sheridan Champe (800-meter relay), and Kyara Avant (800-meter relay).
The men boast five school-record holders including Will Dougherty (Decathlon), O’Shea Wilson (400-meter relay), Mar’yea Harris (800-meter relay, 1,600-meter relay), DeJuan Frye (1,600-meter relay), and Collin Hofacker (1,600-meter relay).
NEXT ON THE BLOCK
The University of Iowa track and field team takes a week off before opening the postseason at the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Bloomington, Indiana, from May 11-13.
