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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Hawkeyes concluded the Larry Wieczorek Invitational on Saturday with three women’s shot put throwers recording marks that rank one, two, and three all-time at the University of Iowa.
Laulauga Tausaga bested her own school record (16.70m, 54-9 ½), Nia Britt improved on her No. mark (16.19 meters, 53-1 1/2), and Erika Hammond moved up two spots with a throw 15.63 meters (51-3 1/2).
“Those three keep firing. Every single week they get better, and I know that they’re not fully satisfied,” Director of Track and Field Joey Woody said. “We They look at what they threw outdoor last year and compare more to that than what they threw indoor last year. Top-three all-time just shows where our throws program is headed. It was fun to see them compete.”
Tausaga threw Iowa’s previous best shot put (16.51m, 54-2) at the 2018 Tyson Invitational, and Britt improved on her mark (15.81m, 51-10 1/2) from the 2018 Meyo Invitational. Hammond’s new personal best improved her all-time rank two spots from her previous fifth ranked mark (15.25m, 50-0 1/2) that was thrown at the Hawkeye Invitational Jan. 12.
Tausaga’s title was one of four gold medal performances by Iowa. Senior Briana Guillory won the 400-meter premier (52.67) and junior Jaylan McConico won the 60-meter hurdles premier (7.75). The women’s 1,600-meter relay team — Kylie Morken, Taylor Arco, Tria Simmons, and Tia Saunders — won in 3:44.66.
“It’s good to have this type of environment this early in the season,” McConico said. “You get used to it, and it gets you prepared for what’s next. I’m looking forward to the season and working with a great group of guys. It’s nice having so many great training partners.”
QUOTING COACH WOODY
“It was a fun meet, as it has been the couple of years,” Woody said. “I think it’s getting better every single year got some great feedback from the other coaches. It’s still pretty early in the season, but the athletes came out and performed. Karame coming out and running 46-low is impressive. The Hurdles were fun to watch, and it’s always good to have the pros here too. They take it to the next level.”
“Just being in this environment, as often as we can, makes people better. We see a lot out of our own athletes. Any time you can put them in the fire like that, the better. They learn and grow from it. Not everybody is going to have their best performance, but we’ve got to keep getting better. This is the best opportunity to do that. Sometimes we get caught up on times and places, but I just love head-to-head competition, going back to what track and field is all about.”
CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME LIST
Junior Jenny Kimbro broke her own record in the 60-meter hurdles, racing 8.30 in the preliminary round and turning around with a 8.29 performances in the finals. That mark ranks second all-time at Iowa.
“It feels good. Each time out there the goal is to better my time, especially being here in a big meet with this competition,” Kimbro said. “It’s still kind of weird to think about (being ranked No. 2 all-time at Iowa), but it is definitely exciting.”
Junior Karayme Bartley climbed to second all-time in the 400-meters after winning the race in 46.39.
Senior Daniel Soto ran a lifetime best in the 3,000 meters (8:10.24), moving up the ranks to sixth all-time at Iowa.
HAWKEYE PERSONAL RECORDS
Seven more Hawkeyes set personal best marks including the following:
Sydney Winger – 60-meter hurdles (8.77)
Konstadina Spanoudakis – shot put (13.96m, 45-9 3/4)
Ashley Bryja – mile (5:10.42)
Antonise Christian – 60 meters (7.58)
Grace McCabe – mile (4:56.77)
Nathan Mylenek – mile (4:04.97)
Megan Schott – 3,000m (9:39.02)
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes host the Black and Gold Premier on Jan. 25-26. It is Iowa’s final home meet of the indoor season.
