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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa junior Laulauga Tausaga was named Midwest Regional Female Field Athlete of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Friday, becoming the second female in school history to earn a track and field regional honor.
“It’s a testament to her hard work. She’s very deserving of this award,” Iowa assistant coach Eric Werskey said. “It just shows the hard work, not only from Laulauga, but also the entire program’s principals and values. It’s progressing the program to a new level.”
Tausaga was named after an exceptional regular season. She is ranked third nationally in the shot put and weight throw after throwing career bests in the events this season. Her farthest weight mark (23.26 meters, 76-3) at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational broke the Iowa record, and her shot-put mark of 17.79 meters (58-4) at the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championships expanded her previous record by 1.09 meters to also break the Hawkeye record.
The Spring Valley, California, native earned another USTFCCCA honor this season. After her record-setting weight throw on February 1, she was named National Athlete of the Week.
The full list of USTFCCCA Regional honorees is listed on USTFCCCA.org.
Tausaga and 11 of her Hawkeye teammates travel to Birmingham, Alabama, on March 8-9 to compete in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Tickets can be purchased at MagicCityTix.com.
