24 Hawkeyes to Watch: Tionna Tobias

In her final high school meet, she medaled in four events at the New Jersey State Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 Championships to lead Winslow Township High School to a state title. She won two medals with a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles and an eighth-place finish in the long jump at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.

Tobias does the work required for similar success in college. Almost daily during the pandemic, Iowa assistant coach Paige Bohannon received updates of Tobias practicing in New Jersey.

“There were videos of her doing javelin or high jump,” Bohannon said. “She is a student of the sport and is always breaking things down.”

And she has an internal motor to match.

“The minute you see her in a workout, she is an absolute machine,” Bohannon said. “She pushes the pace in everything. She is still new and young, so we have room to work. Her mindset going into competition and practice is exactly what you want in an athlete.”

Tobias is on pace to become the next successful Hawkeye multi-event performer. At the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championships, Tria Simmons and Jenny Kimbro went 1-2 in the pentathlon; Kimbro was runner-up and Simmons third at the outdoor championships. Kimbro is still with the Hawkeyes, giving Tobias an opportunity to learn from and train with one of the best in the nation.

“I admire Jenny’s work ethic and personality,” Tobias said. “Before I came to Iowa, I watched her on Big Ten Network and at NCAAs. She is an all-around good person and good athlete.”

Tobias is progressing toward the day when she is among the Big Ten elite in the pentathlon and heptathlon. Practices have been going well and her marks have exceeded anything she did a year ago.

“Making a statement on the conference stage and scoring in multiple events is what we see for her,” Bohannon said. “She came in and learned a lot her freshman year and has made a huge transition into her sophomore year.”

Off the track, Tobias is lively and cheerful; she smiles and laughs…a lot. What you won’t know right away is that in high school she participated in competitive cheerleading and played the violin. Her violin didn’t make the trip to Iowa City.

“I didn’t give it up, I’m on pause,” she said of playing the instrument. “I was an OK (violinist). I wasn’t a prodigy, but I was pretty good.”

Could Tobias become a track and field prodigy?

“I guess,” she said. Then a smile and laughter.