THIS WEEK
Five University of Iowa track and field team is sending five student-athletes to Fayetteville, Arkansas to compete at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The meet will be held at the Randal Tyson Center and is hosted by the University of Arkansas. A full schedule of events is located at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live championship coverage will be streamed on ESPN3. A re-air of the championship will take place starting at 8 p.m. (CT) Sunday, March 14 on ESPNU. For more information regarding the Division I indoor track and field championships is available at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive.
2021 AWARD WINNERS
Big Ten Coach of the Year: Joey Woody
USTFCCCA Midwest Coach of the Year: Joey Woody
Sportmanship Award Winners: Tionna Tobias, Julien Gillum
First Team All-Big Ten: Peyon Haack, James Carter, Paige Magee
Second Team All-Big Ten: Wayne Lawrence Jr, Alec Still, Gratt Reed, Mallory King, Antonise Christian, Tesa Roberts, Nylah Perry
NCAA QUALIFIERS
To qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, student-athletes must be ranked in the top 16 of an event. An athlete can compete in multiple events if ranked. As for relay teams, they must be in the top 12 to qualify.
NCAA QUALIFIERS, SEED, EVENT, QUALIFYING MARK
2. Jamal Britt: 60-meter hurdles (7.60)
5. Peyton Haack: heptathlon (5,749 points)
7. Wayne Lawrence Jr: 400 meters (45.40)
14. Mallory King: 800 meters (2:05.34)
14. Austin West: heptathlon (5,581 points)
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Three Hawkeyes have won NCAA indoor titles. Tracy Dahl won the women’s 5,000 meter title in 1993. Bashir Yamini won the men’s indoor long jump in 1998, and Kineke Alexander won the women’s 400 meters in 2006.
BRITT GETS THE JOB DONE AT BIG TENS
Junior Jamal Britt finished in the top four of two separate events at the Big Ten Championships. Britt won a bronze medal in the long jump with a mark of 7.46 meters. Britt was one of four Hawkeyes to score points in the long jump. Britt also finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.82 seconds. Britt scored a crucial 11 points toward the Big Ten team championships. Britt is currently ranked second in the nation in the 60-meter hurdles. He ran 7.60 at the Hawkeye B1G Invite, matching the school record.
NCAA event: 60-meter hurdles (semis: Friday, 2:15 p.m. (CT) | finals Saturday, 2:10 p.m.)
HAACK MAKES SCHOOL HISTORY
Sophomore Payton Haack won the heptathlon at the Big Ten Championships by over 100 points with a total of 5,749 points. This score was a career best and a school record. Haack’s performance at Big Ten’s launched him up to fifth in the nation heading into nationals. He was also named first team all-Big Ten.
NCAA event: Heptathlon (Thursday, 11 a.m. | Friday, 10 a.m.)
LAWRENCE JR SHOWS OUT AT BIG TENS
Junior Wayne Lawrence Jr has been the leader for the Hawkeyes all year long and that didn’t stop at the Big Ten Championships. Lawrence finished with a silver medal in both the 200 and 400 meters. In the 400 meters, Lawrence won his section in a school record 45.40. In the 200 meters, Lawrence finished with a seasons-best time of 20.89. Lawrence is seeded seventh in the 400 meters.
NCAA event: 400 meters (semis: Friday, 2:25 p.m. | finals: Saturday 2:20 p.m.)
KING RACES HEART OUT ON THE TRACK
Senior Mallory King has been an incredible asset for the Hawkeyes this season. King finished eighth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.11. King led from the gun reaching the first 400 meters in 57 seconds. However, down the finishing straight she could not hold onto the pace. King bounced back nicely running a leg of the silver medal winning 4×400 meter relay. King’s season best of 2:05.3. She is seeded 14th at the national championships. Her career best of 2:05.12 ranks second in school history.
NCAA event: 800 meters (semis: Friday, 7:55 p.m. | finals: Saturday, 6:40 p.m.)
WEST PUNCHES TICKET TO NATIONALS
Sophomore Austin West advanced to the NCAA Championships with a bronze medal performance in the heptathlon at the 2021 Big Ten Championships. West scored a career best with a total of 5,581 points at the conference tournament, fourth all-time in program history. West is the 14th seed at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
NCAA event: Heptathlon (Thursday, 11 a.m. | Friday, 10 a.m.)
WOODY EARNS BIG TEN AND USTFCCCA COACHING HONORS
University of Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody was named United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Midwest Region Men’s Track and Field Coach of the Year on Feb. 24, one day after the Big Ten Conference named Woody its Men’s Coach of the Year. Iowa is ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region and No. 18 nationally. The Hawkeyes reached as high as No. 9 nationally this season, the best ranking in school history. The Iowa men have four events ranked in the nation’s top 10, including the 400 meters (2), 60-meter hurdles (2), long jump (4) and shot put (7).Woody led Iowa to its first outright Big Ten Indoor Championships since 1929, scoring a school-record 119 points, 27 more than second-place Indiana. The Hawkeyes had 10 medalists, including Big Ten champions James Carter, Jr., in the long jump and Peyton Haack in heptathlon. The USTFCCCA honor is the fourth of Woody’s career. He earned head coach honors after Iowa’s 2019 Big Ten Championships, and was named Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2011. He was named Big Ten Outdoor Coach of the Year in 2019.
IN THE RANKINGS
The University of Iowa men’s and track and field team IS ranked in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top 25 Week 7 poll. The men are ranked 18th in the nation and first in the Midwest region.
2021 BIG TEN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Hawkeye men won the 2021 Big Ten Indoor Championships with a school record 119 points. This is the first outright Big Ten Indoor Championship since 1929. The men won two gold medals, including James Carter in the long jump and Peyton Haack in the heptathlon. The women placed third with a total of 75 points, matching the highest finish in program history. Paige Magee won gold in the 60-meter hurdles.