THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa track and field team travels to Champaign, Illinois, to compete at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Friday through Sunday. Competition begins Friday with the 100 meters of the decathlon at 11 a.m. (CT). Competition begins Saturday with the 110 hurdles of the decathlon at 11:30 a.m. Competition begins Sunday with the women’s discus at 11 a.m. (CT). The final events of the championships are Sunday’s men’s 1,600-meter relay at 3:33 p.m. and the women’s 1,600-meter relay at 3:45 p.m. The meet is streamed at BTN Plus. A full schedule of events and links to video and live results are located at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive.
USTFCCCA TEAM RANKINGS
The Hawkeye men are ranked No. 21 in the nation and No. 1 in the Midwest. Iowa is the highest ranked men’s team in the Big Ten. The Hawkeye women are ranked No. 30 in the May 10 USTFCCCA Rating Index. The Hawkeyes are the third highest ranked Big Ten women’s team and check in at No. 6 in the Midwest Region.
USTFCCCA EVENT SQUAD
The Hawkeyes have nine events ranked in the May 10 USTFCCCA Event Squad Ratings. The events include the nation’s top-ranked women’s discus squad and men’s 110-meter hurdles group. The other events include No. 2 women’s shot put, No. 2 men’s discus, No. 3 men’s 400 hurdles, No. 3 women’s 400 hurdles, No. 7 men’s long jump, and No. 8 women’s hammer and No. 8 men’s 800.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: WAYNE LAWRENCE JR.
Wayne Lawrence, Jr. has recorded season bests of 45.80 in the 400 meters and 20.71 in the 200 meters. Lawrence has also ran a leg on Iowa’s season’s best 4×400 relay that posted a time of 3:05.82 and the season’s best 4×100 relay that recorded a time of 39.68. Lawrence ranks second in the 400 meters and fourth in the 200 meters in the Big Ten, and eighth and 20th in the NCAA West Region, respectively. Lawrence holds six Big Ten Championships medals in his career and is coming off a second-place finish in the 200 and 400 meters at the Indoor Big Ten Championships. Lawrence Jr. will be competing in the 200 meters, 400 meters, 4×100 relay, and the 4×400 relay this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: JENNY KIMBRO
Jenny Kimbro has recorded season’s bests of 13.44 in the 100 hurdles, 58.43 in the 400 hurdles, and 5,543 points in the heptathlon. Kimbro currently ranks first in the Big Ten in all three of these events, and 31st in the 100 hurdles, 16th in the 400 hurdles, and seventh in the heptathlon in the NCAA West Region. Kimbro holds six Big Ten Championship medals in her career and is the reigning silver medalist in the Outdoor Big Ten 100 hurdles and the heptathlon. Kimbro will be competing in the heptathlon, 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, and the 4×400 relay this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: NATHAN MYLENEK
Nathan Mylenek has recorded season’s bests of 3:50.41 in the 1500 meters, 8:44.96 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and 13:54.15 in the 5,000 meters. Mylenek currently ranks fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 10th in the 5,000 meters in the Big Ten, and 12th and 62nd in the NCAA West Region, respectively. Mylenek holds three Big Ten Championships medals in his career and is the reigning bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Mylenek will be competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000 meters this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: LAULAUGA TAUSAGA
Laulauga Tausaga has recorded season’s bests of 60.81 meters in the discus throw, 17.94 meters in the shot put, and 49.65 meters in the hammer throw. Tausaga is currently ranked first in the discus and third in the shot put in the Big Ten. Tausaga also rank first in the discus and third in the shot put in the NCAA West Region. Tausaga holds eight Big Ten Championship medals in her career and is the reigning Big Ten champion and national champion in the discus throw. Tausaga will be competing in the shot put and the discus throw this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: JAYLAN MCCONICO
Jaylan McConico recorded season bests of 13.42 in the 110 hurdles and 21.09 in the 200 meters. McConico currently ranks first in the 110 hurdles and 12th in the 200 meters in the Big Ten. McConico also ranks first in the NCAA West Region in the 110 hurdles. McConico holds three Big Ten Championship medals in his career, and is the reigning silver medalist in the 110 hurdles. McConico will be competing in the 110 hurdles and the 4×100 relay this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: MALLORY KING
Mallory King recorded season bests of 2:05.23 in the 800 meters and 4:28.42 in the 1500 meters. King currently ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 12th in the NCAA West Region in the 800 meters. King is a five-time Big Ten Championship point scorer and ran a leg of the silver medal indoor Big Ten Championship 4×400 relay team. King will be competing in the 800 meters and the 4×400 relay this weekend this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: JAMES CARTER JR.
James Carter, Jr. recorded season bests of 7.75 meters in the long jump and 16.53 meters in the triple jump. Carter is currently ranked third in the long jump and second in the triple jump in the Big Ten. Carter is also ranked 14th in the long jump and 13th in the triple jump in the NCAA West Region. Carter is a seven-time Big Ten Championship point scorer, and the current Big Ten indoor long jump champion. Carter will be competing in the long jump and the triple jump this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: TIONNA TOBIAS
Tionna Tobias recorded season bests of 13.58 in the 100 hurdles, 6.07 meters in the long jump, and 24.70 in the 200 meters. Tobias is currently ranked fifth in the Big Ten in the 100 hurdles. Tobias is ranked seventh all-time in program history with her long jump season best. Tobias scored points finshing sixth in the 60 hurdles and fifth in the heptathlon at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Tobias will be competing in the 100 hurdles, 4×100 relay, and the heptathlon this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: JORDAN JOHNSON
Jordan Johnson recorded season bests of 58.08 meters in the hammer throw and 57.77 meters in the discus throw. Johnson is currently ranked fourth in the discus and 15th in the hammer throw in the Big Ten. Johnson is seventh and 10th all-time in program history in the discus and hammer throw. Johnson’s mark in the discus currently sits 11th in the NCAA West Region. Johnson will be competing in the discus and hammer throw this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: PAIGE MAGEE
Paige Magee recorded season bests of 13.57 in the 100 hurdles, 25.23 in the 200 meters, and 60.81 in the 400 hurdles. Magee is currently ranked sixth in the 100 hurdles and 13th in the 400 hurdles in the Big Ten. Magee is also ranked 53rd and 59th in the NCAA West Region. Magee is the reigning Big Ten Indoor 60 hurdles champion. Magee will be competing in the 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, and the 4×100 relay this weekend.
BIG TEN HONORS
Senior Laulauga Tausaga has been awarded Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week two times this season. She swept the shot put and discus events at the Big Ten North Florida Invitational on April 2-3. She won the shot put with a throw of 17.94 meters, then the No. 1 mark in the country. She won the discus with a mark of 59.24 meters. She also swept the discus and shot put evets at the Big Ten Invite #1 on March 26-27. Her discus mark of 60.81 meters leads the country.
Junior Jamal Britt was named men’s track athlete of the week after setting career bests in the 110-meter hurdles and 200 meters at the Big Ten Invite #1. He won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.68, a mark that ranks sixth all-time in program history. He ran the 200 in 21.22.
Senior Jaylan McConico was named men’s track athlete of the week following a pair of gold medal performances at the Billy Hayes Invite. He ran the lead leg on the winning 400-meter relay (39.68) and moved to No. 2 on Iowa’s all-time top 10 list with a 13.42 PR in the 110-meter hurdles.
Senior Karina Joiner earned women’s track athlete of the week honors following a first-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles at the Wisconsin B1G Invite on May 1.
REIGNING BIG TEN OUTDOOR CHAMPIONS
The Iowa men’s track and field team won the 2019 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships on its home track in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes claimed their fourth program title, and as defending Big Ten Outdoor champions (2019) and the reigning 2019 indoor champions, are among the favorites to win it again.
BACK-TO-BACK
The last Big Ten men’s team to win consecutive outdoor championships was Minnesota in 2009-10. The Hawkeyes last won or shared the indoor and outdoor conference title in 1963, when they shared the indoor Big Ten title and won the outdoor title outright. The last Big Ten school to sweep the indoor and outdoor men’s titles was Ohio State in 2018.
CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
The Iowa women are looking for the first Big Ten Championship in school history. The women have placed third at four of the last five conference championships (indoor/outdoor). The men have won outdoor team titles in 1963, 1967, 2011 and 2019. All but the 1963 championship were won in Iowa City. The 1963 team title was won in Minneapolis.
2021 BIG TEN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS WRAP UP
The Hawkeye men won the 2021 Big Ten Indoor Championships with a school record 119 points. It was Iowa’s 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.
