THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa track and field team travels to 2021 NCAA Track and Field West Preliminary in College Station, Texas, on May 26-29. Competition begins Wednesday with the men’s long jump at 3 p.m. (CT). Competition begins Thursday with the women’s hammer throw at 1:30 p.m. Competition begins Friday with the men’s high jump at 1 p.m. (CT). Competition begins Saturday with the women’s high jump at 1 p.m. The meet is streamed at Watch ESPN. A full schedule of events and links to video and live results are located at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive.
HAWKEYES AT NCAA REGIONALS
Iowa’s 36 qualifiers includes 22 men and 14 women. The Hawkeyes will compete in 22 individual events and three relays. The top 12 individuals and relays from the West Regional move on to the 2021 NCAA Championship final rounds in Eugene, Oregon, June 9-12.
WOODY AND BRITT EARN BIG TEN HONORS
University of Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody was named Big Ten Men’s Track and Field Coach of the Year and Hawkeye junior Jamal Britt was named Big Ten Co-Athlete of the Championships when the conference office announced its outdoor award winners Thursday. Woody was also named coach of the year following the indoor season. He is the first coach in program history to sweep the indoor and outdoor coach of the year awards. The conference honor is the third of his career. He was named Big Ten Outdoor Coach of the Year in 2019 following Iowa’s conference title.
Woody led Iowa to the 2021 Big Ten Outdoor Championship on May 16. The Hawkeyes scored a school-record 127.5 points, 33 points in front of second-place Michigan. The outdoor title was the second straight for Iowa, who won the 2019 championship in Iowa City, and completed in the 2021 indoor-outdoor Big Ten championship sweep. The Hawkeyes had 15 medalists and crowned two Big Ten champions. Jaylan McConico won the 110-meter hurdles and Britt won the 400-meter hurdles.
Britt added a pair of silver medals to his gold in the 400 hurdles, contributing 26 points to Iowa’s record total. He placed runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles and long jump. He is the first Hawkeye to be named Athlete of the Championships since Justin Austin in 2013. Britt is the No. 3 seed in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA West Regional. He ran 13.45 at the Drake Relays. His season best mark of 49.69 earns him the No. 6 seed in the 400-meter hurdles.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: JAYLAN MCCONICO
Jaylan McConico brought home a gold and a silver medal at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. McConico won the 110 hurdles with a career best time of 13.23. This time is a new school record and a Big Ten Championship meet record. McConico currently ranks third in the NCAA and first in the NCAA West Regional. McConico ran a leg of the silver medal 4×100 relay that recorded a time of 39.67. McConico will be competing in the 110 hurdles and the 4×100 relay this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: LAULAUGA TAUSAGA
Laulauga Tausaga recorded her ninth Big Ten Medal on May 16, bringing home the gold at the Big Ten Championships. Tausaga, the 2019 NCAA discus champion, won the 2021 Big Ten discus title with a season’s best mark of 62.09 meters. This mark currently ranks second in the NCAA and the NCAA West region. Tausaga also finished fifth in the shot put with a mark of 17.52 meters. Tausaga ranks second the NCAA West Region in the shot put as well. Tausaga will be competing in the shot put and the discus throw this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: NATHAN MYLENEK
Nathan Mylenek finished second and ninth, respectively, in the 3,000-meter steeple chase and the 5,000 meters at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Mylenek brought home the silver medal in the 3,000 steeple chase with a career best time of 8:35.41. Mylenek is currently ranked 10th in the NCAA and sixth in the NCAA West Region. Mylenek will be competing in the 3,000-meter steeple chase this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: MARIEL BRUXVOORT
Mariel Bruxvoort finished sixth in the 400 hurdles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a career best time of 59.11. Bruxvoort’s time currently ranks fifth all-time in program history and 31st in the NCAA West Region. Bruxvoort also ran a leg of the fifth place 4×400-meter relay that finished with a time of 3:36.50. Bruxvoort will be competing in the 400 hurdles and the 4×400 relay this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: WAYNE LAWRENCE JR.
Wayne Lawrence Jr. brought home two silver Big Ten Medals in the 400 meters and the 4×100 relay May 16. Lawrence recorded a seasons best in the 400 meters with a time of 45.46. This time currently ranks 20th in the NCAA and seventh in the NCAA West Region. Lawrence also finished seventh in the 200 meters with a time of 21.01. Lawrence will be competing in the 400 meters, 4×100 relay, and the 4×400 relay this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: MYREANNA BEBE
Myreanna Bebe finished fifth in the 100 hurdles with back-to-back career bests at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Bebe recorded a career best in the prelims of 13.55 and then bested that time in the finals with a time of 13.37. Bebe’s time in the finals ranks fourth all-time in program history and 30th in the NCAA West Region. Bebe will be competing in the 100 hurdles this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: JAMES CARTER JR.
James Carter, Jr. brought home a bronze medal and a silver medal in the long jump and the triple jump at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Carter recorded marks of 7.46 meters and 16.08 meters in the long jump and triple jump respectively. Carter is ranked 20th in the long jump and 12th in the triple jump in the NCAA West Region. Carter will be competing in the long jump and the triple jump this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: DALLYSSA HUGGINS
Dallyssa Huggins brought home the gold medal at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the high jump with a career best mark of 1.79 meters. Huggins is ranked fifth all-time in program history and 24th in the NCAA West Region with that mark. Huggins also recorded a career best in the heptathlon with a score of 5,437 points to finish fourth. Huggins is currently ranked fifth all-time in program history with that score. Huggins will be competing in the high jump this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: JORDAN JOHNSON
Jordan Johnson brought home his first career Big Ten medal, finishing third in the discus throw with a mark of 56.80 meters at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Johnson‘s seasons best of 57.77 meters ranks seventh all-time in program history and 18th in the NCAA West Region. Johnson will be competing in the discus throw this weekend.
WHAT 2: WATCH 4: PAIGE MAGEE
Paige Magee recorded a career best and a fourth-place finish in the 100 hurdles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships this past weekend. Magee posted a career best in the prelims with a time of 13.17. Magee went on to finish fourth in the 100-hurlde final with a time of 13.28. Magee’s time in the prelims is a school record and currently ranks 18th in the NCAA West Region. Magee will be competing in the 100 hurdles this weekend.
BACK-TO-BACK BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
The University of Iowa men’s track and field team captured the 2021 Big Ten Outdoor Championships title with a school record 127.5 points, besting second place Michigan by 33 points. The outdoor conference title is the second straight for the Hawkeyes. Iowa won the championship in Iowa City in 2019. The Hawkeyes won both the indoor and outdoor championship in the same year for the first time since 1963.
HAWKEYES HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE
Laulauga Tausaga is a three-time qualifier in the discus throw for the NCAA Championships from 2017-19. Tausaga also qualified in the shot put for the 2018 Championships. Tausaga is a four-time first team all-American and is the reigning national champion in the discus throw. Tausaga finished fourth in the discus throw and shot put at the 2018 Championships and seventh in the discus throw at the 2017 Championships.
Antonio Woodard is a two-time qualifier in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays for the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Championships. Woodard also qualified for the 200 meters at the 2019 Championships. Woodard recorded first-team all-America honors at the 2019 Championships by finishing fourth in the 4×400 relay with a school-record time of 3:00.14. Wayne Lawrence, Jr. ran the lead leg on that record seeting relay and ran with Woodard on the 4×100 relay that placed 10th. Lawrence placed 14th in the 400 meters at the 2019 NCAA final site.
Nia Britt qualified for the 2019 NCAA Championships in the shot put, where she finished 17th with a mark 16.15 meters. Jaylan McConico qualified for the 2019 NCAA Championships in the 110 hurdles, where he finished 11th with a time of 13.69. Jenny Kimbro qualified for the 2019 Championships in the heptathlon, where she finished 23rd with a score of 5,023 points.
NATIONAL TICKETS PUNCHED
Will Daniels, Austin West, and Jenny Kimbro have punched their tickets to the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the decathlon and heptathlon by finishing the season ranked in the top 24 in the nation. Will Daniels and Austin West sit fourth and fifth in the decathlon with scores of 7,864 and 7,805 points. Jenny Kimbro is 22nd in the heptathlon with a score of 5,543 points.
USTFCCCA TEAM RANKINGS
The Hawkeye men are ranked No. 16 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. 37 in the May 17 USTFCCCA Rating Index. The Hawkeyes are the third highest ranked Big Ten women’s team and check in at No. 5 in the Midwest Region.
USTFCCCA EVENT SQUAD
The Hawkeyes had nine events ranked in the May 17 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 men’s discus, No. 2 women’s shot put, No. 3 men’s 400 hurdles, No. 4 women’s 400 hurdles, No. 6 men’s long jump, and No. 8 women’s hammer and No. 8 men’s 800, No. 10 women’s 100 hurdles.