EUGENE, Ore. — The University of Iowa track and field team is sending Jaylan McConico, Jamal Britt and the 1,600-meter relay to the finals of the 2021 NCAA Track and Field Championships following semifinal action Wednesday at Hayward Field.
McConico and Britt finished third and eighth, respectively, in the 110-meter hurdle semifinals with times of 13.51 and 13.61. The duo punched tickets to Friday’s final at 7:42 p.m. (CT).
“I’m very excited about where Jaylan and Jamal are going into the high hurdle final,” said Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody. “Those guys are tuned up and ready to go.”
The 4×400 relay closed the night with a second-place finish in its heat, earning an automatic spot in Friday’s final at 9:21 p.m. The team of Austin Lietz, Antonio Woodard, Julien Gillum and Wayne Lawrence Jr. finished fourth overall with a season’s best time of 3:04.49.
“We capped things off on a very high note running a season’s best time and the fourth best in the prelims,” said Woody. “That’s the first time we’ve put that group of four together all season and they performed extremely well. That speaks volumes to the depth we have in that event area. We feel great about our chances in the final on Friday.”
The Hawkeyes also have point scoring potential in the decathlon, where Will Daniels sits in fourth place midway through the competition with 4,129 points. Daniels and teammate Austin West kicked off Day 1 of the national championships with a two-three finish in the 100 meters and then doubled down with a two-three finish in the long jump. They sat in second and fourth place after two events before West was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
“I thought Will had a very good first day in the decathlon. He’s competing very well head to head against the field and is set up very well going into Day 2,” said Woody. “Austin started very well but unfortunately had an injury that forced him to withdraw from the competition. He had a tremendous season, scoring a ton of points at our championships and advancing to two NCAA Championships. He will be back and score at this meet next year.”
