Woody Named B1G Men’s Coach of the Year

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody was named Big Ten Men’s Coach of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.

Woody and the Hawkeyes defended their indoor conference title last weekend at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, behind freshman Jenoah McKiver ’s 600-meter title and a win in the 4×400-meter relay (Everett Steward, Julien Gillum, Armando Bryson and McKiver).

The Big Ten Championship was the fourth overall for Woody and the Hawkeyes since 2019 (’19 and ’21 outdoors, ’21 and ’22 indoors). Iowa opened the season ranked eighth in the country in the USTFCCCA National Rating Index and have reached as high as No. 6 this season — the highest ranking in program history.

The Hawkeye men advanced a program-record nine individuals and the 4×400-meter relay to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 11-12. The Iowa women’s 4×400-meter relay team will also be going to the NCAA Championships.

The Hawkeyes’ Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winners are senior Nia Britt and sophomore Jordan Hawkins.

Britt ended her Hawkeye career as a seven-time Big Ten point-scorer and her name litters Iowa’s all-time performance lists (No. 2 shot put; indoor and outdoor, No. 3 weight throw, No. 3 hammer throw). Britt was a constant team-player throughout her Hawkeye career, always cheering on her teammates regardless of event group.

Hawkins ended the season ninth in the weight throw at the Big Ten Championships and jumped to seventh on Iowa’s all-time list in the event this season.