THIS WEEK
University of Iowa track and field stays in the Hawkeye State this weekend for the 112th running of the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Wed., April 28-Sat., April 30. Iowa will also send select athletes to Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, for the Kip Janvrin Open on Saturday. The Hawkeyes’ action begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday evening in Des Moines, and action in Indianola is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. (CT) on Friday.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow the meet on the live results page at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive. Results will also be posted on the team’s official twitter account @iowaxc_tf.
WEST AMONG THE BEST
Sophomore decathlete Austin West produced a record-setting week in the Golden State at the Mt. SAC Relays. West broke the 8,000-point plateau for the first time in his career (8,179) – breaking the Iowa school record and finishing runner-up to Arkansas indoor heptathlon national champion Ayden Owens in one of the best decathlons in NCAA history. West’s point total is No. 4 in the world this year and second in the NCAA behind Owens – who set the all-time collegiate record and world lead. West’s 8,179 points ranks him as the 24th-best performer in NCAA history. West set personal-best marks in seven of the 10 events, including a personal best of 46.41 in the 400 meters – a time that before this season would have ranked tenth all-time at Iowa. West was named B1G Field Athlete of the Week on April 20 for his performance.
NATION’S BEST GETS NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Sophomore sprinter Jenoah McKiver picked up right where he left off this indoor season in his outdoor debut at the Jim Click Shootout on April 9. The two-time All-American and indoor NCAA 400-meter runner-up ran a jaw-dropping 44.74 to make him the fastest quarter-miler in Iowa history undisputedly, as he now owns the indoor and outdoor 400-meter records. His time wasn’t just a school record, it was good for the NCAA lead and at the time was No. 2 in the world for 2022 (now No. 7). He doubled back and split 43.8 as the anchor on Iowa’s 4×400-meter relay that is No. 5 in the NCAA and third-fastest ever at Iowa. The national media took notice as he was named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week in addition to B1G Track Athlete of the Week.
CURTISS TAKING HIS SHOT
At the Musco Twilight (April 23), senior Nik Curtiss broke the 20-meter plateau with the seventh-farthest throw in the NCAA this year (20.04m / 65’9”) to finish runner-up to All-American Darius King of UNI. Curtiss became the first Hawkeye ever to go over 20 meters in shot put. Curtiss now owns the indoor and outdoor school records, recording both in his lone season as a Hawkeye after a decorated career at Tiffin University. Curtiss made the move to Iowa with former Tiffin coach and first-year University of Iowa throws coach Ray Robinson and earned Indoor All-American honors in shot put.
LaSPEEDY HARGROVE
Sophomore LaSarah Hargrove broke the Iowa 60-meter record this indoor season (7.25) and put down a blistering time in the 100 meters in her outdoor season debut on March 19 at the Baldy Castillo Invite. Hargrove ran a wind-aided mark of 11.13 to win the 100 meters — a mark good enough for a school record, but was just outside of the wind-legal threshold. The speedy sophomore continues to challenge to take down the record (11.28). Hargrove added to her hot start of the outdoor season with a win in the 200 meters (22.79) at the Jim Click Shootout (April 9). Her time was No. 2 all-time at Iowa and is 10th-fastest in the NCAA this season. She was named B1G Track Athlete of the Week on April 13 for her performance. Hargrove qualified seventh-fastest (11.37) in the prelims and made the 100-meter final at the Mt. SAC Relays, finishing eighth (11.38). Her 11.37 preliminary time moved her to fourth all-time at Iowa and was a wind-legal personal best.
JUMP, JUMP, JUMP!
Returning men’s outdoor long jump All-American junior James Carter, Jr. won the triple jump at the Jim Click Shootout (April 9) with the 20th-best mark in the country this year (15.84m / 51’11.75). Carter, Jr. improved his lifetime-best in the long jump at the Mt. SAC Relays (7.81m / 25’7.5”) – the fifth-furthest jump ever at Iowa and 19th in the NCAA this year.
STILL GETTING BETTER
Junior Alec Still was already one of the best 800-meter runners in program history, but at the Bryan Clay Invitational he dropped nearly a full second off of his lifetime-best (1:47.50) to finish fifth in a field of 196 athletes and cement his status as one of the fastest 800-meter Hawkeyes ever. Still moved to No. 4 all-time at Iowa with his Big Ten-leading time that ranks 17th in the NCAA this year.
HURDLE U
Senior Erin Dowd (57.47) won the 400-meter hurdles at the Baldy Castillo Invite (March 19) in her outdoor Hawkeye debut – a mark good for fourth all-time at Iowa. At Western Michigan, Dowd was a two-time MAC champion in the 400-meter hurdles, and placed third at the 2018 Drake Relays. Dowd improved her personal best to 57.27 with a third-place finish at the Mt. SAC Relays. Dowd’s time leads the Big Ten and is 12th-fastest in the NCAA this season. Junior Mariel Bruxvoort, senior Payton Wensel and freshman Paige Magee have run the fifth (57.73), sixth (57.77) and eighth (58.26) fastest 400-meter hurdle times in school history this year, all ranking inside the top-31 nationally. The 400-meter hurdle event squad ranks atop the nation in the USTFCCCA Rankings. In the 100-meter hurdles, Myreanna Bebe’s season-best time (13.35) is fourth in the Big Ten and 42nd in the NCAA this year.
Three men’s high-hurdlers rank inside the top-46 in the nation this season. At the Baldy Castillo Invite (March 19), Josh Braverman finished runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles (13.74) with the 26th-fastest time in the NCAA. Sophomore Grant Conway won the Jim Click Shootout (April 9) in 13.81, clocking in at No. 33 in the nation. Sophomore Gratt Reed’s season best time (13.87) is 46th-fastest this season. As a unit, the men are ranked second in the USTFCCCA event squad rankings. The 400-meter hurdle group is ranked second in the event squad rankings as well, due to five men with times under 52 seconds – with three ranked inside the NCAA top-40 this year. Drake Woody is currently 30th (51.20), Julien Gillum is 37th (51.33) and Phillip Jefferson is 39th (51.36). Nathan Farrell (51.65) and Raymonte Dow (51.86) are just outside the top-50.
QUARTER-MILE FACTORY
Iowa has four men ranked inside the NCAA top-60 in the 400 meters this season – all running sub-46.5. Sophomore Jenoah McKiver leads the country with his 44.74 ran at the Jim Click Shootout (April 9). Sophomore Khullen Jefferson posted the 11th fastest time (46.36) in school history at the Musco Twilight (April 23) – 54th-fastest in the NCAA. Freshman Everett Steward (46.40) and sophomore Austin West (46.41) clock in at 59th and 60th in the NCAA, respectively.
THE HAWKEYES ARE RELAY, RELAY GOOD
Iowa’s relays put on a show at the Jim Click Shootout (April 9) with the women’s 4×100-meter relay (Hargrove, Love, Dowd, Magee) getting things started by running the second-fastest time in program history (44.06) – just two-hundredths of a second off of the school record. The men’s 4×100-meter relay (Walker, Kresley, Reed, K. Jefferson) followed by breaking the school record (39.03) – 10th-fastest in the NCAA this year. The 4×400-meter relays had similar results, as the women (Bruxvoort, Roberts, Wensel, Dowd) ran the fourth-fastest time in school history (3:35.40), improving their time at the Mt. SAC Relays (3:35.08). The men (Steward, Bryson, Gillum, McKiver) capped off the Jim Click with the third-fastest time ever at Iowa (3:02.39) – clocking in at No. 9 in the NCAA this season. The 2021 season marked the eighth consecutive postseason that the Hawkeye men qualified a 4×100 relay to the NCAA Championships, and the fourth consecutive postseason that the Hawkeye men qualified a 4×400 relay to the NCAA Championships.
IOWA STRONG
School-record holder Nik Curtiss started the outdoor season with a win in shot put at the Baldy Castillo Invite (March 19) and also cracked the top-10 list in the hammer throw (58.62m / 192’4”). Additionally, teammate senior Tyler Lienau finished third (60.52m / 198’6”) in the hammer. Curtiss continued his impressive season by going over 20 meters at the Musco Twilight with the No. 7 throw in the NCAA this year (20.04m / 65’9”) to finish as runner-up to All-American Darius King of UNI. Junior Elijah Barnes was third place (18.36m / 60’3”) with a season’s best throw that ranks 45th in the NCAA. Junior Dawson Ellingson recorded a career-best throw (17.87m / 58’7.5”) and finished fourth.
The Musco Twilight was a great meet for the Hawkeye throwers all around, as junior Amanda Howe improved her school-record mark in the hammer (62.92m / 206’5”) and broke the meet record with a Big-Ten leading throw that ranks 29th in the NCAA. Sophomore Kat Moody won the shot put (15.64m / 51’3.75”) and was runner-up in the discus (52.62m / 172’7”) with a personal-best throw that ranks fifth all-time at Iowa. Moody’s discus mark is No. 50 in the NCAA this year. Junior Nicole Berry was fourth in the shot put and Jamie Kofron (seventh) and Ianna Roach (ninth) joined her in the top-10. Kofron also finished third in the discus (46.29m / 151’10”).
JOEY WOODY: B1G COACH OF THE YEAR, REGIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
University of Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody was named Big Ten Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year and USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year. Woody and the Hawkeyes defended their indoor conference title 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 reached as high as No. 6 this indoor season — the highest ranking in program history.
JENOAH MCKIVER: B1G, REGIONAL TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Jenoah McKiver was named Big Ten Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and USTFCCCA Midwest Region Track Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the 2022 indoor season. The High Point, North Carolina, native is the second Hawkeye ever to win the Big Ten honor indoors (Wayne Lawrence, Jr., 2020) and the seventh overall (indoor and outdoor). Former Hawkeye Jaylan McConnico was the last Hawkeye to earn a Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year honor (2021, outdoor). McKiver finished runner-up in the 400 meters (45.65) at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 12, earning first team All-America honors. He also anchored the second team All-America 4×400-meter relay. McKiver finished as a Big Ten Champion in the 600 meters (1:15.67) and as a member of the 4×400-meter relay back on February 26 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio. The Hawkeye had one of the best indoor seasons in Iowa history – breaking three school records in a two-week span. McKiver ran the seventh-fastest 600 meters ever collegiately (all tracks and surfaces) at the Meyo Invite (1:15.36). The following week at the Tyson Invite, he broke the 400-meter record (45.39) and anchored the school record 4×400-meter relay that bested the previous record by over two seconds (3:02.40) — the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season.
BACK-TO-BACK BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
The University of Iowa men’s track and field team captured the 2021 Big Ten Outdoor title with a school record 127.5 points, besting runner-up Michigan by 33 points. The outdoor conference title was the second straight for the Hawkeyes. Iowa previously 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. The Hawkeyes defended their indoor Big Ten title on the men’s side as well on Feb. 12, and aim to complete a title sweep once again this spring.
HAWKEYES MAKE HISTORY AT 2021 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Iowa track and field program completed the NCAA outdoor season with a 12th place finish for the men and a 26th place finish for the women at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. The women had four athletes earn All-America honors in five events, scoring 11 team points. The men had 11 athletes earn All-America honors in nine events, scoring 19 team points, the most since 1967.