THIS WEEK
University of Iowa track and field begins its outdoor season this weekend in Coral Gables, Florida, at the Hurricane Invite. The meet is hosted by the University of Miami. The action begins on Friday with the hammer throw at 11 a.m., followed by the pole vault and high jump. Competition resumes on Saturday with the javelin at 10 a.m. and running events getting underway at noon.
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.
A LOOK BACK AT 2022
University of Iowa track and field earned 17 All-American honors at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The men’s team claimed 10 total honors, with seven earning first team status. Last year, the 4×400-meter relay team of Everett Steward, Chadrick Richards, Spencer Gudgel and Julien Gillum sped to a 3:03.04, sixth place finish, and first-team All-American status. Jordan Johnson fired a career best discus toss of 59.52 meter (195’ 3”) to place eighth and grab his first All-American honor of his career. James Carter, Kalil Johnson, Austin Kresley, Gratt Reed and Khullen Jefferson return as All-Americans. The Iowa women combined for seven total All-Americans, including returners LaSarah Hargrove, Lia Love, Paige Magee in the 4×100-meter relay. Hargrove earned second team honors in the 100-meter and 200-meter races.
REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
In 2022, the Hawkeye men had 12 entries ranked inside the top-20 regionally, plus Austin West in the decathlon. West secured a berth to the NCAA Championships as the No. 3 seed. James Carter, Jr. entered regionals with the sixth-best long jump mark (No. 23 in NCAA). For the women, LaSarah Hargrove (No. 9, 200m; No. 11, 100m) and Mariel Bruxvoort (No. 11, 400m hurdles) were the top-ranked athletes regionally for the Hawkeyes. Amanda Howe was ranked just outside of the top-15 (No. 16, hammer throw) and Paige Magee was the 17th-ranked 400-meter hurdler in the region and the fourth-fastest Hawkeye in the event. Sophomore Nylah Perry was the fifth Hawkeye to qualify for the 400-meter hurdles, coming in at 44th in the region. All four of Iowa’s relays entered regionals ranked inside the top-10. The men’s 4×400-meter relay team was seeded No. 4 in the region and the 4×100-meter relay checked in at No. 6. On the women’s side, both the 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay qualified as the No. 10 seeds.
2022 BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
Last year, the Hawkeyes crowned a pair of individual champions at the 2022 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Amanda Howe won the women’s hammer throw and improved her school record (64.84m / 212’9”). On the men’s side, Julien Gillum won the 400-meter hurdles (51.12) and became the third-consecutive Hawkeye to win gold in the event at the Big Ten meet (Jamal Britt – 2021, Chris Douglas – 2019).
2022 RELAYS CUP CHAMPS
The Iowa men won their first Drake Relays Cup Championship since 2018 at the 112th running of the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, behind a win in the sprint-medley relay (Austin Kresley, Khullen Jefferson, Julien Gillum, Alec Still). The Hawkeyes finished second in the 4×100-meter relay (Kalil Johnson, Kresley, Gratt Reed, Jefferson), and third in the distance-medley relay, the 4×400-meter relay, and the 4×800-meter relay. Additionally, the Hawkeyes won the shuttle-hurdle relay (a non-Relays Cup event) with the team of Grant Conway, Josh Braverman, Johnson and Reed for the first time since 1984 and set the school record (56.74).
James Carter, Jr. became the first university division men’s athlete at the Drake Relays in 16 years to complete a sweep of the horizontal jumps, winning the long jump (7.84m / 25’8.5” w) and the triple jump (15.79m / 51’9.75”) – the second and third Drake Relays flags in his Hawkeye career.
WEST AMONG THE BEST
decathlete Austin West produced a record-setting week in the Golden State at the Mt. SAC Relays last year. 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 the 2022 indoor heptathlon national champion Ayden Owens in one of the best decathlons in NCAA history. West’s point total was No. 10 in the world last year and third in the NCAA. West’s 8,179 points ranked 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. On May 15, West finished as the runner up at the Big Ten Championships.
LaSPEEDY HARGROVE
LaSarah Hargrove broke the Iowa 60-meter record last 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 was the 18th-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. Hargrove finished fifth in the 100 meters and fourth in the 200 meters on at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
HAWKEYES CLAIM FIVE ALL-AMERICAN HONORS AT NCAA INDOORS
Junior Peyton Haack placed fifth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to finish the indoor season. Haack’s score of 6,048 points broke his own school record that was set at the Razorback Invitational in January. En route to his fifth place finish, the Hawkeye junior set a program record in the pole vault with a 5.26 meter (17’ 3”) mark. Fellow junior heptathlete Austin West earned second team All-American honors with his ninth place finish of 5,965 points. Senior James Carter was a second team All-American in the triple jump, recording a 15.55 meter (51’ 10.25”) mark. Carter finished 10th in the long jump (7.80 meters | 25’ 7.25”), doubling up as a second team All-American. Junior Myreanna Bebe tied her personal best and school record in the 60-meter hurdle prelims, securing second team All-American status with an 8.07. Junior hurdler Grant Conway placed 12th in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, clocking a 7.83.
JUMP, JUMP, JUMP!
Returning men’s indoor long jump and triple jump All-American senior James Carter, Jr. transitions to the outdoor season, where he won the triple jump at last year’s Jim Click Shootout (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. Carter, Jr. became the first university division men’s athlete at the Drake Relays in 16 years to complete a sweep of the horizontal jumps, winning the long jump (7.84m / 25’8.5” w) and the triple jump (15.79m / 51’9.75”) – the second and third Drake Relays flags in his Hawkeye career. At the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Carter finished as the runner-up in both events.
IOWA STRONG
Senior school-record holder Amanda Howe gears up for the outdoor season after being crowned the Big Ten Champion in the hammer throw a season ago. Senior Kat Moody returns as the leader of the women’s shot put and discus. Both Howe and Moody saved their best for last by setting season bests at the Big Ten Championships in their respective events.
Junior Jordan Johnson returns as an NCAA outdoor qualifier in the discus, throwing a career best 59.52 meters (195’ 3”) at the NCAA Championships in Eugene. The senior thrower earned All-American honors with an eighth place finish. Johnson began his postseason push with a 2nd place finish at the Big Ten Championships (57.63 meters | 189’ 1”), followed by a 6th place mark at the NCAA West Prelims (57.09 meters | 187’ 4”).
NCAA HISTORY
The Hawkeye men have eight top-10 NCAA Outdoor Championship finishes in program history, the last coming in 1932 (sixth). The Hawkeyes finished third on three occasions (1921, 1923 and 1930). In modern history, the Hawkeyes best NCAA finish was in 2021 when they placed 12th. Other top-25 finishes include 17th in 2017, 19th in 1995, 21st in 1993 and 21st in 1989. The Hawkeye women’s best finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships came in 2018, when they placed 13th with 19 points. Laulauga Tausaga scored 10 points that year, placing fourth in both shot put and discus. The women also placed in the top-25 in 2019 (25th), 2006 (20th), 1992 (19th) and 1985 (20th).
NEXT UP
The Hawkeyes head to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the Raleigh Relays on Mar. 23-25. The meet is hosted by NC State and will begin on Thurs., March 23, with the 1,500 meter event.