THIS WEEK
University of Iowa track and field splits its team three ways with short sprints, jumps and throws heading to Austin, Texas, for the Texas Relays and San Marcos, Texas, for the Bobcat Invitational. The distance group heads to California for the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto and the Mike Fanelli Track Classic in San Francisco. The long sprints and mid-distance group travels to Gainesville, Florida, for the Pepsi Florida Relays.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow the meet on the live results link on the track and field schedule page at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive. Results will also be posted on the team’s official twitter account @IowaXC_TF.
LAST WEEK
University of Iowa track and field distance competed at the Raleigh Relays last weekend. Max Murphy started the day in the men’s 1,500-meter race, placing 15th out of nearly 200 runners and finishing in 3:43.81. Yohana Yual started his outdoor season with a career best 3,000-meter steeple time of 9:13.43, while Pendergast crossed the line in 9:17.59. Nick Trattner led the Hawkeyes with a personal best 14:14.91 in the men’s 5,000-meter race. Amber Aesoph registered the seventh-best 1,500-meter time in program history, crossing the line in 17th out of 185 runners at 4:21.11 and knocking over three and a half seconds off her previous best. Maddie Block and Abby Ryon also tabbed personal bests in the 1,500 meters, finishing in 4:40.12 and 4:47.24, respectively.
HAWKEYE HEAT
The Hawkeyes opened the season in Coral Gables, Florida, with a number of strong finishes. Lia Love was the top collegiate finisher in the women’s 100-meter dash, speeding to a personal best time of 11.10. Love’s mark tops the NCAA and Big Ten rankings heading into the second week of the outdoor season. On the men’s side, Austin Kresley zipped to a 10.15 finish in the 100-meter dash. His time is ranked first in the Big Ten and fourth in the NCAA. Additionally, Kresley is part of the 4×100 relay squad, that ran a 39.28 at the Hurricane Invitational. The time ranks fifth in Hawkeye history and Kresley’s split is first in the Big Ten and second in the NCAA. Kat Moody used a personal best 56.47 meter (185’ 3”) discus throw to climb to fourth in the Iowa record books. Her new career best ranks her second in the Big Ten and third in the NCAA. Moody leads the league in the shot put following her 16.33 meter (53’ 7”) toss in Coral Gables. The mark is also sixth in the NCAA.
A LOOK BACK AT 2022
University of Iowa track and field earned 17 all-America 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-America status. Jordan Johnson fired a career best discus toss of 59.52 meter (195’ 3”) to place eighth and grab his first all-America 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.
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 split their team April 12-15 and head to the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, California, the Beach Invitational in Long Beach, California, and the Tom Jones Invitational in Gainesville, Florida.