THIS WEEK
The Hawkeyes close out January as hosts of the Black and Gold Invitational at the Hawkeye Indoor Track Facility and the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex on Jan. 26-27. The meet begins on Friday at noon with the weight throw and shot put at the HTRC. Competition resumes on Saturday morning with the high jump at 11 a.m., followed by start of running events at 12:15 p.m. Iowa welcomes Butler CC, Drake, Iowa Western, Kansas, UMKC, UNI and Western Illinois.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday’s action of the Black and Gold Invitational will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required). Results for the entire meet can be found on the live results link on the track and field schedule page at hawkeyesports.com. Updates and results are posted on the team’s official ‘X’ account (iowaXC_TF).
IN THE RANKINGS
In the first USTFCCCA national rankings of the season, the Hawkeyes are ranked in the top 20 in both polls. The women’s team begins the season ranked 10th overall. The Hawkeyes are ranked second in the Midwest Region. On the men’s side, Iowa enters the rankings at No. 17 nationally and No. 1 in the region.
FRONT PAIGE NEWS
Senior Paige Magee shattered her own school record at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational on Jan. 20, crossing the line of the 60-meter hurdles in 8.00. This is the second time Magee has broken the program’s record this season, after matching the previous all-time record (8.07) in the opener on Dec. 9. The senior from Columbia, Missouri, is currently ranked atop the Big Ten in the event group and third in the NCAA.
PERFECTING THEIR CRAFT
Multi-event specialists Sal Capaldo and Tionna Tobias opened their campaigns with event victories at the Wieczorek Invite. Capaldo was crowned the champion and moved to sixth in program history with his 5,256-point performance. The sophomore from Polk City, Iowa, notched the individual title in the high jump (1.96m) before earning three second-place finishes (60mH, pole vault, 1,000m) over the weekend. Tobias, the Big Ten’s reigning outdoor heptathlon champion, totaled 4,049 points in her pentathlon championship. The senior from Sicklerville, New Jersey, ranks third in program history and fourth in the NCAA following her performance. Tobias set a pair of meet, track and facility records within the pentathlon (60mH, long jump) on her way to the title.
CLEAN SWEEP
For the first time in program history, the Hawkeyes swept Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors following the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational. Paige Magee, Sean Smith, Kalen Walker and Daniela Wamokpego each earned their respective award for the first time of their careers. Magee won the women’s track athlete of the week honor by breaking the program’s 60-meter hurdles record. Walker broke his own 60-meter school record twice in the season opener. The senior sprinter clocked a 6.60 in the preliminaries before speeding to the new program’s best 6.59. Wamokpego, a freshman from Meaux, France, made an instant impact with her triple jump of 13.12 meters (43′ 0.5″) to win the women’s field award. Smith set a facility record in the weight throw on his way to the men’s field honor, tossing a 21.66-meter (71′ 0.75″) mark.
RECORD-SETTING OPENER
The Hawkeyes broke two school records at the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational on Dec. 9. Senior Paige Magee rose to the top of the women’s 60-meter hurdles all-time list, while senior Kalen Walker sprinted to history by breaking his own 60-meter school record twice.
This season, the Hawkeyes have made 19 updates to the top-10 lists:
Women’s 60-meters: Love (2nd), Duax (5th), Magee (8th)
Women’s 60-meter hurdles: Magee (1st), Tobias (3rd)
Women’s 600-meters: A. Bookin-Nosbisch (6th)
Men’s 800-meters: Marshall (4th)
Women’s Pentathlon: Tobias (3rd), Wirth (6th), Rochford (10th)
Women’s High Jump: Wirth (6th)
Men’s Weight Throw: Smith (2nd), Busch (4th)
Women’s Weight Throw: Bauer (5th)
Women’s Long Jump: Zeffou-Poaty (3rd), Hutchins (8th)
Women’s Triple Jump: Wamokpego (2nd)
Men’s Triple Jump: Irivi (7th)
Heptathlon: Capaldo (6th)
SPEED THRILLS
Kalen Walker leads the men’s sprint group in 2024. Walker owns the program’s 60-meter school record (6.59), set on Dec. 9 at the Jimmy Grant Invitation. Seniors Damoy Allen, Khullen Jefferson and Austin Kresley strengthen the sprints unit. Hurdlers Kai Graves-Blanks, Kalil Johnson and Gratt Reed are off to a strong start in 2024. Johnson and Reed qualified to the finals and finished second and third, respectively, at the Wieczorek Invitational.Junior Lia Love leads the Hawkeye women’s sprints unit into the 2023-24 season. She holds five top-10 program marks, including the second-best 60-meter time (7.28). Sophomore Holly Duax joins Love at the top of the sprints group and climbed to fifth in program history with a 7.42 at the opener. Senior Paige Magee returns as a sprints and hurdles specialist. Magee ranks third in the NCAA following her record-breaking 60-meter hurdle performance at the Wieczorek Invitational.
KEEPING PACE
Following his facility record 1:47.83 in the 800 meters at the Jimmy Grant Invite, mid-distance runner Rivaldo Marshall was named the USTFCCCA men’s athlete of the week. It was Iowa’s first ever men’s indoor National Athlete of the Week honor. All-Big Ten transfer Zidane Brown adds talented depth to the group after placing third in the 400 meters at last year’s Big Ten Championships. On the women’s side, 800-meter school-record holder Alli Bookin-Nosbisch takes aim at the mile school record. Bookin-Nosbisch began the season with a personal-best 4:48.08 in the mile. Returner Chloe Larsen is another key piece to the mid-distance group and started with the 600-meter title (1:30.26) on Dec. 9. The women’s 4×400 relay team of Larsen, Holly Duax, Gabby Cortez and Bookin-Nosbisch holds the 14th-fastest time in the NCAA following its 3:41.06 finish at the Hawkeye Invite.
LAUNCH PARTY
Sophomores Sean Smith and Austin Busch are leading the men’s throws unit through the first few weeks of the season. The duo each hold top five marks in the weight throw. Smith is second all-time (21.83m), while Busch is fourth (20.91). Quintin Lyons leads the charge in the shot put and claimed an individual title in the season opener. Senior Alivia Bauer is leading the women’s throws group with two weight throw titles to start the indoor campaign. Jamie Kofron and Kat Moody are veterans looking to score points in the postseason. Moody holds the third-best shot put mark (54’ 7.25” | 16.64m) set at last season’s Tyson Invite. Kofron ranks 4th in the weight throw and 10th in the shot put.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes hit the road for the first time, traveling to the New Mexico Collegiate Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana, and the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa on Feb. 2-3.