Track and Field Notebook: Tiffin, Tyson, Texas Tech, Boston Invitational

THIS WEEK

The Hawkeyes travel to four meets during the Feb. 14-15 weekend. Iowa returns to the Jarvis Scott Open in Lubbock, Texas, with its sprints and hurdles groups. The jumps, multis, 400 and 800 groups head to the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The distance group will head to the David Hemery Valentine Invite in Boston, while the throws group travels to the Robinson Family Open in Tiffin, Ohio.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG

The meet schedule and results can be found on track and field schedule page at hawkeyesports.com. Updates and results will also be posted on the team's official 'X' account (iowaXC_TF).  The Tyson Invitational will be streamed on SEC Network +, the Jarvis Scott Open will be streamed on ESPN+ and the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational will be streamed on FloTrack.

2024-25 NEWS

• The women’s 4x400 relay team of Alivia Williams, Chioma Nwachukwu, Damaris Mutunga, and Olicia Lucas crushed Iowa’s 4x400 relay record at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic with a time of 3:30.42. The time currently ranks fifth in the nation.
• Sophomore Ryan Johnson cruised past his previous school record of 24.00 meters with two throws over the 24-meter mark. He completed his series with 24.13 and 24.15 marks to win the weight throw title at the Iowa State Classic. Johnson’s new school record of 24.15 holds as the third-best throw in the nation.
• The men’s 4x400 team of Josh Pugh, Isaac Lewis, Terrick Johnson and Zidane Brown posted a 3:05.31 in Albuquerque, which stands as the fifth-best time in Iowa history.
• Lewis led the men’s 400 meter group in New Mexico with a personal best, finishing with a time of 46.67, which ranks seventh all-time at Iowa. On the women’s side, three Hawkeyes made their mark on the all-time list. Nwachukwu (52.46) now sits in fourth, while Mutunga and Williams hold the fifth and eighth spots, respectively.
• In the 60-meter hurdles in Albuquerque, freshman Lillian Harden set a personal best with a time of 8.16, landing her fourth all-time at Iowa and ranking in the top 20 nationally.
• Junior Wisdom Williams fired 15.92 meters to take second place and update her previous all-time best. Williams ranked fifth with a 15.88 meter mark before her performance at the Iowa State Classic.
• Mutunga ran a 1:27.77 to win the 600 meters at the Meyo Invite, setting Iowa’s second-fastest time in school history. Mutunga is currently the top-ranked freshman in the event, ranking eighth nationally.
• Freshman Abraham Vogelsang claimed the heptathlon title at the Dr. McGuire Invite in Columbia, Missouri, scoring 5,882 points en route to Iowa’s third-best total in history. The freshman from Oslo, Norway, is second in the nation following his performance.
• Sophomore Annie Wirth won the pentathlon with a personal best 3,890 points at the Dr. McGuire Invite. Wirth scored the sixth-most points in school history.
• Freshman Pauline Bikembo and sophomore Maud Zeffou-Poaty climbed to third and fourth, respectively, on Iowa’s all-time list in the long jump.
• In his collegiate debut, freshman Emmanjuel Njoku lept 7.66 meters to win the long jump at Mizzou and claiming Iowa’s sixth-longest jump.
• Returning All-American Daniela Wamokpego kicked off 2025 with a school record 13.32-meter mark in the triple jump.

ROBINSON REUNION

Associate Head Coach Ray Robinson takes his throws group to Tiffin University this weekend, where he spent 11 years as associate head coach. Robinson coached 40 All-Americans, five NCAA runner-up finishes and four NCAA Division II champions. During his tenure, his throwers broke each of Tiffin's 12 school records. Robinson is a two-time grad of Tiffin University with high honors in the discus, hammer throw and weight throw as a student-athlete.

LAST TIME OUT

University of Iowa track and field concluded the New Mexico Collegiate Classic and Iowa State Classic with record-setting performances from Ryan Johnson in the weight throw and the women’s 4x400 relay team of Alivia Williams, Chioma Nwachukwu, Damaris Mutunga, and Olicia Lucas. In Albuquerque, Williams, Nwachukwu, Mutunga and Lucas crushed Iowa’s 4x400 relay record with a time of 3:30.42. In Ames, Johnson cruised past his previous school record of 24 meters, completing his series with 24.13 and 24.15 marks to win the weight throw title at the Iowa State Classic. Across both meets, Iowa tallied 14 collegiate bests and nine updates to the all-time list.

IN THE RANKINGS

The Hawkeyes cracked into the USTFCCCA top 20 team rankings this week, claiming the 19th spot. Iowa has 11 event groups ranked within the top 20 nationally, led by the No. 1 women's pentathlon and men's weight throw. The women hold three more events in the top ten, including the 400m (No. 3), high jump (No. 8) and 60-meter hurdles (No. 9). The women’s weight throw (No. 14), long jump (No. 15), 800 meter (No. 18) and 200 meter (No. 19) also rank in the top 20. On the men’s side, the 400 meters secured the No. 8 position, with the 60 meter hurdles closing in at No. 12.

RELAYS REACH RECORDS

The Hawkeyes men’s and women’s 4x400 relay teams dominated the Iowa all-time list at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic. The women’s team of Alivia Williams, Chioma Nwachukwu, Damaris Mutunga, and Olicia Lucas set an Iowa program record with the time of 3:30.42. This time is currently the fifth-fastest time nationally. On the men’s side, the team of Josh Pugh, Isaac Lewis, Terrick Johnson and Zidane Brown posted a   3:05.31, which stands as the fifth-best time in Iowa history. The men’s group is also ranked ninth nationally.

HAWKEYES IN THE TOP 10

The Hawkeyes have six times and marks in the top 10 nationally. Most recently, the men's and women's 4x400 relay teams are among the top ranked. Alivia Williams, Chioma Nwachukwu, Damaris Mutunga and Olicia Lucas rank fifth nationally. The team of Josh Pugh, Isaac Lewis, Terrick Johnson and Zidane Brown take the ninth spot. In the women’s 600 meters, Damaris Mutunga has the eighth-fastest time. Ryan Johnson secures the fourth spot for men’s weight throw. In the heptathlon, Abraham Vogelsang ranks third nationally. The women's pentathlon top-10 list features freshman Pauline Bikembo at No. 8.

B1G ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Hawkeyes Abraham Vogelsang and Damaris Mutunga earned their first B1G Athlete of the Week awards following their performances at the Meyo Invitational and the Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational. Vogelsang dominated the men’s heptathlon at the Dr. Rick McGuire Invite in Columbia, Missouri, claiming the top spot with 5,882 points. Vogelsang soared to second in the nation and third all-time at Iowa, while holding the 11th-highest point total in the world in 2025. Mutunga shined in the 600 meters at the Meyo Invitational, claiming first place with an all-time best 1:27.77. This time now ranks second at Iowa. Mutunga is currently the top-ranked freshman in the event and ranks eighth nationally. Five Hawkeyes earned B1G Athlete of the Week awards this season. Sean Smith and Ryan Johnson won men’s field athlete of the week, Daniela Wamokpego was named co-field athlete of the week and Pauline Bikembo and Chioma Nwachukwu won freshman athlete of the week honors.

SCHOOL-RECORD HOLDERS

Seven school records have been set by current members of the 2025 Iowa roster:

• Lia Love: Women’s 60 meters (7.24)

• Kalen Walker: Men’s 60 meters (6.51)

• Paige Magee: Women’s 60-meter hurdles (7.99)

• Alli Bookin-Nosbisch: Women’s 800 meters (2:03.42)

• Ryan Johnson: Men’s Weight Throw (24.00 meters)

• Daniela Wamokpego: Women’s Triple Jump (13.24 meters)

• Alivia Williams, Chioma Nwachukwu, Damaris Mutunga, and Olicia Lucas: Women’s 4x400 Relay (3:30.42)

UPDATING THE ALL-TIME LISTS

This season, the Hawkeyes have made 31 updates to the top-10 lists:

• Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles: Kai Graves-Blanks (8th)
• Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles: Lillian Harden (4th)
• Men’s 200 Meters: Austin Kresley (3rd)
• Men’s 400 Meters: Isaac Lewis (7th)
• Women's 400 Meters: Chioma Nwachukwu (4th), Damaris Mutunga (5th), Alivia Williams (8th)
• Women’s 600 Meters: Damaris Mutunga (2nd), Gabby Cortez (5th)
• Men's 800 Meters: Terrick Johnson (9th)
• Men’s 3,000 Meters: Luke Knepp (6th)
• Women's High Jump: Jeanne Le Goff (9th)
• Men's Long Jump: Emmanuel Njoku (6th)
• Women's Long Jump: Pauline Bikembo (3rd), Maud Zeffou-Poaty (4th)
• Men's Triple Jump: Precious Irivi (7th)
• Women’s Triple Jump: Daniela Wamokpego (1st), Jeanne Le Goff (4th)
• Men's Pole Vault: Abraham Vogelsang (7th)
• Women's Weight Throw: Wisdom Williams (9th)
• Men's Weight Throw: Ryan Johnson (1st), Sean Smith (2nd), Austin Busch (4th), Bryce Ryland (8th)
• Women’s Shot Put: Wisdom Williams (5th)
• Women’s Pentathlon: Pauline Bikembo (2nd), Annie Wirth (6th)
• Men's Heptathlon: Abraham Vogelsang (3rd), Sal Capaldo (5th)
• Men’s 4x400 Relay: Pugh, Lewis, Johnson, Brown (5th)
• Women’s 4x400 Relay: Williams, Nwachukwu, Mutunga, Lucas (1st)

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes travel to the Matador Qualifier in Lubbock, Texas, the Arkansas Qualifier in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Indiana during the Feb. 21-22 weekend. Iowa hosts the Iowa Open on Friday.