Track and Field Notebook: Texas Relays, Texas State, Illinois State Invite

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 Texas Relays will be streamed on ESPN+. 

2024-2025 NEWS

• Junior Lizzy Korczak crushed the program record in the javelin on her first throw of the 2025 outdoor season. Korczak launched a throw of 58.10 meters. She surpassed her previous personal best and top-ten mark of 50.62 meters, with five of her throws exceeding that mark.
• Sophomore Ryan Johnson shattered the previous record at Iowa in the men's hammer throw with a 71.12-meter toss. Five of Johnson’s throws eclipsed the 68-meter mark at the UCF Black and Gold Invitational.
• Freshman Maria Arboleda posted a program record in her debut in the high jump to open the outdoor season. Arboleda cleared 1.87 meters to win the event and ranks first in the NCAA in the high jump.
• Junior Mike Stein opened his outdoor season with a first-place finish in the javelin. He launched a 75.10-meter throw to seal the win for the Hawkeyes.
• Junior Wisdom Williams took home the gold in the women’s shot put with a personal-best 16 meters at the UCF Black and Gold Invitational. Williams improved on her fourth all-time rank at Iowa with this mark.
• In the men’s high jump, freshman Ethan Glyde closed out his outdoor debut with a first-place finish. He hit the 2.09-meter mark to secure the win for the Hawkeyes.
• In the men’s discus, freshman Bryce Ruland secured the win for the Hawkeyes with a mark of 55.75 meters at the UCF Black and Gold Invitational. That mark lands Ruland tenth all-time at Iowa.
• Sophomore Kai Graves-Blanks breezed through the men’s 110-meter hurdles prelims with a 13.92. He secured the gold for the Hawkeyes with the same time in the finals.
• Sophomore Sydnie Smith had an impressive day in her outdoor season opener in the women’s discus with a personal best. The Bexley, Ohio, native finished with a 50.52-meter mark, good for eighth all-time at Iowa.
• In the women’s 4x100 relay, the team of Holly Duax, Olicia Lucas, Brynley McDermott and Lia Love took home first place, clocking in with a time of 44.63.
• The Hawkeyes finished the NCAA Championships with three first-team All-Americans in freshmen Abraham Vogelsang and Pauline Bikembo and Johnson. They also picked up two top-five finishes in the men’s weight throw (Johnson) and pentathlon (Bikembo).
• Iowa finished in the top five on both the men’s and women’s side at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. The women’s team placed fourth, while the men's team secured fifth place.

LAST TIME OUT

The Hawkeyes opened their 2025 outdoor season breaking three school records and securing 10 event wins at the UCF Black and Gold Invitational in Orlando, Florida. Maria Arboleda, Ryan Johnson and Lizzy Korczak each shattered all-time records in their respective events. Arboleda posted a program record in her debut in the high jump, clearing 1.87 meters to win the event. Arboleda's mark also ranks first in the NCAA in the high jump. Johnson crushed the previous all-time record at Iowa in the men's hammer throw with a 71.12-meter toss. Five of Johnson’s throws eclipsed the 68-meter mark. Korczak launched a throw of 58.10 meters on her first attempt, shattering the previous all-time record at Iowa in the javelin. She surpassed her previous personal best and top-ten mark of 50.62 meters, with five of her throws exceeding that mark. The Hawkeyes also claimed wins in the women's shot put with junior Wisdom Williams securing a personal-best 16 meters. She improved on her fourth all-time rank at Iowa with this mark.  Mike Stein also took home the win in the men’s javelin (75.10-meters). Kai Graves-Blanks won the gold in the men’s 110-meter hurdles (13.92). The team of Holly Duax, Olicia Lucas, Brynley McDermott, Lia Love finished first in the women’s 4x100 relay (44.63). In the men’s high jump, Ethan Glyde secured the win (2.09 meters) and Bryce Ruland took home the win in the men's discus (55.75 meters). 

RETURNING TO TEXAS RELAYS

The Hawkeyes return to the Texas Relays after a successful trip in 2023. The 4×100-meter relay squad made up of Kalen Walker, Austin Kresley, Gratt Reed and Damoy Allen set the school record of 38.70, shattering the previous record by more than three-tenths of a second. Kresley added a second school record at the meet, running a 10.19 100-meter dash, while Walker tied his career-best at the time (10.20) that ranked second in the Iowa record book. Lia Love ran Iowa’s sixth-ranked 200 meters at the time, crossing the finish line in 23.23. 

SCHOOL RECORDS IN ORLANDO

The Hawkeyes posted three school records during their trip to Orlando, Florida, to open the outdoor season. Junior Lizzy Korczak started things off strong in the javelin with her first throw shattering the all-time record. She launched a throw of 58.10 meters, surpassing her previous personal best and top-ten mark of 50.62 meters. Korczak had five of her throws exceed that mark. Sophomore Ryan Johnson kept the momentum going in the hammer throw crushing another program record. He recorded a 71.12-meter toss with five of Johnson’s throws eclipsing the 68-meter mark. On day two of the UCF Black and Gold Invitational, freshman Maria Arboleda posted a program record in her debut in the high jump. Arboleda cleared 1.87 meters to win the event.

MIKE STEIN RETURNS FOR THE HAWKEYES

Junior Mike Stein is back for the Hawkeyes, gearing up for a highly anticipated season in the javelin following a standout NCAA debut. Stein opened the 2025 outdoor season with a first-place finish in the javelin. He launched a 75.10-meter throw to seal the win for the Hawkeyes. Last season, Stein finished in seventh place and earned first-team All-American honors at the NCAA Championships. He concluded his impressive freshman campaign by claiming the Big Ten Championship, setting a new school record with a throw of 81.19 meters and earning Men’s Field Athlete of the Championship honors. That record-breaking performance also secured his qualification for the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he placed 21st in the javelin with a throw of 61.98 meters. 

2024 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Hawkeyes concluded the 2023-2024 season with impressive performances from across the board. Mike Stein became a first-team All-American in the men's javelin. Stein threw 72.81 meters (238' 10") to place seventh in his NCAA debut at Hayward Field. Paige Magee qualified in the women's 100 hurdles, finishing 13th with a personal-best and Iowa program record of 12.88 in the finals. With the second-team finish, Magee closes her outdoor career as a six-time All-American. Jordan Johnson closed his Hawkeye career as a second-team All-American, placing 16th with a toss of 56.74 meters (186' 2") in the men's discus. Rivaldo Marshall qualified in the men's 800 meters with a third-place time of 1:46.96 at the NCAA Regionals in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Austin West was an NCAA qualifier in the men's decathlon for the fourth time in his career. Seven Hawkeyes returned to Eugene, Oregon, for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials from June 21-30. That delegation included Magee (women's 100 hurdles), Stein (men's javelin), West (men's decathlon), senior Gratt Reed (men's 110 hurdles), senior Kat Moody (women's discus) and senior Kalen Walker (men's 100 meters).

NEED FOR SPEED

Iowa won the men's 4x100 (38.64) and men's 4x400 (3:05.68) at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships last season. Walker was stellar for Iowa last season, setting program records in the 100 meters (10.09) and 60 meters (6.51). Allen ran 6.66 indoors for the third-fastest 60-meter time in program history. On the women's side, Lia Love set the program 60-meter record at 7.24. Love was blazing in the outdoor opener with a wind-aided 11.15 in the 100 meters and helped the 4x100 team to a third all-time result (44.07) at the Desert Heat Classic. Love placed fifth in the 100 and 200 at the Outdoor Big Ten Championships and helped the 4x100 squad to a fourth-place result at the conference meet last season.

INDOOR SEASON RECAP

The Hawkeyes wrapped up the indoor season at the NCAA Indoor Championships last weekend. Four Hawkeyes traveled to Virginia Beach, three of those athletes making their NCAA debut. Freshman Abraham Vogelsang and Pauline Bikembo and sophomore Ryan Johnson were named first-team All-Americans with  Daniela Wamokpego securing second-team All-American. Johnson took home the bronze with a 24.48-meter toss. Bikembo tallied 4,331 points, setting a new school record. Vogelsang finished the heptathlon with 5,810 points, good for sixth place. Wamokpego wrapped up the NCAA Championships with an  11th-place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 13.03 meters.

INDOOR SEASON SUCCESS

Both the men’s and women’s squads have had an impressive finish to the indoor season, with 35 updates made to the all-time list. Notably, Pauline Bikembo set the Iowa school record in the women’s pentathlon with 4,331 points in the NCAA Championships. At the Iowa Open, sophomore Daniela Wamokpego reset the program record in the triple jump, leaping to a 13.51-meter mark. In her final attempt, Wamokpego not only set the school and meet records but also posted the NCAA DI’s seventh-best mark. The sophomore from Meaux, France, further solidified her position as a national qualifier in the event and climbed to second in the Big Ten. Her previous school record was set at the Jimmy Grant Invite earlier this season. Sophomore Ryan Johnson also set multiple Iowa program records throughout the indoor season. At the Robinson Family Open, Johnson shattered the school record with a 24.59-meter throw, which ranked fourth in NCAA Division I history at the time of competition. Earlier in the season, the women’s 4x400 relay team of Alivia Williams, Chioma Nwachukwu, Damaris Mutunga, and Olicia Lucas crushed Iowa’s program record with a time of 3:30.42.

UPDATING THE ALL-TIME LISTS

Iowa made 35 updates to the top-10 lists during the indoor season. The Hawkeyes opened the outdoor season with updates to the top-10 list:

• Women’s Javelin: Lizzy Korczak (1st)
• Men’s Hammer: Ryan Johnson (1st)
• Women’s Shot Put: Wisdom Williams (4th)
• Women’s High Jump: Maria Arboleda (1st)
• Women’s Discus: Sydnie Smith (8th)
• Men’s Discus: Bryce Ruland (10th)

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes travel to Palo Alto, California, for the Stanford Invitational, San Francisco, California, for the Mike Fanelli Track Classic and Gainesville, Florida, for the Florida Relays next weekend. The action begins Friday, April 4th and continues on Saturday, April 5th.