Johnson Places 3rd at NCAA Championships

EUGENE, Ore. – University of Iowa junior Ryan Johnson finished third and secured first-team All-America honors in the hammer throw at Hayward Field on Wednesday night. 

The native of Springboro, Ohio, fired a 74.40-meter mark and posted Iowa’s best finish in school history in the event. He bettered his previous placement of sixth from a season ago and became a first-team All-American for the second-straight season. Johnson led the competition after the first three throws, progressively improving to his best of 74.40 meters on his third attempt. Ultimately, five of Johnson’s six attempts sailed over 70 meters and he was one of three competitors to break 74 meters. He scored six points for the men’s team.

After winning the weight throw NCAA title indoors, Johnson’s third-place finish in Eugene makes him a four-time first-team All-American.

“Ryan had a fantastic day today,” Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody stated. “He competed extremely well against one of the deepest hammer fields ever. He got things started with a great second throw to move into the lead. He got passed in the finals, but he put up some big marks on his last throws and just came up short of winning another NCAA title. I’m super proud of how well Ryan competed all year and finished with another medalist performance.”

Iowa’s 4x400 relay team of Landon Fontenot, Zidane Brown, David Akhalu and Tyrese Miller set the program’s sixth-fastest time in history, racing 3:01.95 in the semifinals. The group finished eighth and advanced to Friday night’s final. It is the eighth time in the last nine years that Iowa has qualified its 4x400 relay team to the final site of the NCAA Championships. 

“The 4x4 guys all ran terrific tonight,” Woody exclaimed. “Landon ran a great leadoff leg to hand us off in the top four teams and gave Zidane the baton in a great spot for the second leg. Zidane had a huge finish down the homestretch to hand off to David, who got out well and ran a great backstretch to keep us within the top five teams. He came flying down the homestretch with a huge kick and had to maneuver around two teams to barely get the baton to Tyrese on anchor. Tyrese got out great and was very composed down the backstretch and just bided his time to set up for a tremendous kick to pass two teams and finish third in our heat to get the last time qualifier. I’m so proud of how all those guys competed for each other to get to the finals.”

Akhalu and Luke Knepp made their individual NCAA Championships debut on Wednesday. A freshman from Ogun State, Nigeria, Akhalu capped his rookie campaign with a 46.21 in the 400-meter semifinal and finished 20th. Knepp, a sophomore from Bettendorf, Iowa, completed his season in 22nd place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Knepp ran 8:45.72. Both Hawkeyes earned honorable mention recognition.

“David has had a great freshman season especially since he only showed up on campus in January,” Woody added. “He’s got a very bright future ahead of him in the long sprints. Luke had a spectacular outdoor season scoring big points at the Big Ten Championships, breaking the school record multiple times and qualifying to his first NCAA championship finals site here in Eugene. Luke just ran out of gas tonight and didn’t have enough to get to the finals, but I’m so proud of how well he competed this entire year.”

The Hawkeyes’ 4x1 competed in heat three of the semifinals, but a miscue during an exchange resulted in a DNF.

“The men’s 4x1 had a rough day today, unfortunately,” Woody continued. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs with our relay this season with multiple athletes running on it. We started the outdoor season with a lot of great results, including tying the school record, but didn’t finish the season the way we expected. I’m very proud of how this group overcame some setbacks this season and never folded. Unfortunately, this was not the best ending for the spectacular career of Kalen Walker. Kalen has had such an amazing impact on our entire program and, in particular, has elevated our entire sprints program to one of the best in the NCAA. He’s had tremendous success at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships and, unfortunately, we fell short of our ultimate goal of making the NCAA finals in the 100m.”

Up Next: Iowa competes in the semifinals of the women’s 400 meters, 800 meters and 4x400-meter relay on Thursday night. Chioma Nwachukwu runs the 400 at 8:40 p.m. with Rosemary Arthur following in the 800 at 8:58. The 4x400 relay is set to start at 10:36 p.m. All events will be televised on ESPN2.

HAWKEYE RESULTS
Men’s 400 Meter Semifinals
20. David Akhalu - 46.21

Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase Semifinals
22. Luke Knepp - 8:45.72

Men’s 4x100 Relay Semifinals
DNF - Holmes, Jimenez, Gross, Walker

Men’s 4x400 Relay Semifinals
8. Fontenot, Brown, Akhalu, Miller - 3:01.95, 6th at Iowa, q

Men’s Hammer Throw Final
3. Ryan Johnson - 74.40 meters (244’ 1”)