By Carter Melrose
The Mt. Sac Relays for the Hawkeye track and field team was highlighted by many small but significant victories. The meet occurred on the El Camino College campus in California from April 13-15.
Many Hawks also raced in the Bryan Clay Invitational in California during those days. This weekend marked the third trip West the team has made during the short outdoor season.
The Mt. Sac meet will now be forever known as the place junior Brittany Brown was able to set the Hawkeye 200-meter record again. Brown, following last week’s Jim Click Shootout, claimed the record. Following a mystic-like storyline, Brown was able to break her own record last weekend at Mt. Sac, which started her ascension into the discussion as one of the best to ever run at Iowa.
“Brittany ran a great leg in the 4×1 relay and then came back to win the 200 meters,” Director of Track and Field Joey Woody said in a release. “She has the tools to win a national championship and compete post-collegiately someday.”
Brown’s ability is not going unnoticed in the Big Ten; she received Track Athlete of the Week honors on April 12 for her record-breaking performance at the Jim Click Shootout the week before. Following the Mt. Sac meet, she is now atop the Big Ten and top 10 in both the nation and in the world.
“I knew I had a second gear,” Brown said in a release. “I wanted to come out here and run 22.6, and I did. I think when people see me and see I am from Iowa, they do not take me seriously. I want them to take me seriously now.”
Another rather large success from Mt. Sac was Briana Guillory, who was very fast this past weekend. So fast, in fact, she was able to outrun everyone in the field, snaring first place and snatching the first event title of the weekend for the Hawkeyes. This was, believe it or not, the first outdoor race this season for Guillory and resulted in a top-5 all-time Hawkeye finish for the sophomore from Antioch, California.
The last great success of the weekend came from senior Antwon James, who brought home a event title in the triple jump. This capped off the first day for the Hawkeyes and gave the other teams a sense of what the Iowa tracksters had to offer the meet.
“Mt. Sac is similar to the Drake Relays in the aspect of the competition level and atmosphere,” James said in a release.
The Hawkeyes will finally host a home meet this weekend on Saturday. The Musco Classic has been a staple of any Iowa track season for years and returns at the optimal time for the young athletes.
“We have Musco next weekend and then the Drake Relays,” Woody said in a release. “This will be a good time for us to get away from travel, get back home, and get in our own beds. We have a lot more in the tank and you’ll see the next couple weeks.”