The Iowa track and field program didn’t disappoint the home crowd.

The two squads took home 14 titles between the men’s and women’s teams at the Iowa Invitational in the Recreation Building on Feb. 15.

“I was really pleased,” men’s head coach Larry Wieczorek said. “In some cases, we went beyond my expectations. We saw a lot of good performances tonight. Some of our top guys performed at a higher level. I’m very happy with the meet.”

Gabe Hull set a season best in the shot put with a distance of 56 feet, 4 inches to place first. The sophomore also finished second in the weight throw with a mark of 56 feet, 7.5 inches.

Senior Ethan Holmes took home the title in both the 60-meter hurdles and the 200 meters with times of 7.84 seconds and 21.57 seconds.

“It was definitely a good meet to pick up the pace and figure things out,” Holmes said. “We wanted to sharpen up going into next weekend. I’m running at my [personal best] the majority of the time that I run. I’m going to be there, and I’m going to be ready to run.”

Senior Ryan Weir set the fifth-fastest time in school history in the 600 meters with a time of 1:18.62 to take first place. Junior Nathan Prom and Freshman Will Teuben set personal bests to finish second and third in the event.

“We’ve been building every week and just building up positive thoughts and positive energy,” Weir said. “It’s been exciting to be at the top of the pack every time. I’m really excited. The confidence has been pushing me all year and I know what I’m capable of now.”

Wieczorek said that he’s proud of where the team is at in this point in the season, but he noted that the competition at the Big Tens will be tougher than anything the Hawks have faced this season.

“We’re as prepared as we can be at this stage,” Wieczorek said. “Of course, the Big Ten championship is a higher level of competition, but I think we’re in good shape going in.”

For the Iowa women, the team is starting to peak.

“We got some good performances out of both groups. The people who competed, competed well,” women’s head coach Layne Anderson said. “There were some highlights there.”

One of those highlights was the breaking of the school record for the weight throw by Ashlyn Gulvas. Gulvas’s toss of 63 feet, 6 inches beat Jasmine Simpson’s throw of 62 feet, 6 inches.

“It was great. It was definitely expected,” Gulvas said. “It’s about time and probably what I should’ve done awhile back. It feels good to throw it now and to be right there with Jasmine and to be in the hunt for a definite scoring point in the Big Ten.”

Senior pole-vaulter Kirsten Weismantle continued her success at home. Weismantle cleared a season best 11 feet, 1.75 inches en route to a win that featured Hawkeyes in the top three.

Weismantle’s previous season best was in the Iowa Open with a mark of 10 feet, 11.75 inches.

“The Big Ten is one of the most competitive conferences out there. Some of the jumps we were making today probably wouldn’t even make opening height at the meet,” Weismantle said. “This is the probably the best I’ve felt this season. I’m confident if I have my team behind me that this can be a good meet.”

Other winners included Lake Kwaza, who won the 60 meters with a time of 7.64. Junior Carissa Leacock also took home a title in the jump with a leap of 18 feet, 11.25 inches.

Anderson noted that the crowd — which had people standing on the upper deck of the Recreation Building — helped create an atmosphere that helped propel the squad to a big outing.

“It was a good competition, and now we turn our attention toward the Big Ten championships,” he said. “We’ve got to compete to the best of our ability.”