As the NCAA track indoor championships get set to begin in Albuquerque, N.M., one Hawkeye will once again be thrust into the spotlight.

Sophomore Klyvens Delauny is the only Hawkeye who qualified for the Indoor National Championships in the triple jump. His qualifying mark came from a 15.88-meter jump at the Tyson Invitational in mid-February.

“I’m really excited to go and represent the University of Iowa at the indoor championships,” Delauny said. “Such a small selective group of people get to go, and I also get to represent myself as being one of the top jumpers in the nation.”

He will compete in his second NCAA championship, with the first resulting in an eighth-place finish in the outdoor championships last season. He also competed in the indoor season last year but did not quite make the cut.

“I barely missed the indoor championship last year, and it tore me up inside,” Delauny said. “I’m glad I could come out this year and finish off one of the goals I had this year.”

For Delauny, the theme of continuing last year’s success as well as providing points for the team has been a major focus this season. It’s especially crucial considering there is little room for error if the team wants to finish well in the standings. He has drawn praise from assistant coach Clive Roberts from the overall consistency he has provided.

“I expect that this weekend he will go out and give the best version of himself, and whatever that is, we’re going to be happy with it,” Roberts said. “Every time we’ve gone to a meet, he always preforms like he is supposed to.”

Delauny barely sneaked into the field as the 16th-ranked triple jumper of the 16 athletes invited. He is also one of five underclassmen to make the field. As is normal in track meets, not everyone will jump his personal record, but the field is still strong. In true form, he is undeterred by this prospect.

It would certainly be a jump for him to win a championship this season, but the coaching staff will attest to his improvement over last year.

“The things that we’ve seen out of Klyvens, there’s definitely been a progression,” Roberts said. “He’s been looking pretty good, and the biggest thing for us is if we can execute the things that we’ve worked on this year.”

Roberts and Delauny will be the only Hawkeyes on the plane to New Mexico, but head coach Lanye Anderson has liked what he’s seen out of his young triple jumper this season.

“He showed some tremendous success right out of the gates and getting to the NCAAs as freshman is no small feat,” Anderson said. “He’s looking to improve upon his eighth-place finish and his expectations are high to deliver again.”

“At minimum, I expect to finish top eight but pretty much in the top-three range,” Delauny said. “Almost winning a championship pretty much.”