Women’s track hope for progress at Razorback Invitational
The women’s track and field hope to pick up steam at the Razorback Invitational after starting the season on a good note.
By Connor Sindberg
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The first three competitions of the season for the women’s track and field team have been solid but not great performances.

The Hawkeyes finished third at the Jan. 9 Border Battle. In the Jan. 15-16 Iowa Dual they fared well, taking home numerous titles. And in the Jan. 23 Big Four Duals, they finished in the middle of the pack, defeating Drake, tying Northern Iowa, and losing to Iowa State.

In their fourth event of the season, the Hawkeyes will get a major test; seven top-25 teams will compete in the Razorback Invitational, to be held Friday and Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

“Our goal is to get in competitions with the best in the country, because it’s good evaluation of where you’re at as a team and as individuals,” said Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody. “This is great trip for our young athletes to get a chance to compete against the best.”

Woody is counting on some of the freshmen to help the program catapult up the rankings. Iowa has received a lot of production so far this season from underclassmen. Freshmen Briana Guillory and Tria Seawater-Simmons have been good for the Hawkeyes.

Guillory has finished first in the 200 meters twice this season, and she also finished second in the 400 meters at the Big Four Duals. Seawater-Simmons has held her own in the jump events, finishing first at the Border Battle and fourth at the Big Four Duals.

“Briana Guillory has been consistent, and she’s doing some good things for us,” Woody said. “Tria Seawater-Simmons, she is starting to figure some things out in the horizontal and triple jumps.”

While Guillory and Seawater-Simmons have been excellent, other freshmen have struggled. Woody believes added depth will only help the women’s program, because some of the veterans need to be pushed from the younger athletes.
“We still need some more help and depth. The biggest thing right now is having more athletes step up,” Woody said. “We have a few elite type athletes, and then we kind of drop off.”

Even though some freshmen have had slow starts, they still have plenty of teammates to look to for guidance. Upperclassman such as Khanishah Williams, MonTayla Holder, Elexis Guster, and Lake Kwaza are counted on to set examples.

Williams has finished in the top two in each high jump this season. Holder has shown her value and versatility in the 200 and 400 meters. Guster, a Big Ten champion, also has had an excellent start to the season. And Kwaza has been the top Hawkeye runner in the 200 and 60 meters.

Woody knows that Kwaza and Company will have to be the top performers throughout the season, but they will also have to lead the younger athletes as well.

“Lake Kwaza, she’s a senior and veteran, and one of the top sprinters in the conference,” he said. “Khanishah Williams is our reigning Big Ten champion in high jump from two years ago. There are a lot good leaders in our program, and I think they are really helping the younger athletes realize what it takes to compete at this level.”

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