Midway through the indoor track and field season, the Hawkeye women have been consistent. They succeeded in the weaker early competitions and have placed in the middle of the pack in the stiffer competitions.
Sprinters: A-minus
The sprinters have been awesome, winning the majority of the points in each event so far. They are led by 2014 and 2015 Big Ten Champion Elexis Guster. In the 400 meters, she ranks fourth all-time at Iowa, second this indoor season in Big Ten and 11th nationally. At the Feb. 5-6 Meyo Invitational, Guster finished in fourth place with a personal college-best 53.47.
Joining Guster is talented freshman Briana Guillory, who ranks third in the Big Ten in the 200 meters. She also ranks seventh all-time in the 400 meters at Iowa with a time of 54.44 at the Jan. 29-30 Razorback Invitational. MonTayla Holder joins the talented group as one of the better runners in the Big Ten in the 600 meters. And the group includes super senior Lake Kwaza, a reliable point scorer who has finished in the top-five in the 60 meters a number of times this season.
Hurdles: B-minus
The hurdle team is led by sophomore Jahisha Thomas, who has been spectacular in recent competitions. At the Razorback, Thomas finished 11th in the 60-meter hurdles, with her time of 8.58 seventh all-time at Iowa. She backed up that performance with another at Meyo. She registered a personal-best 8.51 in the 60-meter hurdles preliminaries and finished ninth in the semifinals.
Iowa lacks depth in the hurdles; Thomas is the only Hawkeye to stand out so far. The only two other hurdlers are freshmen Julia Lampe and sensational sprinter Holder. Holder has yet to make an impact in the hurdle events; she is primarily used in the 600 meter and relay events.
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Jump Events: B
The jump squad is a young talented group blended in with a leader. Thomas, a hurdler, also contributes in the long jump. Her versatility shows why she is one of the top athletes in the Hawkeye program.
At Meyo, the London native finished second with a jump of 6.21 meters. Graduate student Khanishah Williams also provides the experience and leadership for the young squad. Against the toughest competition, Williams’ experience has showed, finishing fourth in the high jump at Razorback.
The final piece for the jumpers is freshmen Tria Seawater-Simmons. She is inexperienced, but she has fared well in early competitions. The Phoenix native finished 18th in the triple jump at Meyo.
Long Distance: C-plus
The distance team has only competed in a few meets this winter, but when the runners have competed, they have struggled. At Meyo, Tess Wilberding finished 26th (9:49.26), and Madison Waymire finished 30th (9:51.12) in the 3,000 meters; they were the only two distance runners to compete. Waymire, a top cross-country runner this fall, has struggled with nagging injuries.
The distance team desperately needs her to be at full health come championship time. This coming weekend at the Iowa State Classic will be better evaluation for where the team stands, because coach Layne Anderson will bring the full squad of distance runners.
Relays: B-plus
The team of Guillory, Guster, Holder, and junior Alexis Hernandez has been excellent in the early going. They finished sixth at Razorback, which is impressive knowing the competition. They carried over the momentum at Meyo as they recorded the second-fastest time in school history (3:36.99) to win the event.