Gymnasts to compete
Three Iowa gymnasts will compete this weekend in hopes to find themselves on the U.S. men’s gymnastics national team.
Junior Andrew Botto as well as seniors Jack Boyle and Matt Loochtan will travel to the Las Vegas for the event.
Botto, Boyle, and Loochtan will compete on the national stage as they go up against some of the best gymnasts from across the United States.
The trio will have their hands full as the 2015 Winter Cup top three finalists Paul Ruggeri, Steven Legendre, and Donnell Whittenburg of the U.S. Men’s National Team seek to keep their titles.
However, the Hawkeyes come with some experience as Loochtan was the only Iowa gymnast to compete in last year’s Winter Cup.
Loochtan looks to bounce back as he finished 31st place in last year’s competition, coming out with a combined score of 114.650.
First time Winter Cup contestants Botto and Boyle also look to stamp their mark on the National stage.
Botto has hit career highs of 14.750 on rings and 14.700 on vault during last season’s NCAA Championship and will try to improve those numbers in Las Vegas.
Boyle was named NCAA All-American in the high bar following an impressive score of 14.850 at the NCAA championship.
The Winter Cup allows approximately 100 gymnasts each year. Limited number of gymnasts is selected based on their performance in regional competition throughout the regular season.
The first session of competition will begin on at 1 p.m. today. The national meet will conclude with the award ceremony on Saturday at 9:45 p.m.
— by Ricardo Ascencio
Hawk swimmers in 9th
The Iowa women’s swimming and diving team is in ninth place after the first day of competition at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Hawkeyes, with an overall score of 78, trail leader Indiana by 42 points.
Iowa started the day off with a seventhplace finish in the 200-medley relay. The team of senior Allie Orvis, junior Emma Sougstad, freshman Kelly McNamara, and senior Olivia Kabacinski touched in 1:39.27, the second-fastest time in school history. The quartet had the third-fastest time in the Big Ten heading into the championships.
The Hawkeyes did not fare so well in the 800-freestyle relay, swimming to an 11th place. The team of Kabacinski, junior Serena Wanasek, senior Jennifer Weigland, and sophomore Carlie O’Brien finished in 7:20.79, good for the seventh-fastest time in school history.
Iowa will be in the pool again this morning, competing in the preliminaries of the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, and 1-meter diving.
Kabacinski will compete in the 50 freestyle, where she holds a top-10 time in the Big Ten, swimming a 22.84 at the Hawkeye Invitational in December. Sougstad also has a top-10 time in the event, finishing in 22.63 at the Hawkeye Invitational.
Sougstad has the fifth-fastest time in the Big Ten heading into the 200 individual medley competition, 1:59.05 at the Hawkeye Invitational.
With three days remaining at the Big Ten meet, the Hawkeyes still have time to move their way up the leaderboard. But they will need to have a strong showing today to put themselves in a position to compete this weekend.
— by Blake Dowson
Mallett earns Track Athlete of the Week
Hawkeye junior hurdler Aaron Mallett received the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week honor following his second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He finished with a time of 7.73 seconds, 0.02 behind his personal best (his top time of 7.71 seconds was set in Arkansas at the Razorback Invitational) that tied him for fifth in the country. His time at the Tyson Invitational ranks eighth in the nation.
South Carolina’s Dondre Echols, who leads the country in the event, won the race at the Tyson Invitational. However, for the sixth week in a row, Mallett remains the top finisher in the 60-meter hurdles in the Big Ten.
This was Mallett’s second time winning this award. In his sophomore season, he took home the accolade after winning the 110-meter hurdles and anchoring Iowa’s 400-meter relay at the Baldy Castillo in Tempe, Arizona.
Aside from his second-placed finish at the Tyson Invitational, Mallett has won every 60-meteter hurdles race this season.
— by Adam Hensley