The Hawkeye women will try for peak performances at the Big Ten Championships.
By Connor Sindberg
The Hawkeyes’ Big Ten Championships results rests on a group of women sprinters.
This weekend, the sprinters and the rest of the women’s track and field team will travel to the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, for the 2016 Big Ten Indoor Championships. The meet will begin today and continue through Saturday.
Last year, Ohio State won its second Big Ten title and first since 2011. Michigan finished second, while Penn State and Purdue tied for third. Michigan State and Nebraska tied for fifth.
This year, the Hawkeyes will compete against three ranked teams in the nation’s top 25: Michigan (6), Wisconsin (22), and Purdue (25). Iowa ranks 89th.
Although Iowa isn’t a contender to win the team title, it does have plenty of competitors in the sprint events.
“We see where a lot of our points are right now which is coming from the sprints groups,” Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody said.
A Hawkeye looking to score points is defending Big Ten outdoor 400-meter champion Elexis Guster. The junior enters the weekend seeded second in the 400 meters behind Purdue’s Symone Black. Guster placed fourth in the event in 2015, third in 2014. Black was the runner-up last season.
Guster has her eyes set on the Big Ten crown, and she has worked extra hard training in order to add the 400-meter trophy to her collection.
“The goal for the Big Tens is to be the most dominate sprint group in the conference,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the 400 and possibly winning it. It won’t be easy, but I’m willing to work hard in training to achieve that.”
Teammate Briana Guillory will be another expected point scorer. In the 200 meters, she ranks sixth in the Big Ten. Guillory, only a freshman, has no shortage of confidence.
“I really want a ring,” she said. “If I can get one for every race I’m competing in, that would be lovely.”
The sprinters can also expect some points in the 60 meters, as senior Lake Kwaza ranks second in the Big Ten. She brings plenty of experience and was a 2014 outdoor second-team All-American.
The final contending event for the sprinters is in the 1,600-meter relay. After breaking the school record at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 13, the quartet of senior MonTayla Holder, juniors Guster and Alexis Hernandez, and freshman Guillory ranks third in the Big Ten.
Even with the record-setting performance at Tyson, Woody believes there’s a better time out there.
“I think women’s [1,600-meter relay] can run a second and a half faster if they have better handoffs and everyone runs her best splits on the same day,” he said.
Lead runner Guster agreed with the coach; she hopes the team can set a record this weekend.
“It was nice to be on the relay team that has the fastest time in Iowa’s history; however, we know we’re capable of running faster, so we are looking forward to breaking our own record at the championship,” she said.