Adam Hensley
On a day where the temperature sat at 46 degrees, the Hawkeyes attempted to keep their hot streak from the Musco Twilight burning.
The Hawkeyes’ first event came early in the 110-meter hurdles. Junior Aaron Mallett won his heat with the fourth-fastest time in the preliminary round, finishing in 14.03 seconds.
“I’m focused on executing my race and giving the Iowa fans something to cheer for,” he said. “Despite the weather [tomorrow] I want to run fast and get the win.”
Indiana State’s Adarius Washington finished in the fastest time (13.75 seconds).
Mallett will compete in the finals starting at 2:44 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.
“I’m really confident going into the final because I’m hungry to win a Drake Relays flag and really catapult myself in the NCAA as an elite hurdler,” he said. “It’s great competition here so if I come out on top I must be pretty good.”
Iowa’s next event came in the 4×100 relay. The Hawkeyes finished tenth with Vinnie Saucer Jr, Mallett, Christian Brissett, and Mar’yea Harris leading the way.
Harrington, listed on the lineups and heat sheets, did not race for reasons unknown. Iowa also pulled their 4×200 relay, another one of Harrington’s specialties.
Saucer and Brissett also competed in the 100-meter dash. Saucer advanced to the finals, finishing in 10.26 seconds.
“I just made sure I warmed up right and kept my muscles ready to go for this race,” the junior said. “I felt like I did that. I felt like I pushed off the blocks well. I just let my momentum carry me.”
His confidence level remains high going into the final round, as his time ranks second in that event overall, but knows there are areas that need a little work.
“I [need to] just make sure I keep positive and male sure I don’t think about [anybody] else,” he said. “I just have to make sure I run my race, transition right. I felt like my transition in the prelims wasn’t as good as I thought it should be. If I keep pushing, I feel like I have a good chance to win.”
Saucer also noted that his health plays a main factor in his performance, and he is finally injury-free following nagging injuries which have kept him out of competition at points this season.
Brissett finished 13th in the 100 with a time of 10.58 seconds.
Iowa’s 4×400 relay finished 9th, missing the finals.
Mitch Wolff, Harris, Mallett, and DeJuan Frye were the Hawkeye runners in the relay, and they finished in 3:09.38.
After competing in the first heat, Iowa could only look on as other teams finished with faster times.
Going into the final heat, Iowa clung to the eighth-best time, which would have gotten them into the finals, but Texas ran a time of 3:07.58, preventing the Hawkeyes from advancing.
On paper, sophomore Carter Lilly was included on the 1,600-meter relay, but did not compete.
In the field events, Iowa’s Reno Tuufuli and Avery Meyers competed in the shot put. Tuufuli, a redshirt freshman, placed 5th (17.82 meters), while Meyers, a junior, placed 15th (16.80 meters).
Javelin throwers Alex Balke and Sam Joens earned the 17th and 20th spots, respectively.
Iowa’s final event on Thursday, the 4×800 relay, finished eighth. Michael Melchert, Ryan Dorman, Lilly, and Noah Larrison finished at the 7:30.32 mark.
Running at the third slot in the relay, Lilly brought Iowa in a neck-and-neck battle for first place on the home stretch but Larrison could not keep up with Minnesota’s Goaner Deng, anchor for the winning Gophers.
Despite their 8th place finish, Iowa’s time ranks fourth all-time at Iowa.
On Thursday, Iowa’s first day of competition, the 4×1600 relay of Brook Price, Ian Eklin, Daniel Gardarsson, and Kevin Docherty finished in 17:00.30 – good enough for eighth place. That time ranks fourth in Hawkeye history.
Competition picks up tomorrow, April 30th, with the first events university events starting at 8:30 a.m.
