When talking to track and field fans across the state, the conversation often ends up at the Drake Relays, and Thursday through Saturday, the Hawkeyes will get their chances to impress fans in plenty of events.
Three events fans should be eager to see are the 400 meters, 1,600-meter relay, and the sprint medley, and Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody is confident the women’s team will bring its best.
“We believe we’re going to put together relays that are going to be competing to win a lot of the relays,” he said. “The 4×1 and the 4×4, we’re ranked really high, and then the sprint medleys are probably our three best chances to win.”
Particularly in the 400-meter relay, Woody has a time in mind that he would like to see in order to contend with the top teams in the nation.
“I definitely feel like we can run 43-low, if not faster,” he said.
At the April 23 Musco Twilight, senior Lake Kwaza didn’t compete on the 400-meter team, but this weekend, she will join Elexis Guster, Briana Guillory, and Alexis Hernandez.
“Lake didn’t even run on it [at Musco], and we still ran pretty fast,” Woody said. “With Lake back on there, the girls are excited to run their best performance of the year.”
Although the relays are the most intriguing events of the competition, another Hawkeye fans should keep their eye on is Jahisha Thomas in the 100-meter hurdles.
The sophomore will try to grab her first Drake title. She ranks sixth all-time in program history with a time of 13.67.
Woody hopes Thomas will put together a big-time performance in both the hurdles and in the long jump.
“This week, she gets to focus on the long jump and hurdles, and I think she’s really close to busting out a great performance in the hurdles,” he said.
Thomas believes her performance is all about maintaining pace throughout the race, something she wasn’t able to do at Musco, in which she finished second. Maintaining pace could be difficult for the London native; she has battled hamstring problems the last couple weeks.
“My hamstrings have not agreed with me, so I haven’t been practicing as much,” Thomas said. “With not practicing, I’ve lost some of my endurance.”
Woody has high goals for the high- jump squad and javelin throwers as well.
“The women’s high jumpers and javelin throwers have the opportunity to put up some performances that will rank well at the Big Ten Championships,” he said. “We have plenty of women in the field events who we hope to see progress as the season goes on.”
In the high jumps, graduate student Khanishah Williams will lead the way in her final Drake competition. In the throws, sophomore Leah Colbert hopes to carry over momentum from Musco.
The Hawkeyes need to be at their best in each event. Woody has firsthand experience, having competed in the Relays numerous times, and he knows how important Drake is to showcase the program.