By Pete Ruden
Jan. 28 at the Black and Gold Premier turned out to be a big day for senior Will Dougherty. He scored 5,386 points in the heptathlon to set a record for the most in school history.
After setting personal records in four of the seven events, he finally reached his goal of being first in the history of Iowa track and field.
“This is a little bittersweet,”’ he said in a release. “My goal coming into college was always to get the school records, and that has been fulfilled and satisfied, and I am happy with that, but I know I left some out there on the table. It’s good, because I know what I need to work on between now and the conference meet.”
In addition to Dougherty’s huge performance, senior Aaron Mallett did what he does best, winning the men’s 60-meter hurdles in 7.75 while setting a facility record.
Mallett, who competed at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials during the summer, also set a personal record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.80.
Former Hawkeye football player Emmanuel Ogwo set a personal record in the 400 meters, finishing in 47.53.
On the women’s side, junior Jahisha Thomas performed exceptionally in the 60-meter hurdles, turning in a time of 8.42 seconds, moving her into fourth all-time in school history.
While the race turned out just fine for Thomas, she said she needs to tune out the nerves and focus on her beginning phase out of the blocks.
“I was a little skeptical coming into the race, but I am glad that it worked out,” Thomas said in a release. “I am really nervous at the start, so I need to breathe, have confidence in my training, and make sure I have a good start.”
The 800 meters was also a big personal event for three Hawkeyes; Macie Weber, Jordyn Sindt, and Amber Decker set personal records. Multi-events were big, not just for Dougherty but for senior Heaven Chandler and freshman Jenny Kimbro as well. Chandler and Kimbro competed in their first pentathlon, and they made the most of their opportunities.
Kimbro finished second in the event with 3,715 points, and even though it was her first attempt ever at the event, moved into third place in Hawkeye history with that performance.
“It’s crazy [to rank third all-time],” she said in a release. “But there are still a lot of things that I wish I could have improved on and a lot of things to work on in practice, but I am happy with the results. It was an exciting day.”
Like Kimbro, Chandler had herself a day, placing fourth overall with 3,411 points. She also cracked the Iowa top 10, ranking ninth.
Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody was impressed with the performances. After not focusing on the multis as much, they are becoming a strong point for Iowa.
“I was really proud of the girls and the way they came out,” Woody said in a release. “For Jenny Kimbro to get one of the top performances in the history of our program is pretty impressive.
“It’s funny because the multi-events have not been a strong part of our program. Since I have taken over, they have become more a priority of our program.”
