By Carter Melrose
The Iowa track and field team finally competed outside. This past weekend, the team traveled to participate in the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Arizona.That trip resulted in five Iowa champions and the ability for the Hawkeyes to once again feel the wind run through their hair. The beginning of the outdoor season is exciting, but it’s a double-edged sword. Outdoor meets provide an opportunity for some big time personal bests for sprinters if the wind is at their back, but it can also spell disaster if they are running on a wet track or into a headwind.
The indoor season for the Hawks was very fruitful, with two Big Ten champions and nine All-Americans, but that creates expectations — expectations for this team to shine brighter than most other lights in the country. Here are two numbers you should keep in mind heading into the outdoor track season:
59.04
That is the number of meters sophomore Reno Tuufuli threw his discus this last weekend. This throw was also enough to subsequently win him the Big Ten title in this event. Well not really, but here is the explanation.
During the 2015-2016 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Tuufuli threw the discus 56.51 meters in the final of this event. The Big Ten champion Nicholas Percy from Nebraska threw a 57.42. In other words Tuufuli, during the first meet of the outdoor season, was already throwing it far enough to win last season’s Big Ten title. That has to raise expectations for this kid. That isn’t even his personal best either. Last season, he threw a 60.71, which would have slotted him in the fifth spot at the 2015-2016 NCAA Outdoor Men’s Track and Field Championships. There are big things to come for him in the future.
44.31
During last year’s Big Ten Championships, the women’s 4×100 relay team ran this time, enough to place third in a powerhouse conference. This team consisted of Lake Kwaza, Elexis Guster, Briana Guillory, and Alexis Hernandez. This year’s relay has some new faces but still kept most of its core of the relay in Hernandez and Guillory. The newcomers on this relay are Brittany Brown and Taylor Chapman, who will hope to continue the successes for the Hawkeyes. The catalysts of the team are Hernandez and Guillory, who helped the relay team run a 44.34 at the Baldy Castillo Invitational this past weekend, which won the event. If this relay can run that fast this early in the season, the country better start putting these girls on notice. They are coming for the Big Ten title — that has to be the expectations for them.
This season is setting up to be drama-heavy with many edge-of-your-seat kind of moments. Expectations are high, but that is good; expectations breed winners.
The Hawkeyes take a break this week but will continue their outdoor portion of the season at the Stanford Invitational from March 31 to April 1.