The Iowa track and field teams’ indoor season officially kicked off Jan. 13 with the Hawkeye Invitational in the Recreation Building. The meet featured tracksters from Iowa, Iowa Central Community College, Iowa State, and South Dakota.
The Iowa men and women came into the meet with top-35 rankings U.S. Track and Field/Cross-Country Coaches Association in the preseason poll — 32nd and 34th, respectively.
“It was good to see what people were doing over winter break and making sure they were coming back fit,” Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody said.
Iowa’s freshmen did not hesitate a bit in their first competition. Aly Weum won the 400 meters with a time of 57.33, and Luke Sampson took the 3,000 meters at 8:27.88.
Sheridan Champe won the women’s 200 meters at 24.70 seconds, and Bradford Garron — another outstanding freshman — won the men’s at 21.74.
Iowa’s Jenny Kimbro took home first in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.50 seconds, 0.05 seconds short of her personal best at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in 2017.
Former Hawkeye Aaron Mallett, now a pro, set a facility record in the same event with a time of 7.73 seconds.
Jalynn Roberts-Lewis won the women’s long jump, leaping 5.54 meters.
Nathan Mylenek blew out the field with a 4:10.8 mile, a Hawkeye Invitational meet record and personal best.
2017 All-American Lagi Tausaga moved into third in Iowa history in women’s shot put, winnng the event with a throw of 15 meters.
The throwers’ performance is vital to the team’s success later in the season, Woody said.
“We want to be a comprehensive track and field team,” he said. “When you get to the conference meet, you need points from everywhere.”
Junior Chris Douglas ran the 60-meter hurdles in an impressive 7.84 seconds, just 0.02 seconds off his personal best.
“I’m really happy to start with a time that’s close to my personal best,” he said. “The last two seasons I started with a solid time, and I always work my way down as the season goes on.”
2017 pole-vault national champion Chris Nilsen of South Dakota put on a show for a captivated crowd, setting a track and meet record at 18-4.5.
The Hawkeye athletes and coaches agreed on one thing: The Hawkeye Invitational was an excellent start to the season.
“It was a great season-opener; I think we all performed well,” Champe said. “It’s a great start to lead us into next week and hopefully, we can carry this momentum over.”