Sophomore Laulauga Tausaga made an immediate impact for the Iowa track and field team when she arrived on campus in 2016. She earned the Outstanding Freshman award and was a first team All-American in 2017.

Since then, she has cemented herself as one of the most prolific field athletes in Iowa history. After her performance at LSU on April 7, she was named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career.

At the Battle on the Bayou, she set two school records after winning the shot put and the discus, throwing marks of 16.31 meters and 58.86 meters, respectively.

The discus throw was a personal best for her, breaking her own record in the event. The shot put mark broke a record that had been in place since 1992.

“I originally considered myself a discus thrower, but I’m finding out I have other strengths,” Tausaga said.

In the indoor season, Tausaga also set a school record in the weight throw, throwing a mark of 20.03 meters at the Big Ten Championships.

Tausaga, a Spring Valley, California, native, has dominated the track and field scene since she was in high school. At Mount Miguel High, she was all-state twice, a two-time athlete of the year, and team MVP. She also set records in the shot put and discus before coming to college to do the same.

“To break these records are amazing to me,” Tausaga said. “It shows me that when I trust the process I can achieve way more then what I realized.”

Tausaga currently ranks fifth in the country in the discus and 18th in the shot put. Her marks in the two events have played a part in the women’s team being ranked 34th in the country, according to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association’s rankings.

In the field, Jahisha Thomas, who won the triple jump and the long jump at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, is also a contributor to that ranking. On the track, Briana Guillory, Andrea Shine, and the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams have done their part.

“My expectations for the team are high,” Tausaga said. “I believe that it’s completely possible for [us] to continue to improve our national rankings as a team.”

As the outdoor season comes to a close, Tausaga’s success is imperative for the team to triumph as a whole.

“We are trending in the right direction,” Iowa track and field director Joey Woody told Hawkeye Sports. “With Laulauga, she is really starting to put things together with two school records going into the last few weeks before we go to the Big Ten Championships.”

If setting school records at nearly every event beginning in the indoor season is just “putting things together,” Big Ten opponents should shiver at the thought of Tausaga improving any more.