The Iowa track and field team took its talents west this past week, competing in three meets in California. The multi-event athletes competed in Asusa for the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 18 and April 19.
Senior Will Dougherty broke his own school record in the decathlon, earning 7,673 points to take fifth place.
Jenny Kimbro and Tria Simmons competed in the heptathlon, and both of them improved their spots on Iowa’s all-time rankings. Kimbro is now second in school history after tallying 5,523 points in the event, and Simmons is right behind her at 5,395 points.
Michael Melchert ran a personal best time of 3:44.59 in the 1,500 meters, good for third overall in the Big Ten.
Iowa’s other athletes split between Long Beach for the Beach Invitational on April 20-21 and Torrance for the Mt. SAC Relays on April 19-20.
At the Beach Invitational, Laulauga Tausaga finished third in the discus with a throw of 59.79 meters. Reno Tuufuli finished fourth in the shot put with his best throw of the season, 18.53 meters.
Tyree Sorrells won the long jump for the first time of his career with a mark of 7.06 meters.
At the Mt. SAC Relays, Brittany Brown won the 100 meters, setting a school record in the event with a time of 11.28 seconds. She is now second in the Big Ten in the event. She also finished third in the 200 later in the day with a time of 23 seconds.
Chris Douglas won the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.02 seconds. It was only his second time competing in the event this outdoor season, his first being at the Musco Twilight.
Jahisha Thomas won the long jump with a mark of 6.37 meters, falling just short of her personal best set at LSU on April 7.
O’Shea Wilson finished fifth in the long jump with a mark of 7.63 meters, moving him up to second in the Big Ten.
Nathan Mylenek moved into Iowa’s all-time list by finishing fourth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:09.53. He now ranks eighth in school history, sixth in the Big Ten this season. He is also second all time at Iowa in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
In the relay events, the Hawkeyes flourished. The men’s 1,600 relay placed third with a time of 3:07.45. The women’s team placed sixth in the same event with a time of 3:41.45.
The 4×400 relays both finished eighth in the event. The women ran a time of 45.06 seconds, and the men ran in 40 seconds flat.
Mar’yea Harris finished just 0.01 shy of his season best in the 400 with a time of 45.72 seconds. He still leads the Big Ten in the event.