Tausaga, Woody earn regional recognition
Iowa’s Laulauga Tausaga and Joey Woody continued to load their award cases on May 31.
Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody interviews with reporters after the annual Black and Gold Intrasquad Meet at the UI Recreation Building on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017.
May 31, 2019
As Iowa track and field prepares for the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 5-8, a couple of its key figures earned regional recognition.
The United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Association announced on May 31 that Iowa junior thrower Laulauga Tausaga was named Midwest Regional Female Field Athlete of the Year, while Director of Track and Field Joey Woody earned Men’s Coach of the Year.
Both won in impressive fashion.
Tausaga swept the Regional Field Athlete of the Year honors after previously bringing home the honor at the conclusion of the indoor season, and Woody is the first Hawkeye coach to win the honor.
Tausaga’s outdoor campaign was one of the best in program history. She broke three school records, including the shot put (18.02 meters), discus (62.69), and hammer throw (61.34). On top of that, Tausaga won her third career Big Ten title and earned Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year.
Throughout the season, Tausaga was also a coaches’ association Field Athlete of the Week and three-time Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week, and she recently posted the best throw in the discus at the NCAA West First Preliminary.
Woody, much like Tausaga, is not inexperienced in earning awards this season. After leading the Iowa men to their first Big Ten title since 2011, Woody was named Big Ten Men’s Coach of the Year by the conference.
The fifth-year head coach wants to make it clear that such recognition is not earned alone.
Iowa will close out the outdoor season June 5-8 in Austin, Texas, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
