Iowa track and field assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jason Wakenight has been named Team USA Sprint/Hurdles/Relays coach for the World University Games in China for Summer 2021. Iowa’s director of operations for its track and field and cross country programs Kate Wakenight will also join team USA as part of the operations team.

“I’m thrilled to have such a unique opportunity to represent the country at one of the most elite competitions our sport has to offer,” Jason Wakenight said in a release. “I feel very blessed to be chosen and want to thank Coach Andrew Dubs and USATF for this tremendous honor. I am looking forward to working with some world-class athletes and having the opportunity to bring home some medals”

Jason Wakenight is entering his sixth season as an assistant coach for the Hawkeyes. His primary responsibilities include men’s and women’s long sprints and long hurdles, and men’s and women’s middle distances.

During the 2019-2020 season, Jason Wakenight helped sophomore Wayne Lawrence Jr. and the men’s 4×400-meter relay to Big Ten titles. Lawrence was also named Big Ten Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, Iowa’s first. The 2019 season saw nine Hawkeyes earn All-America honors — three first team and six second team — under Wakenight’s coaching, including the men’s relay team that finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and broke the Iowa school record (3:00.14).

“At Iowa we have become one of the country’s most elite sprint and hurdle programs and I am very proud to have played a meaningful role in that growth,” Jason Wakenight said in a release. “I have been so fortunate to work for two of the best coaches in the country, Randy Hasenbank at Loyola and Joey Woody here at Iowa. Those guys both put their trust in me and gave me unbelievable opportunities to develop as a young coach.”

Jason Wakenight was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Loyola University prior to joining the Hawkeye staff. He was also a three-year letterwinner at Iowa from 2004-06. He was a two-time NCAA qualifier in the 4×400 relay, and was named Iowa’s men’s track and field student-athlete of the year in 2006.

The World University Games are organized by the International University Sports Federation and held every other year. The event, which features 18 sports, is open to men and women between the ages of 17 and 24 who are currently or have been in the past year a student at a college or university.

“Our biggest task as a staff will be putting together a team that can compete at a high level and bring home medals,” Jason Wakenight said in a release. “Over the next few months, I will be evaluating talent across the country and putting together a group of athletes that can gel and compete hard with a common goal in mind. Coach Dubs and I have talked extensively about trying to sweep the relays and improve on the medal count from previous years.”

Kate Wakenight spent five years working in the event management department for Hawkeye Athletics and a year with the Iowa field hockey program as an administrative assistant before joining the track and field and cross country programs.

She is entering her sixth year as director of operations.

“This is such an amazing opportunity for Jason and I. It’s an honor to be able to represent our country and be able to use the skills I’ve honed at Iowa on a bigger stage,” Kate Wakenight said in a release. “I’m looking forward to working with elite athletes from across the country and empowering them through my logistical expertise to go out and represent the U.S. on an international stage.”

The event is set to begin with the opening ceremony on Aug. 18 and end Aug. 29, 2021 in Chengdu, China.