Iowa track and field posts 10 career bests at Big Ten Invite #2

The meet was in Bloomington, Indiana, and Wayne Lawrence Jr. finished first in the men’s 400 meters.

Jenna Galligan

Iowa sprinter Wayne Lawrence Jr. anchors the 4x400m relay premier during the second day of the Larry Wieczorek Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Lawrence ran a split of 45.685, rounding out a victory for the Iowa ‘A’ team with a total time of 3:09.58. Due to coronavirus restrictions, the Hawkeyes could only host Big Ten teams. Iowa men took first, scoring 189, and women finished third with 104 among Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Illinois.

Lauren Swanson, Sports Reporter
April 11, 2021

The Iowa track and field team shined at the B1G Invite No. 2 Friday in Bloomington, Indiana.

Collectively, the Hawkeyes recorded 10 career bests at the meet.

In the men’s 400 meters, Iowa had four athletes place in the top five. Wayne Lawrence Jr. led the Hawkeyes with a first place time of 46.14. Jenoah Mckiver got second with a time of 47.18. Nolan Kembel finished in fourth with a career-best time of 47.69, and Josh Andrews finished in fifth with his career-best time of 48.39.

DeJuan Frye finished fifth with a time of 21.86 in the men’s 200 meters. Nolan Kembel had a career-best time of 22.86, giving him 15th place.

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In the women’s 400 meters, Clare Pitcher finished fourth with a time of 56.30, which was a career-best. With a time of 56.41, Aly Weum finished in fifth.

In the women’s 1,500 meters, all four Hawkeyes who participated had career-bests. Mallory King, in her 1,500 meter debut, finished 18th with a time of 4:28.42. Bryce Gidel had a time of 4:46.70, giving her 48th place, and Ellie Twedt finished with a time of 4:47.58 to give her 49th place. Lindsay Welker finished in 51st place with a time of 4:51.23.

Gabby Skopec finished 18th in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:57.35, and Abby Ryan finished 22nd with a time of 18:33.06 in the same event.

In the 400 hurdles, Nolan Roethler finished seventh with a career-best time of 54.72.

Kelli Tosic and Wren Renquist made their 10,000 meter debuts Friday. Tosic finished 11th with a time of 36:00.48, while Renquist got 14th place with a time of 37:41.48.

The team will travel next to both the Big Ten Invite No. 3 in Bloomington and the Big Texas Invitational in Houston, Texas, from April 16-17.