Iowa track and field records 19 career-bests at Illinois

The Hawkeyes traveled to Champaign, Illinois, and competed in the Fighting Illini Big Ten Relays.

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Jenna Galligan

Iowa sprinter Wayne Lawrence Jr. leads the pack in the 400m dash premier during the second day of the Larry Wieczorek Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Lawrence won with a time of 46.28. 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


The Iowa track and field team traveled to Champaign, Illinois, and competed at the Fighting Illini Big Ten Relays Friday and Saturday.

Over the two days of competition in Illinois, the team recorded 19 career-bests and one all-time top 10 performance.

Wayne Lawrence Jr. shined while representing the Hawkeyes during the meet. Lawrence took home gold medals in both the 400 and 200 meters Friday.

Lawrence won the 400 meters with a time of 46.72 and won the 200 meters by a hundredth of a second by recording a career-best 20.71. That time is tied for 10th best all-time in program history.

Also in the 200 meters, Antonio Woodard and Austin Kresley recorded top 10 finishes. Woodard finished in sixth place with a time of 21.11, while Kresley finished in ninth with a time of 21.44.

Evan Shuster finished in 13th place, recording a career-best time of 21.83. Grant Conway finished in 15th place and got a career-best with a time of 21.90.

In the 100-meter hurdles, Jenny Kimbro finished in second with a time of 13.54. Paige Magee finished fourth with a time of 13.71 and recorded a career-best 62.29 in the 400 hurdles.

Kimbro finished fourth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 59.32. Magee recorded a career-best best 62.29 in that event. Sydney Winger got seventh overall in the 100 hurdles with a career-best time of 14.04. Katie Petersen recorded a career-best as well, with a time of 14.34.

In the 110-meter hurdles, with a time of 13.92, Josh Braverman earned a bronze medal. Gratt Reed finished fifth with a career-best time of 13.98.

Raymund Clarke finished fifth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 53.03.

James Carter placed third in the long jump with a mark of 7.40 meters.

In the women’s 200 meters, four Hawkeyes earned their career-bests. Tionna Tobias finished seventh with a time of 24.43, and Tesa Roberts finished with a time of 24.95, giving her 14th place. Katie Petersen finished with a time of 25.84, giving her 24th, and Dallyssa Huggins finished in 27th, with a time of 26.25.

“Overall, I felt we had a pretty successful day on the track,” Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody said in a release Friday. “I thought the 100 hurdlers and 110 hurdlers competed very well and put up some great performances and some PR’s. I thought Josh was going to win the race until he clipped the eighth hurdle. It was great to see Gratt break the 14.0 barrier for the first time in his career, and Grant continues to make big improvements with a huge PR today. Jenny was really close to winning the 100 hurdles and I thought she competed very well with some tired legs after coming off the heptathlon win last weekend. I was very pleased with big PR’s from Sydney Winger and Katie Peterson as they continue to progress very well this outdoor season.”

On Saturday, Huggins earned a silver medal on the women’s side of the high jump with a jump of 1.70 meters.

Zack Pluff finished fourth on the men’s side by having a career-best jump of 2.08 meters.

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Jamal Britt, Jaylan McConico, and former Iowa athlete Aaron Mallet competed at the 2021 Drake Relays in Des Moines over the weekend.

Britt got a bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles Saturday in the “Journey to Gold” event. Britt finished with a career-best 13.45, moving from third to second on Iowa’s all-time top 10 list. Aaron Mallett earned a silver medal in the race, finishing in 13.41. Iowa senior Jaylan McConico ran a career-best of 13.56 and finished fifth.

“I’m very excited with how well Jaylan and Jamal competed today,” Woody said Saturday. “To have three Hawkeyes, including Aaron Mallett, in the top five at a major World Athletics meet speaks to how good those guys are. I believe they are just starting to race into form as we build into the championship portion of our season. I think today’s success will add a ton of confidence for all of them. I cannot wait to see what Jamal and Jaylan will do in the coming weeks.”

The Hawkeyes will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, next to compete in the Billy Hayes Invitational May 1.