Iowa track and field set to compete at NCAA Regional Championships
The Hawkeyes enter 36 athletes this week at the NCAA West Regional meet in College Station, Texas.
Iowa thrower Laulauga Tausaga competes in the women’s shot put premiere during the fourth annual Larry Wieczorek Invitational at the University of Iowa Recreation Building on Friday, Jan 17, 2020. Tausaga’s 16.72m throw earned her sixth place, behind five throwers who surpassed the previous meet record of 17.13m.
May 25, 2021
The University of Iowa track and field teams will travel to College Station, Texas, this week to compete in the 2021 NCAA Track and Field West Regional Championships May 26-29.
Competition begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday with the men’s long jump and the meet will finish on Saturday afternoon.
After a title-winning performance at the 2021 Big Ten Track and Field Outdoor Championship May 14-16, the Hawkeye men’s team is ranked No. 16 in the nation and No. 1 in the Midwest Region.
In the May 17 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Rating Index, the Iowa women’s track and field team are ranked No. 37 nationally, and clock in at No. 5 in the Midwest Region. The Hawkeye women finished fourth at the Big Ten Outdoor Championship.
The Hawkeyes have nine individual events ranked in the USTFCCCA event squad ratings. The UI tops the country in the women’s discus squad and men’s 110-meter hurdles group, and is home to No. 2 men’s discus, No. 2 women’s shot put, No. 3 men’s 400-meter hurdles, No. 4 women’s 400-meter hurdles, and No. 6 men’s long jump. Rounding out the top 10 for the Hawkeyes are the eighth-ranked women’s hammer throw, No. 8 men’s 800-meters, and No. 10 women’s 100-meter hurdles.
Iowa track and field have 36 total qualifiers for the 2021 regional meet — 22 men and 14 women. The Hawkeyes will compete in 22 individual events and three relays.
The top 12 individuals and relays from the 2021 NCAA West Regional — hosted by Texas A&M at E.B. Cushing Stadium — will move on to the 2021 NCAA National Championship round in Eugene, Oregon, June 9-12.
Hawkeye senior and four-time Big Ten Outdoor Champion Laulauga Tausaga will be competing in the discus and shot put this week.
Tausaga is seeded No. 2 in the 2021 West Regional in discus — with a 62.89-meter mark — and the shot put, which comes in at 17.94 meters.
The six-time All-American will be looking to defend her 2019 NCAA title in the discus throw as the 2020 NCAA Outdoor Championships were canceled because of COVID-19.
Hawkeye senior Dallyssa Huggins became a gold medalist at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, winning the high jump with a career-best mark of 1.79 meters. She is ranked at No. 24 in the NCAA regional.
The men’s track and field team feature Big Ten champions Jamal Britt and Jaylan McConico.
McConico won the 110-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championship and owns the top seed in the West with a time of 13.23 seconds. Britt came second behind McConico in the conference championships and is the No. 3 seed in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing the race in 13.45 seconds.
Britt won the Big Ten individual title in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 49.69 seconds, earning the No. 6 seed in the event at the West Regional.
Hawkeye junior Wayne Lawrence Jr., who came second in the 400-meter and 4×100 relay at the Big Ten Championships, will also compete at the NCAA West Regionals this week. His time of 45.46 seconds in the 400-meter ranks seventh in the West Regional.
The junior will be competing alongside McConico in the 4×100-meter relay this week. Lawrence will compete in the 400-meter race and 4×100-meter relay as well.
The NCAA West Regional will be live streamed at ESPN.com.
