On Saturday, Iowa track and field senior thrower Laulauga Tausaga placed second in the NCAA women’s discus finals, hitting a career-best 63.53-meter mark.

Tausaga could not defend her 2019 NCAA discus title as Arizona State thrower Jorinde Van Klinken set a new NCAA record with a throw of 65.01 meters to claim the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Discus Championship.

Tausaga collected her second first-team All-America honor of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with her second-place throw. On Thursday, the Spring Valley, California, native placed sixth in the shot put with a throw of 17.29 meters.

“Lagi has had an amazing career and continues to make history every time she steps into the ring,” Iowa track and field director Joey Woody said in a release. “She had the best performance of her career today, but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough to defend her title against a great competitor that had to set a meet record to beat her. Lagi will forever go down as one of the all-time greatest athletes to ever wear an Iowa uniform in any sport. She has a bright future ahead of her in this sport, and I can’t wait to watch her compete next week at the trials.”

Senior Serena Brown secured second-team All-America honors, placing 10th in the discus with a mark of 57.06 meters.

Iowa men’s track and field finished 12th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Friday afternoon — the team’s best finish at the outdoor national championships since 1967.

The men’s track and field team scored 19 total points throughout the three-day event and grabbed four first-team All-America honors.

Senior Will Daniels put the Hawkeyes on the board Thursday, registering a seventh-place finish in the decathlon.

In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, Iowa’s Jaylan McConico and Jamal Britt tallied 13 of Iowa’s 19 team points. McConico took home second place with a time of 13.38 seconds, and Britt matched his career-best time of 13.45 seconds, finishing fourth.

McConico finished a step behind Alabama’s Robert Dunning, who claimed the event crown with 13.25 time.  McConico’s best 110-meter time of the season came at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in May, when posted a 13.23-second time.

“Jaylan was running extremely well through seven hurdles, but unfortunately clipped a hurdle that got him off of his rhythm,” Woody said in a release. “I thought he recovered extremely well to finish runner-up and score big points for the team. Jamal saved his best high hurdle race of the season for the finals of the NCAA Championships. He ran amazing to finish fourth and just missed the top three.”

The Hawkeyes tacked on four more points in the final race of the meet — the men’s 4×400-meter relay — when seniors Austin Lietz and Antonio Woodard, sophomore Julien Gillum, and junior Wayne Lawrence, Jr. finished fifth with a time of 3 minutes and 2.54 seconds.

“I am just extremely proud of everyone’s efforts this entire weekend,” Woody said in a release. “We just missed our team goal of scoring 20-plus and finish top-10, but I am extremely proud of this team and how well they competed this entire season. To win the Big Ten Indoor Championship, Big Ten Outdoor Championship and finish top 12 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to complete our season is unprecedented in the history of our program. Our entire staff and athletes worked tirelessly to make this happen and I am so proud of everyone.”