The Iowa track and field team split up to compete this weekend. The Hawkeyes sent athletes to Ames, Iowa, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, to compete in the Iowa State Classic and Tyson Invitational, respectively.

For the second week in a row, Iowa senior Nik Curtiss broke the Hawkeye men’s shot put record, resetting his own personal-best mark. Curtiss threw 19.57 meters this weekend to place second at the Tyson Invitational.

“Nik has been a great addition to our program,” Iowa Track and Field Director Joey Woody said via release. “I’m excited to see what he will do over the next few weeks.”

Another Hawkeye senior, Mallory King, took bronze in the women’s 800-meter at the Tyson Invitational. Her 2:04.56 time is a University of Iowa record.

“Mallory King is a great example of an athlete who has just bought in since day one and continues to get better every season,” Woody said. “Today was an amazing performance by her.” 

Iowa sophomore Kalen Walker etched his name into school history at the Tyson Invitational, posting a 6.61-second time in the men’s 60-meter.

Freshman Jenoah McKiver broke a UI record in the 400-meter at the Tyson Invitational, completing the race in 45.39 seconds. McKiver narrowly edged out teammate Wayne Lawrence’s 45.40 from 2021.

McKiver also propelled the Hawkeye men’s 4×400 team to a school record.

The quartet of freshman Chadrick Richards, junior Julien Gillum, Lawrence, and McKiver demolished the previous UI-best, registering a 3:02.40 time. The 3:02.40 mark is currently the second-best time any NCAA team has posted this year.

“They went head-to-head against the top team in the country and came up just a bit short,” Woody said of the Iowa men’s 4×400 team. “All of those guys are hungry. They believe they are the best team. We know that we have a lot more in the tank and look forward to showing what we can do at the NCAA Championships in four weeks.” 

The Hawkeye women’s 4×400 team also made UI history, clocking a 3:32.38 time. Sophomore Mariel Bruxvoort, freshman Tessa Roberts, senior Payton Wensel, and King run the women’s 4×400 for Iowa.

“To cap the meet off with those tremendous school-record 4×400-meter relays was a big exclamation point to the weekend,” Woody said. “I’m so proud of how those women competed this entire weekend. Not many of the teams that we beat today would’ve recruited those girls out of high school, which just shows how much they have bought in to our program and how much they have developed.”

Big Picture

Less than two weeks stand between the Hawkeyes and the 2022 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships. Iowa has competed in seven indoor events since December.

The Hawkeyes’ slate of outdoor track and field outings begins March 18.

Up Next

The Hawkeyes will head to South Bend, Indiana, next weekend for the Alex Wilson Invitational at the University of Notre Dame.

The meet’s start time has not been announced.