Jenoah McKiver places second at NCAA Indoor Championships as Iowa track and field crowns eight All-Americans
The Hawkeyes finished up the indoor season at the NCAA Championships on Sunday, sending 11 events to the meet.
Iowa’s Jenoah McKiver leads the pack during the men’s 600-meter premiere run at the 2022 Larry Wieczorek Invitational track and field meet at the University of Iowa Recreation building on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. McKiver placed first with a time of 1:16.08, setting a school record, a meet record, and a facility record. The Larry Wieczorek Invitational hosted Baylor, Gonzaga, Mount Mercy, the University of Northern Iowa, Purdue, Wartburg and the University of Wisconsin.
March 13, 2022
The Iowa track and field program finished the NCAA Indoor Championships with eight All-Americans this weekend.
The Hawkeyes sent eleven events to the meet in Birmingham, Alabama. At the end of Saturday’s events, the Hawkeye men stood at 18th in the nation with 14 team points.
The Hawkeyes had a stellar showing in the men’s 400-meter individual race. Iowa qualified three finalists for the event — freshmen Jenoah McKiver and Chadrick Richards and junior Wayne Lawrence Jr.
McKiver finished second in the nation with a time of 45.65 seconds. He entered the meet with the fifth-best time in the country.
Richards and Lawrence finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with the Hawkeye trio all earning first-team All-America honors.
Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody said McKiver, Lawrence, and Richards still have potential in their collegiate careers.
“I was very proud of how Chad and Wayne competed today,” Woody said via release on Saturday. “Jenoah had a stellar indoor season and it was amazing to watch him compete and finish runner-up at his first NCAA championship. He has a bright future ahead of him.”
The Iowa men’s 4×400 quartet of Richards, Lawrence, McKiver, and junior Julien Gillum, placed twelfth, earning second team All-American honors.
Three other individual Hawkeye competitors finished on All-American teams this weekend.
Senior Tyler Lineau became a first-team All-American after his eighth-place finish in the weight throw. Lineau recorded a 22.08-meter toss Friday afternoon, earning his first career All-American distinction.
Sophomore Austin West finished 10th in the heptathlon with 5,815 points, and senior thrower Nik Curtiss finished 14th with a 18.73-meter toss in shot put. Both athletes received second team spots.
The Iowa women’s team sent one event to nationals. The women’s 4×400-meter relay finished eighth with a 3 minute and 35.03-second time. The squad of junior Mariel Bruxvoort, freshman Tesa Roberts, junior Payton Wensel, and senior Mallory King received first team All-America recognition for its efforts.
Big Picture
Iowa track and field finished its indoor season at the NCAA Championships.
The Hawkeyes will begin their outdoor season on March 18. The Iowa men’s track and field program are the reigning Big Ten Outdoor Champions after claiming the title in the 2020-21 season.
400-meter success
The Iowa men’s track and field team established itself as one of the premiere 400-meter programs in the nation with three individual men’s competitors placing in the top eight.
Both the men’s and women’s 4×400 relay squads earned All-American honors.
Woody said his assistant coach, Jason Wakenight, has been instrumental in the event’s recent string of success at Iowa.
“I want to give a ton of credit to coach Wakenight for where he’s taken that 400-meter group,” Woody said in a release. “We are one of the elite groups in the country and he’s done a tremendous job with that group [in] getting us to that level.”
Up Next
Iowa track and field will travel to Tempe, Arizona, on March 18 to compete at the Baldy Castillo Invitational, for the first meet of the outdoor season.