Iowa track and field battling injuries ahead of Musco Twilight Invite
Sophomore runners Kalen Walker and Jenoah McKiver will not compete in the Hawkeyes’ lone home event of the outdoor season.
Iowa’s Jenoah McKiver celebrates after placing first in the men’s 600 meter premiere run with a time of 1:16.08 at the 2022 Larry Wieczorek Invitational track and field meet at the University of Iowa Recreation building on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.. McKiver’s time set a meet, facility and school record. The Larry Wieczorek Invitational hosted Baylor, Gonzaga, Mount Mercy, the University of Northern Iowa, Purdue, Wartburg and the University of Wisconsin.
April 21, 2022
Iowa track and field will host its only home meet of the 2022 outdoor season this weekend at the Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track. The Hawkeye-hosted Musco Twilight Invitational will take place on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Several of the Hawkeyes’ best athletes will not be participating in the event. Sophomore sprinter Kalen Walker was spotted wearing a protective walking boot at a media availability session on Wednesday.
While Walker will not be competing Saturday, he said the injury won’t affect him long-term.
“It’s just a little thing,” Walker said of his ailment. “We’re all just a little banged up from travel and stuff. I think we’ll be alright though. We’re just taking this week to recover, and it’ll be a day-by-day thing from there on out.”
Sophomore runner Jenoah McKiver is also unlikely to compete Saturday. Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody said the NCAA leader in the 400-meter dash may miss an extended period of time between now and the end of the season.
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We’re working through some things with him as well,” Woody said Wednesday. “We’ve got a good system in place with our trainers to make sure [he] gets back healthy. We’ve just got to monitor some things and be smart.
“This time of the year, when it’s been a long season, we’ve got to pull back and let his body heal up a little bit,” Woody added. “I think the travel just kind of caught up to us a little bit.”
Woody said Walker will likely return from his injury in time for the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis May 13-15.
Woody is also hopeful McKiver will be healthy before Iowa heads to Minneapolis.
“We’re still evaluating some stuff,” Woody said. “He’s still getting tests done. I think we’re going to have a shot at getting him ready for Big Tens. That’s our plan for right now. We’re just going to wait and see. There’s not a whole lot I can say, because we’re relying on what the doctors say.”
Although several of the program’s premier athletes will not be competing this weekend, Woody highlighted the importance of the Hawkeyes’ lone home outing of the season.
“Getting back home lets us focus on the student part of being a student-athlete,” Woody said. “Getting back in the classroom lets us get caught back up on our schoolwork, especially these next few weeks as we finish up school and get ready for finals. That leads us right into the Big Ten Championships.
“I think it’s important to sleep in our own bed, get back into the routine of not eating on the road … I’m excited, as is my staff, to be home and get a little bit of normalcy.”
After this weekend’s meet, Hawkeyes will split up for two short road trips. Some of Iowa’s athletes will compete in the Drake Relays in Des Moines April 27-30 and others will participate in Simpson College’s Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola, Iowa, on April 29.