Tausaga-Collins and Britt highlight current and former Hawkeyes at USATF Championships
Laulauga Tausaga-Collins placed second in the discus on June 24 and qualified for her second World Championships.
Iowa’s Laulauga Tausaga winds up to throw during the women’s shot put at the 2019 Drake Relays in Des Moines, IA, on Friday, April 26, 2019. Tausaga earned 2nd with a distance of 16.36m.
June 30, 2022
Fifteen current and former Iowa athletes competed in the United States Track and Field Championships from June 23-26 in Eugene, Oregon.
Former Iowa champion Laulauga Tausaga-Collins advanced to the World Championships on Friday. She was the only Hawkeye to do so.
Tausaga-Collins’ second-place finish with a discus throw of 24.49 meters — a personal best — was enough to get her to her second career World Championships. Her first being in 2019 where she finished 12th at the World Championships in Qatar.
Iowa had multiple runners in the 110-meter hurdles race at the national championships. Senior Josh Braverman recorded the third-fastest time in Iowa history with a 13.41-second mark.
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Jamal Britt and Aaron Mallett joined Braverman in the 110-meter hurdle on Sunday. Britt failed to qualify for the World Championships on Sunday, missing the cut by only .003 seconds. His time of 13.09 seconds was the fifth-fastest mark recorded this year.
Junior James Carter and former Hawkeye Erik Sowinski also competed on Sunday in the triple jump and the 800-meter run, respectively. Carter finished 15th on Sunday, posting a career-best mark of 8.00 meters.
The three-time World Championship qualifier, Erik Sowinski, competed in his 16th U.S. final this weekend. The 2012 NCAA 800-meter runner-up fell short of what would have been his fourth World Championship berth, after finishing seventh in the U.S. final.
Julien Gillum and former All-American Austin Leitz competed in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday. Gillum, the reigning Big Ten champ, placed 20th while Leitz finished 23rd.
Nik Curtiss placed 17th in the shot put to wrap up his Hawkeye career. The indoor and outdoor school record holder finished his Iowa career as a first-team All-American at the most recent NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
Other Hawkeyes competing were former All-American Brittany Brown and LaSarah Hargrove in the 200-meter dash. Both runners competed in the prelims on Saturday. Hargrove, a rising junior and three-time All-American, placed 23rd in the prelims while Brown advanced to the final race on Sunday. The former Hawkeye and 200-meter silver medalist at the 2019 World Championships placed fifth in the final race.
