The Iowa track and field team hosted the Larry Wieczorek Invitational Jan. 20-21.

The invitational, honoring former Iowa track and field coach and athlete Larry Wieczorek, brought 15 college programs — including Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin from the Big Ten — as well as individuals from around the globe — to the Iowa Indoor Track Facility.

The Hawkeye women team racked up 98 team points, to win the event, while the men finished third with 53.5.

“We’re always excited to host the Larry Wieczorek Invitational just because we get to honor Coach Wiz and what he’s done not only as a coach but as an athlete here,” Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody said. “He’s a Hall of Famer, so it’s just awesome to be able to honor and represent everything he did for Iowa track and field.”

Hawkeye freshman Wisdom Williams won the women’s shot put premier with a throw of 15.19 meters, a personal best that puts her 10th all-time at Iowa.  

Iowa thrower Jordan Johnson gave a PR of his own in the men’s shot put premier, his 17.55-meter throw landing him in third for the event.

Hawkeye women’s sprinters Natalie Harris and Ellie Rickertsen both qualified for the women’s 60-meter hurdles premier final with times of 8.88 and 8.93, respectively, a personal best for Rickertsen. Harris’ 8.74 in the final was good for second, while Rickertsen’s 8.97 put her in sixth.

The top five of the women’s 800-meter premier event held two Hawkeyes: Grace Bookin-Nosbisch in third with 2:10.82 and Amber Aesoph in fifth with 2:12.39.

Athletes from both the Iowa men’s and women’s team impressed in the 200-meter dash. In the women’s premier, Alexandria Edison placed second with a time of 24.83. LaSarah Hargrove won the women’s Hawkeye Pro Classic for the event with a time of 23.79.

Hawkeye junior Khullen Jefferson followed up Hargove’s win with a win of his own in the men’s Hawkeye Pro Classic 200-meter dash with a meet-record time of 21.07 seconds.

Iowa junior Damoy Allen won the men’s 60-meter dash premier prelim with a time of 6.82, and Jefferson followed closely behind with a 6.83 third-place finish. Both runners qualified for the final, in which Allen finished fourth with a time of 6.85, but Jefferson did not start.

Woody said he thinks the men’s team needs to “get some guys moving in the right direction” after its showing at the invitational.

“Hopefully this is a little bit of a wake-up call for them to take that next step,” Woody said. “Before winter break, I thought we were in a really good spot. Over the last two weeks, we’re not quite where I think we should be.”

Women show out in the Hawkeye Pro Classic

The Hawkeye Pro Classic kicked off with the women’s 60-meter hurdle prelim, where Hawkeyes Myreanna Bebe, Paige Magee, and Tionna Tobias each qualified for the final, Tobias doing so with a personal best 8.39.

Hargrove and Iowa sophomore Lia Love advanced from the women’s Hawkeye Pro Classic 60-meter dash prelim to the final. There, Hargrove finished fifth with 7.36 seconds, and Love finished 8th with 7.46. Former Hawkeye and all-time Iowa 200-meter dash leader Brittany Brown, running for Adidas, placed first in the prelim with a time of 7.19 and won the final with a time of 7.20.

Iowa’s Alli Bookin-Nosbisch ran a 2:06.59 in the women’s Hawkeye Pro Classic 800-meter for a seventh-place finish but a personal best that moves her from seventh to fourth all-time at Iowa.

The Iowa team of Biermann, Magee, Larsen, and Cortez ran a 3:37.07 in the women’s Hawkeye Pro Classic 4×400-meter relay, good for 10th all-time at Iowa.

“Our women’s team has made huge strides this last year,” Woody said. “I think they’re in a really good place right now.” 

Bebe is a record-holder

In the women’s Hawkeye Pro Classic 60-meter hurdle final, Bebe landed in third place, but the junior from Orlando, Florida’s, time of 8.11 seconds not only bested her prior personal best but also beat Karessa Farley’s school record that stood for 14 years.

“I’m not really happy about the time; I’m more happy about my mental state,” Bebe said. “I’m just enjoying being in the moment, trusting the process, having fun, and seeing what God can do and really just letting him work.”

Woody said the record has been one his teams have wanted to beat for some time now so it was good to finally see it toppled.

“Myreanna is taking it to a whole other level this year,” he said. “[I’m] excited for Myreanna, and I think that’s just scratching the surface of where she can head. I think she can break eight flat here pretty soon.”

Despite setting the record just three meets into the season, Bebe said she has yet to reach her pinnacle and will continue to work hard.

“I think I’m just learning to put things together and be confident in myself,” she said. “I think the peak is for sure yet to come.”

Up next

The Hawkeyes travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to compete at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 27 and 28.

“I think you’re going to see some people open up in these next couple of weeks that haven’t raced yet,” Woody said. “That’s going to show how much better we’re going to get over the next few weeks.”