Despite a quick schedule change, The Iowa track and field team notched multiple personal records at the Michael Johnson Invitational.

The team initially prepared to host the Musco Twilight and honor its senior athletes at the Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track in Coralville on April 22, but Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody canceled the meet because of expected poor weather.

Instead, the team then traveled to Waco, Texas, for the Baylor-hosted meet from April 21-22.

“Overall, I felt really good about the performances we had this weekend,” Woody said. “I wish we could have gotten some stuff done at home, but that’s what it’s like living in Iowa.”

Hurdle U

Iowa junior hurdler Paige Magee headlined the weekend, running a personal-record 13.15-second time in the women’s 110-meter hurdles final to beat her previous school record by two-hundredths of a second. She finished fourth in the event.

Junior jumper Tionna Tobias followed Magee’s lead with a personal-record 13.51 seconds to jump into seventh all-time at Iowa in the event with a ninth-place finish.

“I think we’re feeling pretty good,” Tobias said. “[Paige] executed very well. I executed very well. I still have some things to work on, but I think I’m heading in the right direction.”

Tobias then took to the field, jumping into fourth all-time at Iowa in the long jump, where she finished second with a 6.25-meter leap for her second personal record of the day.

“I definitely have more confidence in my long jump just because that’s my favorite event,” Tobias said. “I really see change … in myself from this year versus last year.”

On the men’s side, Iowa senior Julien Gillum and sophomore Nathan Farrell finished first and third among college athletes and second and fourth overall, respectively, in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.

Debut outdoors

Iowa junior hurdler Grant Conway made his 2023 outdoor season debut after earning second-team All-American honors in March for his indoor season hurdling efforts.

Conway ran the 110-meter hurdles prelims this weekend in 14.08 for sixth overall to qualify for the finals. There, he ran a 13.84 for fourth overall in the event.

“It feels really good to finally go outside and compete,” Conway said. “There’s just something about being outside that just makes you feel fast.”

Sophomore sprinter and reigning Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week Jenoah McKiver also made his 2023 outdoor season debut, winning the men’s 400-meter race in 45.33.

Other successes

Magee continued her successful weekend when she joined junior Aliyanna Dorn, freshman Audrey Biermann, and redshirt freshman Chloe Larsen for the women’s 4×400-meter relay, which they ran in 3:35.53 for sixth all-time at Iowa.

Larsen grabbed her own personal record in the women’s 400-meter race with a 53.41 to squeeze into 10th all-time at Iowa and finish eighth in the event.

Biermann and fellow sprinters Julia Pattison and Brynely McDermott each grabbed personal records in the women’s 200-meter dash.

“Overall, I thought it was a good weekend for our program,” Woody said. “We continue to make strides forward, and that’ll set them up and the whole team up going into this weekend.”

Looking forward

The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ranked the Iowa men’s team 13th in the nation and the women’s team 45th, but both teams were ranked first in the Midwest Region.

The Iowa track and field team will split again this weekend, first to the Drake Relays at Drake University’s Blue Oval in Des Moines from April 27-29 — one of the top track and field meets in the U.S. hosting professionals as well as college and high school athletes.

There, the Iowa distance runners, throwers, and jumpers will compete.

“I think just the atmosphere will bring a lot out of the athletes and get a chance to compete alongside professional athletes,” Woody said. “It’ll be good competition, and I think we’re looking for some big marks.”

Woody said the Drake Relays meet is always an important one on the Iowa schedule, but the team will try something different and send its sprinters and hurdlers to the Arizona-hosted Desert Heat Classic on April 29 in Tucson, Arizona.

Tobias will travel to Arizona, her sights set on consistency as she shoots for another breakthrough. Conway will join her as he looks to continue to get reps in, drop his times, and build on the momentum from his prior seasons.

But qualifying for the NCAA West Regional in late May is the main focus.

“I hate not having everybody at Drake, but it’s just the way our program is built,” Woody said. “I think it’s going to be a really important weekend for us, and we have a lot of athletes that are trying to make a regional mark … we’ve got to give them the best opportunities to make that mark.”