The 2025 indoor season has seen two Iowa track and field athletes accomplish something that has not been done in 27 years.
Pauline Bikembo and Abraham Vogelsang were named Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year, becoming the first pair of Hawkeyes to win the award since 1998, when Jeremy Allen and Erica Broomfield completed the feat.
Associate head coach Ray Robinson has high praise for the two freshmen.
“When you’re talking about an 18-team super conference, to be singled out as the freshman of the year is a remarkable honor.”
Bikembo, a native from Saint Lue La Foret, France, was given the award on the women’s side. In her first year at Iowa, she collected a number of accolades, including first-team All American honors.
One of her many outstanding performances was at the NCAA Indoor Championships where she placed fourth in the pentathlon. She broke the school record after earning 4,331 points on the biggest stage.
Bikembo was crowned gold in the Big Ten championships with a performance of 4.330 points. This outcome earned her first-team All-Big Ten honors. Bikembo currently owns a spot in the Big Ten rankings, coming in third place in the long jump at 6.33 meters.
Despite her impressive freshman debut, Robinson is sure she will continue to improve in the next few years.
“Coach [Hadrien] Choukroun did a great job continuing to progress her and develop her,” Robinson said. “It’s tough for a freshman being that far away from home … She was super competitive all year long.”
Vogelsang, from Oslo, Norway, is Iowa’s third-ever man to receive the accolade. Similar to Bikembo, he has had an impressive list of accolades in his freshman campaign.
Vogelsang placed sixth at the NCAA championships in the heptathlon with a total of 5,810 points. On the Big Ten stage, Vogelsang was the highest ranked freshman in the heptathlon and second-ranked overall.
He had an outstanding meet at the Dr. Rick McGuire Invite in Columbia, Missouri, where he captured the gold medal with 5,882 points. His performance elevated him to third all-time in program history in the heptathlon.
“I didn’t have a lot of expectations coming in. It’s my first year in the U.S. I’m an international student, so I knew this was going to be a developmental year for me,” Vogelsang said. “But I’ve exceeded my expectations, and I performed very well, so I am very happy.”
Vogelsang didn’t know he had won the award until it was sent to him from a friend.
“I was shocked, to be honest,” he said. “I was really stoked. It’s super cool. It’s kind of surreal.”
Vogelsang demonstrates a champion mindset when approaching meets.
“When you have a rough meet, coming back and then hitting a PR in another event — He is credited with doing whatever it takes,” Robinson said.
Both of the freshmen are hoping to carry these same results into the rest of the outdoor season. Vogelsang hopes to continue, or even improve, the same momentum from his indoor season.
“If you want to be truly world-class … compete for NCAA titles or make the Olympics, you have to continue to get better,” Robinson said. “Thankfully, we have a great tradition here in the multi and a great training group all around.”