The Iowa men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where nine athletes competed in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Center from March 13-14. 

The Hawkeyes finished with four first-team All-American nods on the weekend. The men’s squad took 10th place, finishing in the top-1o for the second time in three years. 

Day 1 

Junior Ryan Johnson, after finishing first at the Big 10 Championships with a 2026 world-leading mark, secured Iowa’s first-ever weight-throw NCAA title. He threw 25.64 meters, breaking the facility record and meet record, as well as earning first-team All-American honors. He is now a two-time first-team All-American, throwing just two centimeters shy of his personal best. 

This is Iowa’s first NCAA title from a field event since 1998. 

“Ryan had a great first throw to move into the lead and, even though he struggled in the next few rounds, he was still leading into the fifth round,” Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody told HawkeyeSports. “He was challenged and moved to second place before stepping into the ring to launch a bomb for the meet record and NCAA title.”

On the track, senior Kalen Walker and junior Darwin Jimenez competed in the men’s 60 meters. They both punched their tickets to the finals, with Walker running a school-record and personal best of 6.50 to finish second in his heat and automatically qualify. Jimenez ran a 6.55 to advance. 

In the women’s 400 meter, sophomore Chioma Nwachukwu made her indoor championship debut. She ran a 51.81, finished in 11th and earned second-team All-American honors. She was four-tenths of a second off from qualifying for the finals. 

Sophomore Emmanuel Njoku competed in the men’s long jump, finishing a successful indoor season. While he didn’t have the best competition at the championships, he had a very promising indoor season, jumping a collegiate-best of 26.25 feet at the Tyson Invite, which ranks second all-time at Iowa. Njoku finished in 14th with second-team All-American honors at his NCAA Championship debut, with a jump of 24 feet, five inches. 

Day 2

Walker and Jimenez competed in the men’s 60 meter finals among some of the nation’s fastest runners. Both sprinters finished with first-team All-American honors. Walker finished in third with a time of 6.56, ending his indoor career as a three-time All-American and school record holder.

Jimenez finished in sixth with a time of 6.58, earning his first All-American honors and holds the No. 2 spot on Iowa’s all time list for the 60 meters. 

“Kalen finished his incredible indoor career with two top-three finishes in the 60 meters,” Woody said. “I’m so proud of Darwin for showing up in January with a chip on his shoulder and on a mission to prove he’s one of the best sprinters in the NCAA. He showed that today.”

In the women’s 4×400 meter relay, Alivia Williams, Izzy Zahn, Damaris Mutunga, and Nwachukwu finished with a time of 3:29.63, becoming Iowa’s new school record holders. The team finished with first-team All-American honors and secured a spot on the podium with a 6th place finish. Olicia Lucas and Gabby Cortez, who ran on the qualifying team to get to this meet, were unable to compete, allowing for Nwachukwu and the freshman Zahn to step up. 

The Iowa men’s team finished in 10th overall with 19 points, while the women’s team collected three points.

Up Next

Iowa starts its outdoor season at the Black and Gold Challenge, hosted by the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, on March 20-21.