The Iowa track and field teams competed in five meets across the country on April 17 and 18, including the Mt. SAC Relays and Tom Jones Invitational. They also traveled to the Bryan Clay Invitational and the Beach Invitational in California, as well as to the Big Red Classic in Nebraska. 

The Hawkeyes claimed numerous personal records and two new program records. 

“Overall, the Hawkeyes had a great weekend across the country,” head coach Joey Woody told Hawkeye Sports. “I’m very proud of how our athletes stepped up and competed this weekend. It will be exciting to be back home this week to showcase our program at the Drake Relays.”

Friday

Men’s thrower Ryan Johnson shattered his own program record with a 77.64-meter throw to secure the hammer throw title at the Big Red Classic on Friday. He had set a new Iowa record the previous weekend at the Jim Duncan Invitational. 

The junior now holds the NCAA-leading mark with his fifth throw. Johnson had two throws over his previous personal best as well. 

The entire men’s hammer throw group performed well in Nebraska, as Tate Joens made his Iowa debut and finished third with a personal best of 67.74 meters. Sean Smith threw 65.54 meters, finishing in fifth, while Austin Busch followed close behind with a throw of 64.15 meters.

On the women’s side, Peyton Wilson and Josephine Flynt had strong performances, both finishing in the top ten. Wilson placed sixth with a throw of 59.19 meters, earning a personal best and entering Iowa’s top-ten list at number eight. Flynt made her Iowa debut and threw 56.98 meters. 

In Gainesville, Florida, at the Tom Jones Invitational, Jordan Gross ran a personal best of 20.18 in the men’s 200-meter invite to place 15th. Senior Holly Duax matched her personal best of 23.18 in the women’s 200 to place 22nd, and Alexandria Edison ran 23.66 in the 200-meter collegiate race.

David Akhalu ran a personal best of 20.94 to finish in second in the collegiate men’s 200-meter. Zidane Brown followed closely behind, finishing in fourth with a time of 20.98. 

In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, senior Prior Ochonogor ran a lifetime best of 49.83. He climbed up the Hawkeyes’ all-time list, moving into the number six spot. 

Jaylin Holmes clocked a 51.59 and placed sixth in the men’s 400-meter hurdle open, while Nicholas Gorisch ran a 52.46 and placed 11th. On the women’s side, Ali Frandsen placed 12th and finished with a time of 59.84. 

In the long jump, Emmanuel Njoku cleared 7.25 meters on his final three attempts after fouling on his first two. He struck a 7.67-meter mark to place eighth.

At the Bryan Clay Invitational, the Iowa women’s 800 group updated two spots on the program’s all-time list. Leanna Lewis moved up to second all-time with a lifetime best of 2:03.24, which earned her an eighth-place finish. Rosemary Arthur moved up to the fifth spot in the record books with a new best of 2:04.47. Gabby Cortez ran a 2:03.93 to place 14th, and Clare Kelly and Caila Lyons both posted personal bests. 

In the men’s 800, Terrick Johnson moved up Iowa’s all-time list to seventh with a 1:41.71 personal best to finish seventh overall in a tough field. Ryan Schreiner and Caleb Levy ran sub-1:50, while Carson Lane and Derek Leicht both earned personal bests. 

In the men’s 800-meter, Spencer Alf, Carson Houg, and Armaan Chopra all picked up personal bests in section two. Alf ran a 1:52.29 and placed 19th, while Houg followed closely behind with a 1:52.32 and placed 20th. Chopra ran a 1:54.65. 

Saturday, April 18

Chioma Nwachukwu started the day by resetting the Iowa school record in the 400 meters. She ran a personal best of 51.24 at the Tom Jones Memorial Invite, finishing in fifth. Sophomores Damaris Mutunga and Alivia Williams had top-20 finishes, with Williams posting a personal best of 52.67 to move to the ninth spot on Iowa’s all-time list.

In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Jailya Ash secured the win with a personal best of 13.29. Her time ranks sixth all-time at Iowa. Freshman Isabel Evans also added a personal best time of 14.04 to finish ninth. 

The women’s 4×400-meter relay team of Princess Uche, Mutunga, Williams, and Nwachukwu placed fourth with a time of 3:29.33, the second fastest mark in program history. On the men’s side, Tyrese Miller, Brown, Ochonogor, and Landon Fontenot finished sixth with a time of 3:05.72. 

The men’s 4×100-meter relay group of Blake Nyenati, Gross, Holmes, and David Akhalu ran a 39.50 and placed eighth. 

Gross ended the weekend with a new personal best in the men’s 100 meters. He ran a wind-legal 10.33 to place fourth overall in the collegiate section. 

In the collegiate women’s 400 meters, Uche led the Hawkeyes with a fifth-place and personal-best finish in 52.99. Freshman Izzy Zahn rounded out the top 15, clocking a 53.86. On the men’s side, Akhalu placed eighth in 46.38 in the collegiate section.

At the Big Red Classic in Lincoln, Nebraska, redshirt sophomore Duke Faley and sophomore Bryce Ruland showed strong performances in the men’s discus. Faley recorded a lifetime best of 54.96 meters to place fifth, while Ruland followed in seventh with a throw of 50.97 meters. 

On the track, redshirt sophomore Will Davidson recorded two top-10 finishes. He placed second in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.79, and in the collegiate men’s 400, added an eighth-place finish, clocking 54.26.

Iowa’s 800 group that competed at the Mt. SAC Relays finished the weekend with top-10 finishes. Caleb Levy and Ryan Schreiner took home fourth and sixth, respectively. On the women’s side, Lewis crossed the line in seventh in 2:04.89, while Cortez ran 2:06.46 and placed ninth.

At the Bryan Clay Invite, Hayden Kuhn competed in the men’s 5,000 meters. Kuhn clocked a 13:52.01 lifetime best and rose to third all-time at Iowa.

Up Next

The Hawkeyes will head to the Drake Relays and the Kip Janvrin Open, with competition set to start on April 23.