The Iowa track and field team split up to Texas and Illinois this past weekend, collecting a victorious weekend with six event titles.
The mid-distance runners headed east to Illinois State while sprinters, runners, throwers, hurdlers, and jumpers split between the Texas State Invitational and Texas Relays.
“It was great to see them compete in good weather,” Iowa associate head coach Ray Robinson said. “I thought they did an excellent job and took some steps that were needed.”
Second-year Ryan Johnson was one of the main highlights of the weekend. The sophomore posted a program record in the hammer throw at the Texas State Invitational. Johnson captured the gold in the meet but also earned himself a spot in the NCAA ranking at fifth-best nationally.
“Ryan continues to get more consistent and get better technically,” Robinson said.
Third-year Sean Smith followed behind Johnson on the leaderboard, capturing second place in the hammer-throw with a 71.87-meter heave. Second-year Austin Bush finished in fourth place with a 63.67-meter toss.
Heading over to Austin, Texas, an outstanding three Hawkeyes were crowned as champions.
First-year Maria Arboleda claimed gold in the women’s high jump, clearing 1.83 meters. Second-year Sydnie Smith moved up the all-time list in program history after throwing a personal-best throw of 52.48 meters. This moved her to the sixth-best discus throw in Iowa record books and earned her second place at the Texas Relays.
“Any time you have three Texas Relay champs, that’s a big deal,” Robinson said. “That’s a big meet with a lot of tradition and a lot of high performances.”
In the women’s javelin, third-year Lizzie Korcazk did not disappoint. She earned gold with a 57.69-meter throw.
“Talk about someone who has made the next step,” Robinson said.
On the men’s side, third-year Walker Whalen claimed the win in the hammer throw too. He threw a personal-best 58.70-meter throw. Mike Stein led the way for the Hawkeyes in the javelin throw, claiming second place with a 76.69 meter throw.
Up next
The Hawkeyes will seek warmer weather this weekend. Coach Randy Hasenbank and the distance runners will head to Palo Alto, California, to compete in the Stanford Invitational. The Stanford Invitational is considered one of the biggest distance meets in the country.
“With a little luck in weather and how things are set up there, we’re expecting a lot of great performances,” Robinson said. “The overall goal is to build on race experience and go for good times.”
And fellow coach Jason Wakenight is taking the mid-distance runners and hurdlers down to Gainesville, Florida, for their debut outdoor season in the Florida Relays.
“We have probably the best group of freshmen, 400 runners on the women’s side, in the country,” Wakenight said. Some of those freshmen include Chioma Nwachukwu and Damaris Mutunga who were elite in indoor season but have big expectations going into outdoor season.
Wakenight also expects fifth-year Alli Bookin-Nosbisch and third-year Gabby Cortez to run well this weekend and in tournaments coming up. On the men’s side, Coach Wakenight is confident in his 400 group.
“I think we had five guys break 47 in the 40, which I think is close to the most in the country,” he said. “We just need to take it one step further, and hopefully we can become not just one of the best but at the very top.”
The Hawkeyes need to be prepared for the Big Ten championships, the regional meet, and hopefully the national finals.
“The goal is to be the best that we can be at the most important time of the season,” Robinson said.