Iowa men’s track finishes runner-up at Big Ten Championships

When Iowa rolled to the Huge Ten Convention indoor championship in males’s observe and subject in late February, it appeared to be a protected prediction that the Hawkeyes would hoist one other trophy in mid-Could.

However these Hawkeyes on the observe then weren’t the identical ones that made it to the observe in Minneapolis this previous weekend on the Huge Ten Out of doors Championships. Minus three elite runners, short-handed Iowa’s 103 factors completed runner-up to champion Ohio State’s 124.

The Hawkeyes have been making an attempt to develop into the primary Huge Ten program since Wisconsin in 2004-07 to win at the very least three straight (contested) out of doors convention championships.

“We didn’t have a foul meet in any respect,” Iowa director of observe and subject Joey Woody mentioned Sunday, because the Buckeyes have been being awarded the championship trophies. (Ohio State gained the ladies’s aspect, too.) “We truly had a very good meet for the fellows we have been in a position to placed on the observe. I’m not making any excuses, clearly, as a result of that is what observe and subject and athletics are about. You’ve received to get your athletes to the beginning line feeling wholesome.

“And sadly, we had some guys that weren’t in a position to be right here with us. However we’ll develop from it. And we’ll get higher as a staff.”

Iowa topped one champion in 21 males’s occasions; the Hawkeye girls completed sixth and had one gold medal.

However the huge story was who was lacking for the boys.

Jenoah McKiver, whose 400-meter run of 44.74 seconds from early April was the second-fastest on the earth on the time, remained sidelined with a lingering hamstring damage. Additionally lacking was Wayne Lawrence Jr., who owns the sixth-fastest 400 in program historical past. And sprinter Kalen Walker, who earlier this season set a college file by operating 10.20 seconds within the 100-meter sprint, is not going to return this season.

After the meet, Woody was noncommittal about whether or not McKiver or Lawrence would be capable of return for the NCAA West qualifying meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Could 25-28. McKiver is a national-title front-runner within the 400, and each assist the Hawkeyes’ yearly sturdy 4×400-meter relay. If they may return, Iowa has an opportunity to make some long-term noise on the June 8-11 NCAA Championships. Woody has referred to as this Iowa staff, when wholesome, the perfect in program historical past.

“We’re simply making an attempt to carry (McKiver) again. His head’s in the precise place. Him and Wayne each, it’s a course of,” Woody mentioned. “We now have to be sensible about the place they’re at, as a result of they’ve a protracted profitable profession in entrance of them. So, we don’t need to rush them again too quickly.”

Junior Julien Gillum delivered the Hawkeyes’ lone title on the boys aspect, together with his run of 51.17 seconds within the 400 hurdles. Iowa truly took 4 of the highest seven spots in that occasion, with freshman Phillip Jefferson taking third, junior Raymonte Dow sixth and sophomore Drake Woody (Joey’s son) in seventh.

“One of many largest story strains right here is what number of freshmen and sophomores on our staff that we had step up,” Joey Woody mentioned, “and never solely rating factors however make the highest three.

“They’re going to have a foul style of their mouth after this, they usually’re going to be very, very excited to get again at it. Not solely subsequent 12 months, however I’m speaking in these subsequent two weeks. We’ve nonetheless received a protracted season and massive targets to nonetheless accomplish for our males’s staff.”

Junior Amanda Howe’s title within the hammer throw on Friday led the Iowa girls. Iowa’s 4×400 completed in second place with the third-fastest time at school historical past (3:33.18), pushing the Hawkeyes previous Michigan for sixth within the staff race. Woody mentioned earlier this week he thought the ladies’s program was two years away from contending for a Huge Ten title.

“We had some nice issues occur. We simply didn’t have sufficient bullets to present us a shot to be a type of high three or 4 groups,” Woody mentioned. “We’re positively trending in the precise path. I sense that. We’ve received a variety of younger contributors on our staff.”

Iowa has gained 5 convention titles as an athletics division within the 2021-22 12 months: subject hockey (common season), girls’s basketball (common season and match), males’s basketball (match) and males’s observe and subject (indoor). Baseball – which has its match Could 24-28 in Omaha — is the ultimate shot for the Hawkeyes to nab a sixth.