Iowa's track and field team competed in the NCAA Indoor Championships last weekend and came home with four All-Americans and a new school record. Sophomore Ryan Johnson finished third in the weight throw, tossing 24.48 meters and earning first-team All-American honors.

Johnson has been masterful in his first season as a Hawkeye and now has the postseason hardware to commemorate his accomplishments. Johnson broke the school record multiple times throughout the year and racked up event wins week after week.

Freshman Pauline Bikembo was the Hawkeyes' second All-American. She earned first-team All-American honors after breaking the school record in the women's pentathlon, scoring 4,331 points and finishing 4th. Bikembo won the long jump (6.23m) and was second in the high jump (1.75m).

Bikembo was impressive in her first year and improved as the season went one. She's a star for the Hawkeyes and will no doubt put her name all over the record books over the next three years.

Fellow freshman Abraham Vogelsang was the Hawkeyes' third first-team All-American, earning the honor after finishing 6th in the men's heptathlon with 5,810 points. Vogelsang set personal bests in the 60m hurdles and the 1000m race en route to his All-American finish.

Sophomore Daniela Wamokpego was the Hawkeyes' final All-American, earning second-team All-American honors in the women's triple jump. Wamokpego jumped 13.03m to earn second-team honors for the second season in a row.

Between Vogelsang, Bikembo, Wamokpego and Johnson, the future for Hawkeye track and field looks brighter than ever. Head coach Joey Woody continues to build an impressive program in Iowa City and has the group performing at a very high level, led by some of his most recent additions. The group will only get better as the outdoor season goes on and as the team continues to perform well in the postseason, the program's reputation will continue to grow.

Exciting for us, and perhaps daunting for the athletes, the Hawkeyes will kick off their outdoor season next weekend when they travel to Florida for the UCF Black and Gold Invitational

Iowa gymnastics finished second at the Minnesota Quad on Sunday, closing out their regular season with their second-highest score of the year. The GymHawks scored 196.700 at the meet, just behind #15 Minnesota's 197.150 and ahead of Long Island (191.900) and Centenary (186.600).

Freshman phenom Aurelie Tran capped off a dazzling rookie campaign with her fourth all-around title of the season. Tran's 39.500 included a share of event wins on vault, bars, and beam. She's been nothing short of spectacular all season and was rewarded for her efforts on Monday when she was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team and to the 1st Team All-Conference squad.

Iowa's other stars were on top of their games as well. Karina Munoz was second in the all-around with 39.350, while Adeline Kenlin shared the beam title with a 9.900 and Gianna Masella shared the vault title with a 9.850. Other big scores included Tran's 9.925 on bars, Emily Erb's 2nd place 9.900 on floor, and Munoz's 9.825 on vault.

Tran deserves a special recognition for her incredible freshman season. Adjusting to a new country, new school, and the rigor of college athletics (all after competing in the 2024 Olympics) is a gargantuan task which Tran has passed with flying colors. She won 13 event titles during the season, set season-highs in the all-around and beam in last weekend's meet, and is the first Hawkeye Freshman to earn All-Conference honors since Kenlin did the same in 2021. The sky is the limit for Tran and she looks poised to become a star in the weeks and years to come.

Against some of the best competition in the country, the Hawks put together a solid conference season. Incorporating a new staff, multiple freshmen, and an All-American recovering from injury, the Hawkeyes have shown tremendous growth throughout the season. The group put together their best two meets of the season in their final two meets of the season and look to be at their best as they head into the Big Ten Championships.

Iowa will compete in the Big Ten Championships on Saturday (11:00 AM CT, BTN).

Hawkeye baseball (10-8, 4-2 Big Ten) took two of three games from Michigan State (13-6, 1-2 Ten) last weekend, falling 12-8 in 11 innings in the opener before bouncing back to win 7-3 and 10-0 in the weekend's final two games.

Friday's doubleheader started with a barnburner for the Hawks. Cade Obermuller was solid on the mound, throwing 5.2 innings, giving up five runs and striking out six on a day when the wind was blowing out in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes fell behind 1-0 in the top of the third, but Reese Moore answered quickly in the bottom of the inning, launching a three-run bomb to put Iowa in the lead.

Michigan State battled back, scoring one in the fifth and four in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead and then pushed their lead to 8-3 with two more in the seventh. Still, the Hawkeyes didn't give up. Gable Mitchell drove in a run in the seventh to cut the lead to 8-4 and Daniel Rogers' three-run homer in the eighth pulled Iowa within one. In the bottom of the ninth, Head coach Rick Heller called on Blake Guerin to pinch hit and Guerin proceeded to deposit the ball over the fence, tying the game and forcing extra innings.

After a blank tenth inning, the Spartans plated four in the eleventh and that proved too much for the Hawks to overcome.

Luckily, the Hawks had an immediate chance to flush the loss and responded well in Friday's second game. Aaron Savary locked down the Spartans, throwing 7.1 innings and allowing just two runs. His performance on the mound was huge after the first game's slugfest and the Hawkeye bats took full advantage. After four scoreless innings, Iowa broke through for six runs in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead, capped by Jaixen Frost's first-career home run, a two-run shot.

MSU pulled back three in the eighth, but the Hawks added one more in the bottom of the inning to keep the lead comfortable and cruised to the 7-3 win.

Saturday's rubber match was over quickly, as the Hawkeyes jumped on the Spartans early and often. The Hawks scored four in the first and six in the second to put the game out reach before the Spartans made it once through the order. Jackson Beaman, Ben Swails, and Frost each drove in two runs and Miles Risley broke the game open with a bases-clearing triple and then followed it up with a web gem in the field.

The Hawkeyes battled the elements all weekend and bounced back from a tough series-opening loss. The pitching staff was impressive in all three games, culminating in the Saturday shutout. Reece Beuter improved his record to 3-0 after Saturday's five-inning start and has helped to lengthen the rotation. There are a few early season losses that will bug the Hawkeyes, but two series wins to start the conference schedule is about all you can ask for.

The Hawkeyes will host UIC on Tuesday before Ohio State (5-12, 0-3 Big Ten) comes to Iowa City for three games next weekend.

Iowa softball picked up a pair of wins over Indiana (19-7, 0-2 Big Ten) last weekend, beating the Hoosiers 7-6 and 6-5 in a pair of close games.

Saturday's opener turned into a nine-hour affair thanks to multiple rain delays, but the Hawkeyes persevered to earn the win. The Hawks game out swinging, plating a run in the first inning when Tory Bennett drove in Jena Young with an RBI double. The Hawks kept their foot on the gas in the second, plating four more runs behind back-to-back home runs from Young and Soo-Jin Berry.

Indiana cut the lead to 5-3 in the third and the teams traded runs in the fourth to push the scored to 6-4. The Hawks scored an important run in the top of the sixth when Berry drove in Young after a lead-off triple, giving the Hawkeyes enough breathing room to withstand the Hoosiers' two-run sixth and win 7-6. Young finished the day with four hits, four runs, and three RBIs, leading the team with contact and power.

Sunday's game was drier, but no less hard-fought between the two teams. Desiree Rivera drove home Young to give Iowa a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Indiana answered with one of their own in the bottom of the inning. After Berry and Rivera reached base in the third, Allyssa Ramos smashed a three-run homer to give Iowa a 4-1 lead.

The Hawks pushed the lead to 6-1 with two runs in the fourth inning, but Indiana stayed within striking distance, adding one of their own in the bottom of the inning and another in the 5th. Down three, the Hoosiers hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to pull within one and put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but Jalen Adams shut the door, giving the Hawkeyes a 7-6 win.

The Hawkeyes are a much improved team this year, even with the turmoil swirling around them. With Sunday's win the team tied their 2024 win total. Young and Berry have been catalysts for a potent offense and the Hawks look crisper on defense as well, led by Rivera's conference-leading 10 runners caught stealing. The group is clearly playing for each other and should be commended for coming away with a road conference sweep when they could have easily let the season fly off the tracks.

They'll host UCLA (27-4, 3-0) for a pair of games next weekend.

#49 Iowa (9-4, 3-1 Big Ten) picked up a pair of conference wins last week, beating #46 Illinois (7-8, 2-2 Big Ten) 4-1 and #38 Northwestern (9-7, 2-2 Big Ten) 4-3. Against the Illini, the Hawks dropped the doubles point, but bounced back to dominate the singles session. Iowa secured wins from Tereza Dejnozkova (Court 1), Marisa Schmidt (Court 3), Barbora Porkorna (Court 4), and Nikita Vishwase (Court 6) to pull away and earn the 4-1 conference victory.

Two days later, the Hawkeyes traveled to Evanston and outlasted the Wildcats for their most impressive win of the season. Iowa won the doubles point when the duos of Dejnozkova/Vishwase and Hayashida/Schmidt each claimed victory. Northwestern pulled even with a Court 4 singles win. The teams traded points as Hayashida won in straight sets on Court 2 and the Wildcats won on Court 5. Northwestern took a 3-2 lead with a Court 6 win, putting pressure on Schmidt's Court 3 match and Dejnozkova's match on Court 1. Schmidt tied the match at 3-3 with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win and Dejnozkova gave Iowa the Sunday win with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 Court 1 victory.

The Hawkeyes continue to battle against strong opponents and saw the fruits of their labor this weekend with two big wins. Road wins are hard to come by in any sport and gutting out a comeback Sunday win can be huge for the team's confidence.

They'll return home next weekend to face Minnesota and Wisconsin