Olympic Spotlight: GymHawks Pick Up Ranked Win to Start Season

The short downtime between fall and winter sports ended last week, and Iowa sports teams wasted no time returning to their winning ways. Last week was the first week of Iowa gymnastics' new season, the first track and field meet of the new year, and Hawkeye swimming and diving continued its strong 2023-2024 campaign.

Let's jump right in.

Iowa gymnastics (1-0) came into the year ranked 23rd and looking to build on the past two years of success, but dealt with adversity just before their opening meet when Senior and All-American JerQuavia Henderson announced she would no longer be coming back for her fifth season.

Henderson has been a superstar in her four years with the Hawkeyes, earning three All-American awards and sharing a piece of the 2023 Big Ten title on the floor. She's one of the best athletes to ever compete for the GymHawks and is no doubt disappointed to be unable to compete this season. Still, her accomplishments as a Hawkeye are nearly unparalleled and you can never fault an athlete for prioritizing their health and education. Congratulations to JerQuavia on a wonderful Iowa career.

The Hawkeyes opened their 2024 season by welcoming #21 Washington (1-3) to Xstream Arena on Friday and came away with the 196.400-196.250 victory. The Hawks won every event at the meet, led by Adeline Kenlin's wins on the beam, floor, and all-around. Sophomore Karina Munoz won the remaining event titles--vault and bars. Emily Erb posted a career-high 9.875 on the floor as well in what turned into a complete team effort and win.

Kenlin is an accomplished veteran in her own right and will now be asked to take on even more responsibilities with the loss of Henderson. Kenlin is a two-time All-American and finished runner-up nationally on the Beam in 2022. While Henderson was traditionally the All-Around competitor for the Hawkeyes, Kenlin stepped into the role without a hiccup and took home the title on opening night, putting up the top score in the NCAA this season (39.575).

The added pressure, while being asked to help guide freshmen through their first NCAA meet, is no small ask, but she and the entire Hawkeye roster were more than up to the task. Hawkeye gymnastics has built a culture of sustained success and the early returns point to 2024 being more of the same.

After Friday's win, the Hawks moved up to #18 in the national rankings.

Iowa's next meet is scheduled for January 22nd when they'll travel to take on Minnesota (4-0) (7:00 PM CT, BTN).

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Iowa track and field kicked off its 2024 indoor season last weekend, hosting the Hawkeye Invitational where the Hawkeyes came away with 16 event wins. Aliva Bauer took home gold in the weight throw with the 5th-best mark in school history (20.43m) and Kat Moody continued to add to an accomplished career with a 16.38m shot put toss to take home the win. Austin Busch also threw a 20.72m in the weight throw, 4th-best in school history.

Saturday was a huge day for the Hawks, as they took home 14 event titles. Tionna Tobias and De'Andre Stapleton Jr. paced the Hawkeyes with two wins each. Tobias ran a blazing 8.19 in the 60m hurdle finals to win the event and move up to 3rd in school history. The time was also a meet record.

She followed up her 60m win with a meet-record long jump, 6.11m, earning another win. Stapleton Jr. also put together a multi-discipline winning day, earning gold in the 200m race (21.73) and the long jump (7.29m).

Those two weren't the only impressive Hawkeye performances though. Lia Love's 60m time (7.30), Alli Bookin-Nosbisch's 600m time (1:29.13), and Amber Aesoph's 4:52.74 mile were all meet record and event-winning performances. Austin Kresley won the 60mm title in 6.69 seconds and the Hawks won titles in the women's 400m (Audrey Biermann), 200m (Paige Magee), triple jump (Kayla Hutchins), and high jump (Ella Meeuwsen). The team closed out the meet with wins in both the men's and women's 4x400m relays.

Iowa track and field has been a consistently strong performer, with head coach Joey Woody building a program that can compete across the board year in and year out. Established stars like Tobias, Magee, and Kresley continue to perform and each season seems to introduce new standout athletes.

The Hawks will be back out on January 19th when they host the Larry Wieczorek Invitational.

Iowa swim and dive (5-2) picked up a key conference victory last weekend, beating Illinois 166.50 - 133.50. Olivia Swalley was a key contributor, winning three events, the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke, as well as the 400 IM. Her freshman campaign continues to be stellar and she looks like a star in the making for the Hawkeyes.

Another star for the Hawkeyes has been sophomore Scarlet Martin, who picked up two wins, in the 100 and 200-meter Butterfly events. Martin's 100m time, 54.74 was a pool record.

Iowa's 400m medley relay (Kennedy Gilbertson, Jenna Kerr, Swalley, and Martin) set a pool record, winning in 3:45.54 and the 400m freestyle relay (Sabina Kupcova, Gilbertson, Kerr, and Martin) followed suit, winning the event in 3:25.84 and setting the pool record.

Iowa divers added two more wins, with Mykala Hughbanks and Sarah Ballard winning the 3m and 1m dives, respectively. Hughbanks' 356.93 improved on her 5th-best mark in school history.

Iowa swimming and diving continues to be one of the best stories on a campus full of them. These women fought for their right to compete and are now putting together a phenomenal season with the future looking as bright as ever. Of all the swimmers listed above, only Gilbertson is an upperclassman. Both victorious divers are upperclassmen, but freshman Simone Beinlich is having a strong season of her own, finishing 2nd in the 3m dive.

The Hawkeyes will look to add more wins at their next meet, a quad meet on February 2nd featuring Purdue (8-0), Northwestern (4-1), and Minnesota (6-1).

Iowa soccer star Samantha Carey made history for the Hawkeyes last Friday when she became the first Hawkeye in school history to be chosen in the NWSL draft. Carey was chosen by Racing Louisville with the 48th pick.

Carey was a defensive anchor for the Hawkeyes during her five seasons and is the all-time leader for Iowa in games, starts, and minutes played. She was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week three times in 2023 and was also named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Tournament for her play during Iowa's run to the Big Ten conference championship.

Huge congratulations to Sam. We look forward to seeing what you're able to do in the professional ranks.