Olympic Spotlight: Kresley Sets School Record in 100m

It was another banner week for Iowa athletics last week, with big performances from several team. The Hawks picked up big wins in tennis, golf, and rowing, while Iowa baseball earned another series win and the Hawkeye track and field team set another school record to go along with multiple top-10 marks.

We've got a lot to cover this week, so let's jump right in.

The Iowa track and field team was split up again last weekend, but the distance did nothing to slow down the Hawkeye hot streak. The Hawks set another school record, along with almost a dozen top-10 times and distances.

The party started on Friday when Brooke McKee ran a career-best in the Women's 3000m steeplechase, finishing in 10:39.88, the 6th-fastest in school history. Austin West put together a strong performance in the men's decathlon as well, breaking the 8,000-point barrier.

Saturday was a showcase day for the power of the Iowa program. Gratt Reed moved to 5th all-time in the men's 200m, finishing in 20.54. Austin Kresley actually ran an even faster 20.07 time in the event, which is the fastest all-condition time in school history, but the wind was too strong to qualify him for the school record (don't fret too much. He'd have his revenge).

Three Hawkeye women moved into the top ten in the 400m hurdles. Mariel Bruxvoort (56.71), Paige Magee (56.79), and Nylah Perry (58.61) are now ranked 4th, 6th, and 9th all-time in Iowa history. Kat Moody and Lizzie Korczak both scored event wins and top-10 marks in field events, with Moody throwing a personal-best 16.78m in shotput (3rd all-time) and Korczak tossing the javelin 47.86m (3rd all-time).

The Hawks were a well-rounded record-setting bunch Saturday, posting top-10 marks in distance events as well. Grace Bookin-Nosbisch ran a 2:07.20 800m race, a personal best by almost twenty seconds to crack the Iowa top ten (9th all-time) and Nick Trattner ran the men's 5,000m in 13:55.57, 4th-best in school history.

Austin Kresley put together the most impressive performance of the weekend on Sunday, improving the school record he already owned in the men's 100m race, with a mark that counted. Kresley finished nine-hundredths of a second faster than his previous record, finishing in 10.10 seconds. Tionna Tobias set one more Hawkeye top-10 mark, running a PR in the women's 100m hurdles in 13.55, 8th all-time at Iowa.

This Hawkeye track and field squad remains incredibly deep and impressively well-rounded. The Hawks are setting top-10 marks week in and week out and they're doing it in short-distance, long-distance, and field events. Add that to the multiple school records already set by this group, as well as various various personal bests, and you've got a team that looks built for season-long and postseason success.

When head coach Joey Woody speaks, he talks about Big Ten Championships and school records. This team has high aspirations and they're taking the right path to achieve those goals. There are a lot of talented teams across the country, but the Hawks have the stars and the depth to compete with just about all of them. The 13th-ranked Hawkeyes are off this weekend after the planned Musco Twilight event was recently canceled, but they'll be back in action at the Drake Relays on April 27th.

Iowa baseball picked up another series win last weekend, taking two of three from Minnesota. The Hawks dropped the first game 12-3, before bouncing back to win the final two games convincingly, 7-2 and 18-4. Iowa also had a 12-1 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee in mid-week action last week, but suffered a damaging 14-3 loss to UIC earlier tonight.

The Hawks started the series against Minnesota with a Friday doubleheader. Iowa took a 3-0 lead into the 5th inning in game one, but the Gophers roared back with a seven-run 5th and the Hawks never recovered.

Iowa was able to erase the disappointment of that Game 1 loss quickly and jumped on Minnesota early in Game 2. The Hawkeyes put up four runs in the first three innings and when Minnesota answered with two of their own, Iowa again responded, adding two more in the 5th inning to keep the lead comfortable. A Michael Seegers home run in the 7th inning was icing on the cake.

Keaton Anthony was the standout on offense on the day, going 4-7 with a home run, while Ben Wilmes, Kyle Huckstorf, and Brayden Frazier each chipped in two RBI apiece across the two games. Friday's win was also head coach Rick Heller's 300th as a Hawkeye, a tremendous milestone reached only by Otto Vogel and Iowa's homefield namesake Duane Banks.

Saturday's game was delayed due to the rain, but the Hawkeye bats wasted no time once the game finally got started. Iowa scored five in the 2nd inning to take an early lead and then piled on with four in the 6th and five more in the 7th to cement their victory. Sam Hojnar and Kyle Huckstorf each knocked in three runs, while Wilmes, Anthony and Seegers notched two RBI a piece.

It was another successful weekend overall for the Hawkeyes, who saw the offense carry the load a bit while the pitching worked through a few command issues.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, Tuesday's game against UIC was far less successful. The Flames lived up to their name at the plate, scoring 14 on Iowa and ultimately winning 14-3 in seven innings. The game was back and forth through the first three innings, but the Hawks fell behind 6-3 after four and a big six-run 5th from UIC put the game out of reach.

The Hawks will look to bounce back on Wednesday against Bradley before welcoming Nebraska to town for a three-game weekend series.

Iowa softball picked up a midweek win over Drake but lost two of three to Maryland last week. The Hawkeyes beat the Bulldogs 5-2 before the Terps took the first two games of the weekend, 5-2 and 2-0. Iowa bounced back to avoid the sweep and win the finale 2-1.

It was a tough Friday for the Hawks, as Maryland took both games of the series-opening doubleheader. Maryland took an early 1-0 lead in Game 1 and continued to pepper the scorebook with two in the 3rd, one in the 5th, and one in the 7th. Starter Breanna Vasquez put together a solid start going seven innings and allowing only three earned runs and the offense smacked seven hits, but the team wasn't able to put it all together to spark a comeback.

In Game 2, Iowa again put together a strong start on the mound, with Jalen Adams allowing just two runs on five hits in 6.2 innings of work, but Maryland's pitching staff was even better, allowing just two Hawkeye hits. Iowa threatened late, putting two runners on in the sixth inning but wasn't able to capitalize.

The Iowa bats were quiet again on Sunday and it looked as though the Hawks may be headed for a second straight shutout loss. Iowa trailed 1-0 going into the 7th, even after Vasquez put together another strong start. But Iowa was able to put together a late comeback. Denali Loecker started the rally with a one-out single and Brylee Klosterman followed with a walk. Anna Streff came through with the game-tying two-out single on an infield hit and the season-long star Nia Carter came through with the walk-off single.

Maryland's pitching staff was great all weekend, but it was an encouraging sign to see the Hawks fight back the way they did in the third game. The Hawks are now 27-17, their highest win total since 2013. They'll be back in action Wednesday against Western Illinois before traveling to Minneapolis for a three-game set against Minnesota.

The Iowa men's golf team came away with the team and individual titles last weekend at the Hawkeye Invitational. Mac McClear won the event with a 206 (-10), while the Hawks won the team title by five strokes over 2nd place Kansas. McClear improved in all three rounds of the event, shooting 71, 68, and 67 to claim the win.

McClear was clutch all day Sunday in a tense final round. It wasn't until a birdie on the 17th hole (his sixth of the day) that he finally earned the outright lead and he held on to take the win. McClear has now won four events in his career. On the team side, the victory is the Hawks' second of the season and third Hawkeye Invitational title since 2019. Iowa's next event is the Big Ten Championships on April 28th in Galloway, New Jersey

The women's golf team was also in action last weekend, competing in the Lady Buckeye Invitational where they finished 11th. Shannyn Vogler was the top finisher for the Hawkeyes, shooting a 221 (+5) that included two eagles. The team will next compete at the Big Ten Championships on April 21st in Pittsburgh

Iowa rowing put together a tremendous weekend as well, winning six out of seven events at the Big Ten/Big 12 Double Duel that also featured Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota. The Hawks won the 1V8, 2V8, 1V4, 2V4, 4V8/2N8, and 3V4 races. The 1V8 race came down to the wire with the Hawks winning by just over a second ahead of Minnesota, while the 2V8 race was dominated by the Hawks, who finished five seconds ahead of 2nd place Minnesota. The team battled some nasty wind throughout the day and put together a strong performance that will hopefully translate into some momentum at future regattas. They'll next be on the water April 21st at the Lake Wheeler Invite.

Hawkeye tennis won a pair of matches over the weekend, 4-2 over Rutgers, and 4-3 over Maryland. The Hawks took the doubles point against Rutgers and followed it up with wins on courts two, five, and six, with wins from Marisa Schmidt, Barbora Pokorna, and Pia Kranholdt respectively.

Against Maryland, Iowa had to battle back after losing the doubles point but earned wins from Sam Mannix (Court 1), Marisa Schmidt (Court 2), Daianne Hayashida (Court 3), and Barbora Porkorna (Court 5) to storm back and claim the match win. The Hawks are 4-1 in their last five matches against ranked opponents and are now ranked #58 nationally. They'll finish up the regular season next week with matches against Northwestern and Illinois.