Olympic Spotlight: Paige Magee Sets School Record in 60m Hurdles

It was another busy week for Iowa's Olympic sports teams across the board last week. Iowa track and field put together an impressive weekend full of wins, top-10 times, and even a school record, while Iowa gymnastics competed on national television.

Let's jump right in.

The Hawkeyes hosted the Larry Wieczorek Invitational last weekend and put on a clinic, led by huge performances from Paige Magee and Tionna Tobias. Tobias started the invite with a bang, winning the women's pentathlon and posting the 3rd-best score all-time at Iowa in the event (4,049 points). She won the 60m hurdles (8.37) and long jump (6.02) events, setting meet and track records for both as part of the pentathlon.

Other standout Friday performances included freshman Maud Zeffou-Poaty, who posted the 3rd-best women's long jump mark in school history (16.22m), as well as Sean Smith and Austin Busch, who each had massive throws in the weight throw to reach the 2nd (21.83m) and 4th spots (20.91m) on Iowa's top-10 list respectively, The Hawks also got event wins from Gratt Reed (200m), Lia Love (200m), and Lily Johannes (600m).

Iowa kept the party going on Saturday when Paige Magee rewrote the Iowa record book in the women's 60m hurdles. Magee already held the fastest time in school history after running an 8.07 race in December but on Saturday she found another gear and finished in 8.00 flat, the second fastest time in the NCAA this season.

Other big Saturday performances included Sal Capaldo winning the men's heptathlon (5,256, 6th in school history), Joe Stein winning the men's 60m sprint, Daniela Wamokpego's 13.12m triple jump (5th in the NCAA), Precious Irivi's 15.10m triple jump (6th in Iowa history), and the women's 4x400 relay team of Julia Pattison, Paige Magee, Olicia Lucas and Chloe Larsen, who won the event in 3:40.91.

It was another great week for Iowa's track and field athletes, who continue to make their mark on the top-10 lists. The Hawks continue to get contributions throughout the meets, from the multi-events, to the field, to the track. They have top-tier upperclassmen like Tobias and Magee posting scores near the top of Division I and they continue to find underclassmen contributors like Irivi and Zeffou-Poaty, who are still learning but already have found their way into the Iowa record books.

It's still early in the winter season, but the Hawkeyes are already putting together great results. They're now ranked #10 in the country on the women's side and #17 on the men's side.

They'll be back in action next week when they host the Black and Gold Invitational.

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Iowa Gymnastics battled Minnesota on BTN Monday night, falling 196.850 - 196.150. Adeline Kenlin won two events, the bars (9.900) and the all-around (39.275). It's Kenlin's second all-around title of the season, as she continues to put together a strong senior campaign. The Hawks also won the individual beam event title on the back of Karina Munoz's 9.900 on the beam.

A few errors and slips early in the meet put the Hawkeyes on the back foot, but they responded well throughout to close the gap and finish strong. There are a lot of young pieces in the group and everyone has had to step up into more responsibility with JerQuavia Henderson's announcement that she was stepping away from the team. Combine that with the added pressure of a televised meet, and it's not surprising that there may have been some jitters from the younger members of the team.

Munoz and Kenlin continue to provide strong leadership and performances for the group, claiming event titles and stepping into new events. Both look poised to push for strong finishes at the conference and even national level.

The Hawks are setting multiple individual career bests each meet and will continue to grow into their roles as the schedule rolls on. There's some room for improvement, but the Hawkeyes are banking on early experience paying off late, a routine they've executed well in recent seasons.

Iowa will be back on the mat on Friday when they host Southern Utah (6:30, BTN+).

Iowa tennis took on Notre Dame last week, falling 6-1. The Hawks' lone win came on the #3 court, when Marisa Schmidt won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Notre Dame is a strong tennis program and the Hawkeyes were no doubt using the early-season road matchup as both a measuring stick and a learning experience as the Hawks ramp up for conference play.

Their next matchup is scheduled for January 27th, when they'll travel to take part in the ITA Kickoff.