Olympic Spotlight: Rivaldo Marshall wins 800m National Championship

It was another packed week of Hawkeye sports, highlighted by one of the best individual runs in Hawkeye history by Rivaldo Marshall.

We've got a lot to cover, so let's dive right in.

Iowa track and field competed in the NCAA Indoor Championships last weekend, capping off an incredible year with an individual national champion and three first-team All-Americans.

Rivaldo Marshall was the star of the men's team, winning the 800m national championship with a 1:46.96, just behind his school record from earlier in the season.

Marshall becomes just the second indoor national title winner in men's program history (Bashir Yamini won the long jump in 1998) and the Hawkeyes' first track and field champion since Laulauga Tausaga, a national outdoor discus champion in 2019. A transfer from Indian Hills, Marshall won a NJCAA national title in the 800m last year and continued the winning even with the step up in competition.

It's a huge individual achievement for the Hawkeyes and more importantly for Marshall, who deserves all of the praise after putting together one of the best male track performances in program history. Only a junior, he'll have the chance to defend his title in the outdoor season and next year.

Marshall put together the top Iowa performance of the weekend, but he wasn't the only standout. Kalen Walker finished 2nd in the nation in the men's 60m race, finishing in 6.59s, five-hundredths behind the national champion, to earn 1st-team All-American honors. Walker has repeatedly set the program record in the event this season so it was great to see him put together another huge performance on the biggest stage.

Iowa's final first-team All-American was Austin West, who finished 6th in the men's heptathlon. West, a senior, was a second-team All-American in the event each of the past two season but notched his best performance this season and was only 75 points short of his career-best. Both he and Walker are seniors who have been mainstays for the program, elevating the team's performance and rewriting the record books throughout their careers. Congratulations to both on their achievements this season.

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The Hawks also had four second-team All-American performers. Daniela Wamokpego, a freshman, earned second-team honors with her 15th-place finish in the triple jump (12.66m), Tionna Tobias finished 9th in the women's long jump (6.32) to earn second-team honors, and Paige Magee's 14th-place finish in the 60m hurdles (8.41) earned her second-team All-American status, as did Grant Conway's 15th-place finish in the men's 60m hurdles (7.81). Kudos to all of the Hawkeye individual All-Americans on a spectacular season and their great performances at the Indoor Championships.

The weekend wasn't just an individual success for the Hawkeyes though. The men's team finished ninth in the country with 21 points, their best finish since Iowa placed eighth in 2011 and the second-best finish in program history. It was a historic regular season for the Hawkeyes and they have to feel great about turning all of those performances into postseason success.

On any given day a host of factors can get in the way of a perfect performance, but when the lights were brightest, the Hawks put together some of the best performances in the country. Iowa track and field has become a national contender under coach Joey Woody and these results have become less of a one-time spike and more of a regular occurence. Still, even the best teams don't always come away with National Champions and All-Americans. It's an impressive accomplishment and one that should be celebrated the same way we celebrate the best Iowa sports has to offer.

Huge congratulations again to Rivaldo Marshall, the Hawkeye All-Americans, and the entire track and field program on a very good indoor season. There's no time for rest for these Hawkeyes athletes, as they transition to outdoor season this weekend when they travel to Tampa, Florida to compete in the USF Alumni Invitational.

Iowa gymnastics put up a season-best 196.450 to beat rival Iowa State last week, a testament to the continued resilience of the squad. Karina Munoz continued her extraordinary season, earning a share of the vault and beam titles and coming away with the win in the all-around with a score of 39.450. Munoz won a share of the vault event with a 9.850 and shared the beam title with fellow Hawkeye Illka Juk, each posting 9.900 in the event. Munoz also put up a 9.875 on floor to tie for second in the event.

Gianna Marsella and Eva Volpe each put up big scores on the bars, posting matching 9.850s to tie for second in the event. Volpe tied her season-best with the score.

The story stays the same for the GymHawks, who are continually showing up in the face of adversity and have found a way to improve even as the roster continues to be hit with unfortunate injuries. Munoz looks like a star and Volpe continues to grow in her freshman season. The Hawkeyes are putting together their best performances as the stakes begin to rise and getting a rivalry win is always huge for team morale. The senior class accomplished perfection against the Cyclones, going 4-0 in their tenure, which has to be a nice cherry on top.

Iowa will travel to Nashville next week to compete in the Kidney Care Women's Gymnastics Championships alongside Maryland, Pittsburgh, Talladega, and Georgia. The Hawkeyes finished ahead of Maryland earlier this year at the Big Ten Big Five meet.

Iowa softball (8-9) continued their start to the season with a 2-4 weekend, earning wins over CSU Bakersfield (2-18) and San Jose State (9-10) before falling to Santa Clara (14-9) twice and to Loyola Marymount (12-12) and UC Davis (9-10).

The Hawkeyes started the weekend strong with a 17-1 run-rule win over CSU Bakersfield. The Hawks scored early and often, taking 4-0 lead in the first before adding six more in the third. The Roadrunners scored in the 4th inning, but Iowa responded with seven more runs in the bottom of the inning and held the Roadrunner bats at bay to trigger the run-rule win.

Friday's second game was much closer, but Iowa outlasted SJSU to win 3-2. Iowa scored twice in the top of the 3rd inning and carried the lead into the 4th before the Spartans plated two of their own to tie the game. The Hawkeyes battled back right away, taking the lead in the 5th inning off of a Soo-Jin Berry RBI single and that run proved enough for Jalen Adams who finished out the complete game without giving up another run. Rylie Moss was a star at the plate throughout the day, going 5-5 across the two games with four runs scored. Tory Bennett also had a big day, notching five hits and two RBIs of her own.

Unfortunately, the rest of the weekend was not as successful for the Hawkeyes. The Hawks fell 4-2 and 3-2 in a Saturday doubleheader against Santa Clara. In game one, Iowa took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Devyn Greer drove in Jena Young but Santa Clara responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the 2nd. Iowa again took the lead in the 3rd, and again the Broncos answered, tying the game at two. Santa Clara pushed two more across in the 4th and the Hawkeye bats weren't able to find the tying runs in the remaining innings.

The second game started with the Broncos taking a 2-0 lead after two Iowa errors in the 2nd inning and then adding a third run in the 3rd inning. Iowa scored twice in the 4th to cut the lead to one, but never managed to score the tying run. Four Hawkeye errors in the game put a lot of pressure on the pitching staff and bats and it ultimately proved too much to overcome. Berry continued her hot start at the plate, notching three hits between the two games, as well as an RBI.

Sunday's game got away from the Hawkeyes quickly, as they gave up two runs in the first and 12 more in the second inning to put the game out of reach well before the final out. Iowa's lone run came from a Rylie Moss RBI single, but Iowa never threatened a major comeback, ultimately falling 14-1.

The Hawks faced another frustrating loss on Monday, falling 3-2 in nine innings to UC Davis. Jalen Adams pitched another complete game, but the Iowa bats continued to fight a cold streak and couldn't find the winning run. The Aggies struck first with a run in the bottom of the 3rd inning, but Iowa tied the game in the 5th off of a Hannah Lindsey RBI single. UC Davis again pulled ahead in the bottom of the 5th and Iowa once again fought back, tying the game in the top of the 6th. The game remained tied into extra innings until the Aggies came up with a walk-off hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

The Hawkeyes came into the season with high hopes of an NCAA bid and a Big Ten championship, but inconsistency has plagued their early games this season. Defensive errors and cold streaks at the plate have made it hard to pile up wins. It's not unheard of for a young team to battle inconsistency as they learn what it takes to succeed at the NCAA level, but the tournament resume has no sympathy for growing pains. Still, the Hawks have shown they can put it all together, Jalen Adams continues to look strong on the mound, and Berry has been a great find at the top of the lineup.

Conference season is fast approaching, but the Hawkeyes have a few more games to set a foundation and still have all of their goals within reach. They'll retake the field Wednesday when they take on St. Mary's (12-9) (5:00 PM CT, ESPN+).

Iowa tennis (7-6) beat Nebraska (9-3) 4-2 last weekend to improve their record to 2-0 in conference. The Hawkeyes lost the doubles point, but rebounded to win singles points on courts 2, 3, 4, and 5 to clinch the overall match win. Marisa Schmidt won in straight sets on court 2, Barbora Pokorna followed suit on court three, as did Vipasha Mehra on court five. Iowa scored the clinching point when Pia Kranholdt claimed victory in a three-set thriller on court four.

The Hawkeyes have been trending in the right direction after a tough start to the season and are now back on the right side of .500. They've won six of their last seven and are playing at their best as conference season ramps up. They'll be back on the court on March 22nd against Illinois (8-5).

Four Hawkeye divers competed in the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, which kicked off on Monday with the 1m dive. Sarah Ballard was the top Hawkeye finisher, scoring 260 points to finish 22nd, while Makayla Hughbanks and Geneva Pauly each scored 259.65 points to tie for 23rd. Simone Beinlich finished 39th at the event (230.20).

Ballard, Beinlich, and Hughbanks also competed in the 3m dive event on Tuesday afternoon. Ballard led the Hawkeyes, tying for 24th. Hughbanks finished in 35th and Beinlich finished 40th.

Iowa Women's Golf finished sixth at the Tulane Classic over the weekend. Iowa's top performer was Madison Dabiaga, who finished tied for 11th at +6 in the tournament. Ximena Benites, finished tied for 18th at +7, although she is competing individually so her score does not count towards the Hawks' team score. Shannon Vogler finished tied for 30th at +10.