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Track and Field
Bryan Clay Invite
Iowa State University Athletics
Ihmels Leads Squad to Big 12 Meet
02.26.2008 | Track and Field
AMES, Iowa- Iowa State's track and field team heads to the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Friday and Saturday, returning several athletes who scored points at last year's conference meet. The Cyclones also bring numerous newcomers who can make an immediate impact this year at the Bob Devaney Center.
Jared Lewis hopes to repeat his strong, point-scoring performances from last season's conference meet in Ames. Lewis will compete in the 60-meter dash, in which the Denver, Colo. native earned a Big 12 runner-up finish in 2007. Junior James Galvan, an NCAA provisional qualifier in the 800-meter run, will give the Cyclones an impressive threat, and a good chance to score, in the middle-distance event. Other sprinters anticipating notable performances include senior Sterling Frison in the hurdles and Derron Montgomery in the 400-meter run.
“This is the first time through with this group, we are looking to get there and compete hard,” said head track and field coach Corey Ihmels. “I think we have some bright areas in the sprint group up and down the lineup. We are going to try and qualify as many of for the finals as we can. We are expecting great things from Jared Lewis, he had a great conference meet last year.”
Brandon Rooney (mile), Johnny Reel (1,000-meters), David Lantz (1,000-meters) and Guor Majak (3,000, 5,000-meters) are returning distance scorers from last season. Sophomore Kiel Uhl, who redshirted the 2007 indoor season, will participate in the 5,000-meter run, to add another talented runner to the distance mix.
“We want to get as many kids in the finals as we can, and hopefully have a lot of athletes competing on Saturday,” Ihmels said.
NCAA automatic qualifier in the 5,000-meters, Lisa Koll will lead the ISU women in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs. Koll currently holds the second-fastest time in the nation in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:52.37. The Fort Dodge, Iowa native and two-time all-American will compete with Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego, who owns the fastest time in the nation at 15:32.09, for the 5k title in Lincoln. Koll earned second in the 5,000-meters and fourth in the 3,000-meter run in Ames last year. She won the 10,000-meter run at the 2007 Big 12 outdoor meet.
Newcomer Grace Kemmey, who is provisionally-qualified nationally for the 5,000-meters at the ISU Classic with a time of 16:41.65, ranking fifth in the Big 12, joins Koll in the 5k. Senior Dawn Caffrey also looks to score in her final indoor conference meet.
“We are going to be led, distance-wise, by Lisa and Kiel,” Ihmels said. “Lisa has an opportunity to do some good things Friday night in the 5k, and Kiel same thing. They both expect to go down there, have a big presence and do well in the 5k.”
ISU's women's sprinters have made progress over the course of the indoor season and could make further strides this weekend. Sophomore Lashawn Wright claims two first-place finishes in the 60-meter dash and matched her career-best time of 7.54 in the event at the ISU Classic. Newcomers Brittany Machacek and Kersteen Thorgaard have had successful rookie campaigns and are legitimate threats in the sprints events. Senior hurdler Megan Nielsen also looks to cap off her indoor career in the conference meet, competing in the 60-meter hurdles.
“Thorgaard and Machacek, on the women's side, will help us, and we will have a presence in a lot of the sprint events,” Ihmels said.
The field squad also has been improving since the beginning of the indoor season. Freshman Tiffanie Synacek's high jump career is off to a terrific start. The Council Bluffs native sits atop the Big 12 with a jump of 5-08.75 tied with four other athletes. Synacek will participate in the high jump on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Thrower Zac Brouillette came on strong during the indoor season. The former football player captured four titles in the throws events throughout the season for the ISU men. Brouillette's tosses of 59-08.25 and 54-10.75 in the weight throw and shot put respectively, rank seventh in the conference in both events.
The Big 12 is extremely potent in both men's and women's track and field. Six conference teams are ranked in the top 25 by USTFCCA on the men's side and three on the women's side. Big 12 athletes hold the top spot in five different events for the men and three for the women. The Cyclones will battle for a high-quality showing this weekend.
“We expect to go down there and run to the best of our ability,” Ihmels said. “We have seen big improvements on both sides this season. I think we have to go down there and compete like we belong, move up the ladder and see where we are at, at the end of the day Saturday.”
Events for the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships begin on Friday at 9:30 a.m. with the 60-meter hurdles portion of the women's pentathlon. The meet will continue on into Saturday.
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