ISU Classic: Women?s Breakdown

AMES, Iowa – The 24^th annual Iowa State Classic is set to begin as competitors from some of the premiere men's and women's programs from across the country will showcase one of the nation's largest and most talented group's track and field athletes.

Both collegiate and professional athletes will be vying for qualifying times for the NCAA Indoor Championships and USA Indoor Championships. A brief preview of each event on the men's side is listed below.

60m
The women's 60-meter dash will feature two sub-7.50 second sprinters in Virginia's Jordan Lavender and Minnesota's Erin Hawkins. Lavender was named the 2014 ACC Indoor and Outdoor MVP while winning the 400m in both meets. Hawkins clocked a personal-best time of 7.49 earlier this season at the Jack Johnson Classic.

200m
Three-athletes from Duke University enter as the top seeds for the event led by senior Elizabeth Kerpon who has a career-best time of 23.69. Kerpon will look to break the Iowa State Classic Record of 23.62 in the event. Duke's Lauren Hanson, Madeline Kopp and Drake's Danyelle Cole all enter the event having broken the 24.20-time barrier.

400m
Baylor's Raena Rhone leads a competitive group that consists of three athletes who have posted top-50 times nationally in the event this year. Rhone's time of 52.80 ranks ninth-best in the country. Other top marks include a 53.89 from Oral Roberts Madison Reynolds and a 54.31 from Iowa State's Kendra White.

800m
The 800-meter run will be headlined by two elite-level unattached athletes in Bethany Praska and Rebecca Addison. Both have run sub-2:04 in the race including a 2:02.83 from Praska, who was an All-American in 2011.

Virginia Tech's Amanda Smith and Hanna Green both look to add in the mix, each having posted sub-2:05 times in their careers. Smith is coming off an All-American indoor season is last year that saw her take fifth in the 800-meter run at the 2014 Indoor National Championships.

1 mile run
Heather Wilson of New Jersey*New York Track Club leads a strong women's mile race. Wilson comes into the event with a personal best time of 4:33.35, looking to top the Iowa State classic record of 4:34.73 set by Jessica Tebo last year.

Wilson will face stiff completion from Nicky Akande of Adidas, Megan Wright of Toledo and Mariah Kelly of Baylor. All three athletes have run sub-4:40 miles in their career.

Heidi Engelhardt, Colleen Riley and Katherin DeSimone of Iowa State will also compete in the event. All three Cyclones have performed well this season, with Engelhardt leading the group with a personal best time of 4:51.19 she ran at the Big 4 Duals earlier this season.

3,000m
One of the most competitive events of the meet will be headlined by two elite-level athletes in New Jersey*New York Track Club's Rebeka Stowe and Nicol Traynor. Both athletes have posted sub-9:08 time in the race.

Among the top-runners competing is Iowa State's Katy Moen, who posted the nation's seventh-fastest time of 9:10.76 at the Razorback Invitational. Moen will compete against several other top collegiate athletes including Baylor's Rachel Johnson and Maggie Montoya, who both have run sub-9:27 in their careers.

5,000m
Four-different athletes enter the event with sub-16:10.00 times. Eastern Kentucky's Ann Eason leads the event with a seed time of 16:03.87. The junior earned All-American honors last season at the 2014 Outdoor NCAA Championships. Other top athletes competing include Notre Dames Molly Seidel, Virginia Tech's Sarah Rapp and Bethanie Brown. Seidel, a 2014 cross country All-American, holds the nation's 11th-best time of 16:10.95 in the event this year.

60H
Illinois' Breeana Coleman comes in to the 60-meter hurdles with the top time of 8.17, which she posted at the 2012 Big 10 Indoor Championships. Coleman is joined by fellow Big 10 sprinters Deanna Latham of Wisconsin and Emma Spagnola of Minnesota. Coleman and Latham currently own the nation's 23rd and 25th best times respectively.

4x400
Duke currently holds the nation's 11th fastest time in the relay of 3:36.78. The Blue Devils squad consists of Lauren Hansson, Madeline Kopp, Madeline Price and Elizabeth Kerpon. The race should be very tight as one-seeded Illinois has posted a time only five seconds better than fifth-seeded Minnesota.

DMR
Duke enters as the one-seed in the relay holding an eight second advantage seed time over the second-seeded Baylor Bears. The Blue Devils ran the nation's 13th-fastest time of 11:23.42 at the 2015 Armory Track Invitational earlier this season.

High Jump
Several different athletes enter the high jump with elite seed marks. Among the top of the competitors is Iowa State's Marine Vallet who currently holds the nation's 18^th-best mark of 5' 10.75”. Vallet will face stiff competition from Illinois' Kandie Bloch-Jones and Minnesota's Heta Tuuri, who both hold top-40 marks nationally.

Pole Vault
Illinois' Stephanie Richartz enters the contest as one of the premier pole vaulters in the country. The two-time All-American topped the nation's sixth-best mark of 14' 2.5” earlier this season at the 2015 Rod McCravy Memorial Track and Field Meet. Coming in as the two-seed is North Carolina's Cameron Overstreet, who holds the 26^th-best mark in the country.

Long Jump
Cyclone freshman Jhoanmy Luque enters as the two-seed trailing only first-team All-American Xenia Rahn of North Carolina. Luque, Rahn and Wisconsin's Deanna Latham have all posted top-50 times nationally this year with Luque leading the way with a mark of 19' 9.5”.

Triple Jump
Luque, again enters the competition with the best mark posted this year of 41' 5.0”. The Cyclone freshman faces strong opposition from Nebraska's Cora Salas Planas, who recently joined the Husker after competing in her home country of Spain. While in Spain, Salas Planas held top-200 marks in the world in both the triple jump and long jump.

Shot Put
The women's shot put feature one of the nation's premier throwers in the collegiate ranks in Wisconsin's Kelsey Card. The Badger redshirt- junior is a three-time All-American and currently has the fourth-best toss in the shot put in the country (56' 2.5”). Coming in as the three-seed is South Dakota's Danielle Waldner, who also holds a top-50 mark nationally in the shot put this season.

Weight Throw
Kelsey Card will team up with another Wisconsin Badger, Angela Boushea to take on first-seeded Emily Lesser of North Dakota. Lesser is coming off a strong 2014 Indoor season that saw her take Summit League Titles in both the shot put and the weight throw.

Players Mentioned

Bethanie Brown

Bethanie Brown

Heidi Engelhardt

Heidi Engelhardt

Jhoanmy Luque

Katy Moen

Katy Moen

Colleen Riley

Colleen Riley

Marine Vallet

Kendra White

Kendra White

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