Men's DMR Record Lead Iowa State on Fast Friday

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – The Iowa State men's distance medley relay team went to the Indiana Relays with the goal of qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships and it was mission accomplished on Friday night as the Cyclones shattered their school record in the event and put up the No. 2 time in the nation this season in the DMR of 9:28.22.

The school record highlighted a successful day across three meets for ISU, with fast times also being ran at the UW Invite in Seattle and the Texas Tech Invite in Lubbock.

Indiana Relays
The DMR was ISU's only event of Friday in Bloomington, with Festus Lagat, Cebastian Gentil, Roshon Roomes and Edwin Kurgat toeing the line for Iowa State. Lagat, the national leader at 800 and 1,000 meters, got things rolling in the 1,200 opening leg, covering in 2:53.84 to have ISU in second right on the back of Indiana on the hand-off to Gentil. The sophomore Gentil, running his first 400-leg of a DMR, kept up with his Indiana counterpart, clocking a 47.66 split before handing off to Roomes.

Roomes put up a blitzing 1:46.98 to continue to be on the shoulder of the host Hoosiers with the final leg left to the NCAA Cross Country champion Kurgat. The senior had previously done DMR for ISU at the Drake Relays last year, running lead-off for the winning squad, this time the senior got to duke it out with Kyle Mau of Indiana. Kurgat made his pass with two laps to go and took care of business from there to bring home the win and the ticket for the relay to the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The 9:28.22 relay breaks ISU's previous school record of 9:31.85 run by Edward Kemboi, Derek Jones, Patrick Peterson and Brian Biekert at the 2015 Alex Wilson Invitational. The time is No. 2 in Big 12 history and No. 13 in NCAA Division I history. Lagat and Kurgat both picked up their second school records of the season, with Lagat taking down the 1,000 meters mark at Iowa in December and Kurgat re-setting his 5K record in Boston last month. Roomes got his second relay school record, as he was a member of the 4x400 relay which set the school record in 2017.

UW Invitational
Iowa State's competition at Dempsey Indoor was focused on the 5,000-meter run, with three women and two men in action. The Cyclone men went 2-for-2 in section wins and personal bests. In Section 3, Thomas Pollard was victorious, crossing the line in 14:02.39. Pollard's mark also moves him into ISU's all-time Top 10 for the indoor 5K at 10th. Earlier in the day, Mitchell Day ran away with Section 2, crossing the line in 14:11.26. It was a personal best of over 10 seconds for Day, whose previous best of 14:21.76 was run while he was at Wake Forest two years ago.

For the Cyclone women, Winrose Chesang, running her first 5K as a Cyclone, took second place in Section 2 in 16:45.24. A four-time NJCAA All-American at 5,000 meters, Chesang's mark was her best indoor 5K of her career. A pair of freshmen put up strong outings in Section 1, with Grace Dickel finishing ninth in 17:09.60, with Dana Feyen right behind her in 10th in 17:10.14.

Texas Tech Invitational
A pair of sophomore women continued to put up fast times for the Cyclones. In the 60-meter hurdles, Katarina Vlahovic again lowered her personal best, her fourth-straight meet doing so, clocking an 8.35 in the first round of competition. The mark also allowed the Canadian to move up a spot to No. 4 in ISU history for the event. Also moving up a spot in the record book is Zakiyah Amos, as her personal best 55.36 in the 400-meter dash moved her to No. 6 in ISU history.

For the Cyclone men, Mason Weh got three runs of the 60-meter hurdles on Friday, advancing all the way to the finals and finishing fifth in his final race of the night. Weh's fastest effort game in the semifinals, when he clocked a 7.89.

Up Next
Iowa State is back in action at all three sites tomorrow. Action will begin at Texas Tech with field events at 11 a.m. and running events at noon. Competition at the Indiana Relays for ISU starts at 11:10 a.m. Central Time, and the Cyclones' events at the UW Invitational will start at 12:20 p.m. Central.

Iowa State Results
Indiana Relays
Distance Medley Relay (M): 1. Iowa State (Festus Lagat, Cebastian Gentil, Roshon Roomes, Edwin Kurgat) – 9:28.22

UW Invitational
5,000m Run, Section 3 (M): 1. Thomas Pollard, Iowa State – 14:02.39
5,000m Run, Section 2 (M): 1. Mitchell Day, Iowa State – 14:11.26
5,000m Run, Section 2 (W): 1. Haley Johnston, BYU – 16:42.34; 2. Winrose Chesang, Iowa State – 16:45.24
5,000m Run, Section 1 (W): 1. Jackie Garner, UCLA – 16:50.64; 9. Grace Dickel, Iowa State – 17:09.60; 10. Dana Feyen, Iowa State – 17:10.14

Texas Tech Invitational
400m Dash (M): 1. Randolph Ross, North Carolina A&T – 45.44; 37. Gage Clay, Iowa State – 49.10; 38. Joven Nelson, Iowa State – 49.11; 49. Nate Kennedy, Iowa State – 49.37; Charlie Johnson, Iowa State – DQ
400m Dash (W): 1. Bailey Lear, USC – 52.74; 13. Zakiyah Amos, Iowa State – 55.36
60m Hurdles Prelim (M): 1. Caleb Parker, Florida State – 7.61; 5. Mason Weh, Iowa State – 7.91; 26. Jack Garber, Iowa State – 8.55
60m Hurdles Semifinal (M): 1. Trey Cunningham, Florida State – 7.57; 7. Mason Weh, Iowa State – 7.89
60m Hurdles Final (M): 1. Trey Cunningham, Florida State – 7.52; 5. Mason Weh, Iowa State – 7.93
60m Hurdles Prelim (W): 1. Domonique Turner, Tennessee – 8.15; 6. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State – 8.35; 12. Kaylyn Hall, Iowa State – 8.52
60m Hurdles Semifinal (W): 1. Tiara McMinn, Miami (FL) – 8.02; 13. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State – 8.38
Weight Throw (W): 1. Seasons Usual, Texas Tech – 66-2 1/2 (20.18m); 7. Keiara Williams, Iowa State – 56-10 (17.32m); 8. Antonella Creazzola, Iowa State – 53-11 (16.43m)
Triple Jump (W): 1. Kimberly Williams, Adidas – 46-3 1/2 (14.11m); 21 Jalaiya Bartley, Iowa State – 38-8 3/4 (11.80m)

Players Mentioned

Zakiyah Amos

Jalaiya Bartley

Winrose Chesang

Gage Clay

Antonella Creazzola

Mitchell Day

Grace Dickel

Dana Feyen

Jack Garber

Cebastian Gentil

Kaylyn Hall

Charlie Johnson

Nate Kennedy

Edwin Kurgat

Festus Lagat

Joven Nelson

Thomas Pollard

Roshon Roomes

Katarina Vlahovic

Mason Weh

Keiara Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics