Two School Records Go Down at Arkansas Qualifier

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – Iowa State's men's distance medley relay and Wesley Kiptoo took the meet title "Qualifier" as literally as they could, as both events put up big performances at the Arkansas Qualifier Friday to position themselves strongly to make the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the events.

The Arkansas Qualifier actually saw the DMR go as one of the first events, with a strong field including hosts Arkansas, Washington, Alabama and Oklahoma State all vying for fast times. Jason Gomez took the 1,200-meter leg out in 2:52.08, handing off to Frank Hayes who followed with a 400m 46.30. Alex Lomong took the stick and ran his 800m section in 1:48.65 to give to anchor Nehemia Too, who closed in 3:57.05. While the Cyclones finished fourth, they came home in 9:24.07, with the three teams who finished ahead of them at the Tyson Track Center the only teams ahead of Iowa State in the NCAA Division I DMR rankings at the time of publication and the eighth-fastest men's DMR in NCAA D1 history.

Gomez and Lomong both ran the same legs on the DMR that set the previous school record of 9:27.90 at last season's Razorback Invitational. Too anchored for the ISU DMR squad that finished ninth at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The strength of men's distance running at the NCAA Division I level was made clear by Kiptoo's 28th-place ranking in the 3K heading into the weekend, despite being just sixth-tenths off his school record from last season. He still ahd some more in him and delivered another astonishing performance, taking his school record down by nearly five seconds with his third-place effort in 7:43.61. He has now run the three-fastest men's indoor 3Ks in ISU history. At the time of publication, Kiptoo is No. 6 in NCAA Division I on the season and his time is the 11th-best on a banked-200 oval in NCAA Division I indoor history.

Between those races, Hayes picked up his second 800-meter run win in as many weeks, taking the victory in 1:48.46, ahead of Alex Lomong (1:48.52) and Darius Kipyego (1:48.87), the latter running a PR and moving into ISU's top-10 for the event.

Snowshoe Open
Iowa State's women's throwers highlighted the Cyclones' day at the Snowshoe Open in Minneapolis. Antonella Creazzola continues to put up big marks on the season, pushing her personal best out by over another foot to 61-0 (18.59m) to finish third and move up to No. 9 in ISU history. Emily March also had a personal best on the day, taking fifth with a best throw of 58-3 (17.75m).

Up Next
Iowa State will be the hosts of the 2022 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships next weekend at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center. Competition will take place on Friday and Saturday.

Iowa State Results
Arkansas Qualifier
800m Run (M): 1. Frank Hayes, Iowa State – 1:48.46; 2. Alex Lomong, Iowa State – 1:48.52; 3. Darius Kipyego, Iowa State – 1:48.87
3,000m Run (M): 1. Zouhai Talbi, Oklahoma City – 7:40.39; 3. Wesley Kiptoo, Iowa State – 7:43.61
Distance Medley Relay (M): 1. Washington – 9:21.10; 4. Iowa State (Jason Gomez, Frank Hayes, Alex Lomong, Nehemia Too) – 9:24.07

Snowshoe Open
60m Hurdles Final (M): 1. Erik Anderson, St. Thomas – 8.17; 5. Jack Vetsch, Iowa State – 8.39; 7. Thai Thompson, Iowa State – 8.44; 8. James Ezeonu, Iowa State – 8.56
60m Hurdles Final (W): 1. Kelsie Sealock, Bethel (Minn.) – 8.70; 4. Sydney Willits, Iowa State – 8.97
60m Hurdles Prelims (M): 1. Jayson Ekiyor, Bethel (Minn.) – 8.25; 4. Jack Vetsch, Iowa State – 8.41; 6. James Ezeonu, Iowa State – 8.46; 8. Thai Thompson, Iowa State – 8.59
60m Hurdles Prelims (W): 1. Kelsie Sealock, Bethel (Minn.) – 8.75; 4. Sydney Willits, Iowa State – 9.12
Shot Put Invite (M): 1. Kyle Atkinson, Unatt.-Minnesota – 60-1 (18.31m); 3. Cam Jones, Unattached – 58-3 1/4 (17.76m); 4. Kevin Sakson, Iowa State – 58-3 1/4 (17.76m); 8. Blake Wiederhold, Unattached – 50-8 1/4 (15.45m)
Shot Put Open (M): 1. Garret Wagner, Unattached – 48-4 (14.73m)
Weight Throw (M): 1. Kostas Zaltos, Unatt.-Minnesota – 69-4 (21.13m); 4. Cam Jones, Unattached – 66-0 1/2 (20.13m); 11. Garret Wagner, Unattached – 51-0 1/4 (15.55m); 12. Zach Verzani, Unattached – 50-1 1/4 (15.27m); 14. Blake Wiederhold, Unattached – 48-9 1/2 (14.87m)
Weight Throw (W): 1. Shelby Frank, Minnesota – 69-10 3/4 (21.30m); 3. Antonella Creazzola, Iowa State – 61-0 (18.59m); 5. Emily March, Iowa State – 58-3 (17.75m); 6. Danielle Hoyle, Iowa State – 57-5 1/2 (17.51m)
High Jump (W): 1. Nyalaam Jok, Minnesota – 5-10 (1.78m); Sydney Willits, Iowa State – Foul
Pole Vault (M): 1. Mike Herauf, Unatt.-Minnesota – 17-0 1/4 (5.19m); 7. Jack Vetsch, Iowa State – 12-3 1/4 (3.74m)

Players Mentioned

Antonella Creazzola

Jason Gómez

Frank Hayes

Danielle Hoyle

Cam Jones

Wesley Kiptoo

Darius Kipyego

Alex Lomong

Emily March

Kevin Sakson

Thai Thompson

Nehemia Too

Zach Verzani

Jack Vetsch

Garret Wagner

Blake Wiederhold

Sydney Willits

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