Too's Fast 1,500 Leads Iowa State in California

AZUSA, California – Iowa State's middle distance runners showed off their skills again on a busy Friday for the track and field program at three different meets. The highlight of the day came on the final day of the Bryan Clay Invitational, with Nehemia Too making a big run at one of the oldest records in ISU history.

Bryan Clay Invitational
Nehemia Too continued to show his prowess across a variety of distances for Iowa State on Friday with his stellar performance in the 1,500-meter run. The two-time All-American indoors flew to a personal best 3:39.27, finishing ninth in his section and cutting almost five seconds off his previous best time in the event. His run nearly took down one of the oldest records in the Iowa State record books, missing out on Steve Green's 3:39.19 run in 1994.

Jason Gomez also showed his strength at 1,500 meters, racing to a big personal best of 3:41.69, cutting almost 13 seconds off his previous best and finishing second in his heat. His time just missed out on putting him on ISU's all-time top-10 list by 0.39 seconds.

The success in the 1,500 was not limited to the ISU men, as freshmen Bella Heikes and Riley Beach both went below 4:30 for the first time in their careers on Friday. Heikes was sixth in her section in 4:27.93, with Beach right behind her in seventh, going 4:28.86.

The sprinters and hurdlers also got their first reps in of the weekend on Friday. Leading the way there was Kaylyn Hall, who was third in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.34 and then came back not much later to take fourth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.29.

Mt. SAC Relays
ISU wrapped up its slate of competition at Mt. SAC with a set of 800m runs by the same crew who was in action last night at the Bryan Clay Invitational. A night after pacing for Cebastian Gentil's 1:46.97, Darius Kipyego was now the featured man, with Gentil pacing for him in the fast section. Kipyego showed well, posting the second-best time of his career to finish fourth in 1:48.36. Peter Smith also had the second-best mark of his career in 1:50.07 and Tanner Anderson clocked a season-best 1:51.34.

Beach Invitational
The Cyclones were only in action for one race at the Beach Invitational on Friday, but Noah Kohut-Jackson was able to make the most of his stage at Jack Rose Track. The Ames native picked up the victory in his steeplechase debut, taking the invitational section with a time of 9:20.25.

Up Next
Iowa State wraps up the weekend at the Beach Invitational on Saturday. The Cyclones will begin competition with the women's 100-meter hurdles at 1:25 p.m. Central at Jack Rose Track.

Iowa State Results
Bryan Clay Invitational
100m Dash (M): 1. Dennis Johnson, UTEP – 10.37; 26. Gage Clay, Iowa State – 10.76
200m Dash (M): 1. EJ Floreal, Unattached – 20.65; 16. Gage Clay, Iowa State – 21.44(w); 49. James Ezeonu, Iowa State – 21.94; 87. Charlie Johnson, Iowa State – 22.41
200m Dash (W): 1. Hannah Heise, Capital City TC – 23.83; 33. Bria Barnes, Iowa State – 24.90; 43. Zakiyah Amos, Iowa State – 25.03; 47. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State – 25.08
1,500m Run Invite, Section 2 (M): 1. Abdihamid Nur, Northern Arizona – 3:36.33; 9. Nehemia Too, Iowa State – 3:39.27
1,500m Run Invite, Section 5 (M): 1. Aaron Ahl, Simon Fraser – 3:39.97; 2. Jason Gomez, Iowa State – 3:41.69
1,500m Run Open A, Section 3 (M): 1. Isaac Harding, Grand Valley State – 3:46.21; 3. Nate Mueller, Iowa State – 3:49.06
1,500m Run Open A, Section 8 (M): 1. Dylan Burrows, Oklahoma Christian – 3:47.75; 3. Gable Sieperda, Iowa State – 3:48.94
1,500m Run Invite, Section 1 (W): 1. Holly MacGillivray, British Columbia – 4:23.74; 6. Bella Heikes, Iowa State – 4:27.93; 7. Riley Beach, Iowa State – 4:28.86
100m Hurdles (W): 1. Michelle Harrison, Saskatoon – 13.12; 3. Kaylyn Hall, Iowa State – 13.35; 6. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State – 13.61
110m Hurdles (M): 1. Jamal Britt, Elite Athletes Network – 13.51; 23. James Ezeonu, Iowa State – 14.88
400m Hurdles (M): 1. Deyondre Davis, Idaho – 51.60; 21. Joven Nelson, Iowa State – 54.52
400m Hurdles (W): 1. Loubna Benhadja, UTEP – 58.51; 4. Kaylyn Hall, Iowa State – 1:00.29

Mt. SAC Relays
800m Run Collegiate, Section 2 (M): 1. Nick Nowlen, MSU Denver – 1:51.19; 5. David Thompson, Iowa State – 1:54.51
800m Run Collegiate, Section 3 (M): 1. Tanner Maier, Minnesota State – 1:49.52; 5. Tanner Anderson, Iowa State – 1:51.34
800m Run Collegiate, Section 4 (M): 1. Bobby Poynter, USC – 1:48.33; 5. Peter Smith, Iowa State – 1:50.07
800m Run Collegiate, Section 7 (M): 1. Tim Zepf, Notre Dame – 1:47.46; 4. Darius Kipyego, Iowa State – 1:48.36; Cebastian Gentil, Iowa State – DNF

Beach Invitational
3,000m Steeplechase Invitational (M): 1. Noah Kohut-Jackson, Iowa State – 9:20.25

Players Mentioned

Zakiyah Amos

Tanner Anderson

Bria Barnes

Riley Beach

Gage Clay

James Ezeonu

Cebastian Gentil

Jason Gómez

Kaylyn Hall

Bella Heikes

Charlie Johnson

Darius Kipyego

Noah Kohut-Jackson

Nate Mueller

Joven Nelson

Gable Sieperda

Peter Smith

David Thompson

Nehemia Too

Katarina Vlahovic

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics