Iowa Men's Track 2nd at B1G Ten Meet

Hawkeye Women 6th at Conference Championship

Photo - Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com

MINNEAPOLIS - Iowa track and field junior Julien Gillum won the 400-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Championships to help the Hawkeyes to a runner-up team finish (103 pts.) on Sunday at the University of Minnesota Track & Field Stadium. The Iowa women finished sixth (59 pts.) in the team standings.

“I thought our guys battled extremely well this entire weekend,” Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody said. “Like I mentioned yesterday, our backs were against the wall and they came out swinging hard, punching a lot of tickets to the finals. We gave ourselves a shot. I was extremely proud of how they battled in every single event.”

Gillum won the hurdle race in 51.12 to mark to give the Hawkeyes their third-consecutive outdoor championships in the 400-meter hurdles (Jamal Britt – 2021, Chris Douglas – 2019). Freshman Phillip Jefferson took bronze (51.43) to earn the first Big Ten medal of his career. Senior Raymonte Dow (52.53) and sophomore Drake Woody (53.06) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

“He (Gillum) just needed to be in contention, and he was coming into the straightaway,” Woody said. “I think he smelled a little bit of blood at the end and went for it, and he was right there at the finish line. That was exciting to see him win that thing. And P.J. making a podium finish and top three as a true freshman is extremely exciting for him.”

The Hawkeyes had four runner-up finishes on the afternoon. The men’s 4x100-meter relay team of freshman Kalil Johnson, sophomore Austin Kresley, junior Gratt Reed and sophomore Khullen Jefferson finished second in 39.64. The women’s 4x400-meter relay of junior Mariel Bruxvoort, seniors Erin Dowd and Payton Wensel and sophomore Tesa Roberts also earned a silver (3:33.18) and ran the third-fastest time in program history, leaping Michigan to secure the sixth-place team finish.

Junior James Carter, Jr., was runner-up in the triple jump (15.93m / 52’3.25”) for the second straight year and earned his second silver medal of the weekend.

“James (Carter) is just one of the biggest money performers I’ve ever seen,” Woody said. “To come out and get top two, top three every time he’s on the track. He’s just a big team guy and he battled for his team and did a tremendous job.”

Sophomore Jordan Johnson was the discus runner-up (57.63m / 189’1”) to earn his second-career Big Ten medal in the event and improve on his third-place finish from a year ago.

In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, senior Josh Braverman (13.56) took bronze and ran the fifth-fastest time in program history. Reed finished fifth (13.68), sophomore Grant Conway was sixth (13.74) and freshman Kalil Johnson (13.81) was seventh. Conway and Johnson each posted personal-best times, and Conway cracked Iowa’s all-time top-10 list.

In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Dowd earned bronze (58.00). Wensel finished fourth (58.24), Bruxvoort was sixth (58.74) and sophomore Paige Magee finished eighth to score a team point.

The women’s 4x100-meter relay of sophomore LaSarah Hargrove, freshman Lia Love, Dowd and Magee finished third (44.44). Hargrove ran in two additional finals, coming in fifth in the 100 meters (11.31w) and fourth in the 200 meters (22.96w).

The men’s 4x400-meter relay of freshman Everett Steward, sophomores Spencer Gudgel and Armando Bryson and Gillum took bronze (3:10.28). In the men’s 800 meters, junior Alec Still (1:52.66) finished fifth and freshman Antonio Abrego took eighth (1:52.95). On the women’s side, freshman Alli Bookin-Nosbisch (2:08.72) and sophomore Clare Pitcher (2:09.00) finished sixth and seventh.

“They expect to win, and us getting second is just a bad taste in our mouth,” Woody said. “They’re going to have a bad taste in their mouth after this, and they’re going to be very, very excited to get back at it. Not only next year, but I’m talking in these next two weeks. We’ve still got a long season and big goals to still accomplish for our team.”

The Hawkeyes will be back in action May 25-28 for the NCAA West Region Prelims in Fayetteville, Arkansas.