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Elite underclassmen help Iowa track and field acclimate to more challenging Big Ten
‘Elevated’ recruiting translates to elevated results for Hawkeyes as they face tougher competition in expanded Big Ten
John Steppe
May. 15, 2025 11:00 am, Updated: May. 15, 2025 11:20 am
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IOWA CITY — Iowa track and field will be experiencing a “world championship-type atmosphere” this weekend, as Joey Woody describes Oregon’s Hayward Field.
“It’s like an Olympic venue,” said Woody, Iowa’s director of track and field and cross country. “ … It’s just such a unique venue — the way that they designed it. But it’s still got a little bit of the historic Hayward Field feel to it.”
The upgrade in location for this weekend’s Big Ten outdoor championships is symbolic of the overall upgrade in strength of the Big Ten as the Hawkeyes compete with the likes of Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington.
“Those four programs definitely added a lot more to track and field, maybe even than some other sports,” Woody said. “It’s definitely a battle every single time we get a chance to go up against them.”
The Hawkeyes seem to be acclimating well to the more challenging Big Ten environment as postseason competition begins Friday with the conference outdoor championships.
Iowa has set program records in the outdoor season in the women’s 400-meter, 800-meter, 1600-meter relay, sprint medley, high jump and javelin and the men’s 100-meter and hammer throw. The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 19 nationally on the men’s side and No. 32 on the women’s side.
“I’m very proud of our program, our staff,” Woody said. “We’ve done a tremendous job over the last year and a half to prepare for this. Our recruiting has definitely elevated, and we’re still very competitive at a high level.”
The Hawkeyes’ elevated recruiting in recent years has translated to elevated results from their underclassmen.
Maria Arboleda, a freshman from southwestern Columbia, perhaps has been the most impressive of the underclassmen. She set the school record for women’s high jump in her outdoor debut and then broke her own record later in the season.
“She’s built like a world-class high jumper, and we knew that she would be that type of athlete coming in,” Woody said. “Man, she hasn’t let anybody down. That’s for sure. She’s fun to watch, super impressive talent. … She’s going to be competing for national championships, and she’ll probably be on the world stage here over the next few years.”
Also on the women’s side, Chioma Nwachukwu has Iowa’s 400-meter outdoor women’s record despite also being a freshman. Fellow freshman Damaris Mutunga is part of the record-breaking sprint medley team.
“People don’t understand Chioma is only 16,” Woody said. “Not only is she a freshman, she potentially could be a sophomore in high school. So when you start looking at that, and she’s running 51 mid in the 400 and has a really good chance to break 51 seconds and potentially be a 49 split leg on a relay — it just shows how special she is.”
Meanwhile on the men’s side, sophomore Kai Graves-Blanks posted the seventh-best 110-meter hurdles time in outdoor program history. Fellow sophomore Isaac Lewis posted the third-best 400-meter hurdle time in program history this season.
“Both those guys were a little bit under the radar,” Woody said. “Kai was really good as a junior, and he went to Montverde Academy. He was a little banged up his senior year, but we were really fortunate to add him to our program. … (Lewis) was a little banged up his senior year, and so I think a lot of people didn’t really see what his potential was.”
Ryan Johnson, also a sophomore, was the one to break the men’s hammer throw record — a record that stood for 24 years — after transferring from Eastern Michigan.
“So we’re pretty excited about our young class on the men’s side as well,” Woody said.
The Hawkeyes finished fourth on the women’s side and fifth on the men’s side at the Big Ten indoor championships. In terms of Iowa’s “paper points” ahead of this weekend’s outdoor championships — “basically where athletes are ranked going into the meet,” as Woody explained it — the Hawkeyes are among the many teams “hovering anywhere between 50 to 70 points.”
“A really good meet for us would be to score like 75-plus points, which would potentially be top three, top four in the conference,” Woody said. “I think that’s pretty realistic, and I think that our kids can really go after it and do that. But there’s a lot of things that happen at championships.”
While the Hawkeyes’ finish at the end of the weekend is uncertain, they certainly will at least be able to revel in competing at a track and field mecca — and now a Big Ten mecca.
“It’ll be pretty awesome for our athletes just to be in that environment and to be able to compete against the best competition in the country,” Woody said.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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