Iowa's Elexis Guster finding focus heading into Big Ten championships

IOWA CITY — Iowa junior Elexis Guster just wants to ignore the outside noise.

Guster is the two-time defending Big Ten Conference champion in the 400-meter dash, but tends to put unwanted pressure on herself.

'I get so nervous because I know everybody is out to get me,' Guster said. 'It throws off my focus, and I'm not really focused on my race.

'Don't put that extra stress on myself to just come in and win the title, just do it.'

The Big Ten championships begin Friday in Lincoln, Neb.

Guster will be challenged by Ohio State senior Sonikqua Walker, last season's runner up who finished just .07 seconds behind Guster, 52.19 to 52.26.

The pair are seeded first and second with times of 51.85 and 52.23, respectively.

If all runners score based on seeds, the Hawkeye women will finish fifth, although Guster and the coaching staff believe the team is capable of much more.

'Our goal is to go in and compete to win,' director of track and field Joey Woody said. 'We're seeded fifth or sixth on paper, but we're less than 20 points out from first.'

A title seems lofty, considering the Hawkeye women have finished in the top five just once, in 2014, since 2006.

However, Guster and company are confident they will find success this weekend.

'I believe we can be a top three team,' she said. 'I don't know that we have the people yet to be a Big Ten champion as a group of girls, but we have a lot of people in scoring range.'

The Hawkeye men are in a much better position to compete for a title, scoring second on paper, according to Woody, although he said point scorers from years previous sit outside the top eight.

Iowa is led by defending 110-meter hurdles champion Aaron Mallett, who is seeded a quarter second faster than Cam Viney of Illinois. Mitch Wolff is seeded second to Viney in the 400 meter hurdles.

Head coach Layne Anderson said the ceiling is high for both teams because of the success the Hawkeyes have seen over the season.

'It's great to go in having a lot of positive momentum,' Anderson said. ' But as we as coaches say and we try to remind the athletes, they have the meet to determine the champion.'