Iowa State got its first taste of road action in the indoor season over the weekend running on the banked turns of the Bob Devaney Sports Center at the University of Nebraska.

Jenny Mockler claimed her second title in as many weeks, and the Cyclones came away from the meet with a solid performance. The meet was more competitive than last weekend’s ISU Open in order to prepare the Cyclones for the upcoming championship season.

Mockler, a senior from Liverpool, England, continued her winning ways after the ISU Open, out leaning Wichita State’s Linda Feldberga to win the 800-meter run in a time of 2 minutes 10.02 seconds. Feldberga finished a mere fifteen hundredths of a second behind Mockler with a time of 2:10.17. Fellow Cyclone senior Sara Boisen finished fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:12.29.

The success did not stop there as freshman Lashawn Wright, a Texas native, had a very solid day running against some stiff competition. Wright qualified for the finals of the 60-meter dash and placed fifth with a time of 7.77 seconds. Wright also finished in the top ten in the 200-meter dash, running a new personal record (PR) time of 24.97 to take sixth place in the field.

“The track was different,” Wright said.

“Being banked I really didn’t like that too much and it was a little different running a whole lap [for the 200]. I’ve never done that before.”

Making the adjustments of running on a banked track led Wright to not be completely satisfied with her times.

“I was a little disappointed, especially for the 60 because I did the same thing I did last weekend,” Wright said. “I ran faster in the prelims and in the finals my time was slower.”

Wright is running the first indoor track season of her life and is still adjusting to the environment and competing at a higher level.

“Throughout high school and summer track I’ve had good block starts. Now my form has changed and my starts aren’t as good as they used to be.” she said.

“I don’t know – I guess maybe I’m just thinking too hard, just wanting to be at my best, but everyone keeps reminding me that I’m a freshman and I still have time to grow.”

Fellow freshman Jenna Caffrey ran a time of 8.68 to earn her a third place finish in the 60-meter hurdles. Nebraska runner Nikita Eades won the event with a time of 8.53. Caffrey stated that the tougher competition will help keep her motivated and working hard.

“I was hoping to do a little better, hoping to come out fresh and maybe PR,” Caffrey said.

Assistant coach Scott Roberts attributes the slower times to two hard weeks of training in practice.

The Cyclones are preparing for the championship season, which begins with the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 9 and 10 at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center.

“I think the work we put in the last two weeks is really going to pay dividends down the road as we enter with the championship season, which will begin with the Iowa State Classic,” Roberts said.