They’re almost gone, but last weekend the ISU track and field seniors wanted to make sure they weren’t forgotten.

Gina Curtis, Lenka Kalabova, Joey Brunkhorst and Mike Mwangong all captured Big 12 track and field championships to lead the women’s and men’s teams to fifth and ninth place finishes, respectively. All four are seniors and nearing the end of their careers at Iowa State.

Women’s head coach Dick Lee was pleased with the team’s effort at the Big 12s.

“The kids did a great job – everyone performed well,” Lee said. “Most meets you lose one or two people you were counting on to score points. We had people score points for us we thought were a long shot.”

Three-time All-American Curtis jumped a school-record 6-1 1/4 to win the high jump. She has already qualified for the NCAA track and field National Championships, where Lee feels she “has a chance to be in the top three in the high jump.”

Kalabova won the 800 meter run in 2:06.33, a personal record for her and her first Big 12 title.

“I was very happy with the weekend,” said Kalabova. “The preliminaries were fast and then I came back strong to run a [personal record].”

Being a senior made it that much sweeter.

“It was my last college race and I enjoyed it,” said Kalabova. “It was very encouraging to see the other seniors do so good – it motivated me to do good.”

Coach Lee remained optimistic that Kalabova would qualify for the NCAAs.

Three athletes – Curtis in the high jump, Lisa Griebel in the shot put, and Barbara Szlendakova in the heptathlon, have already qualified for nationals. Discus throwers Kalabova and Susan Sherman are waiting for the final qualifiers to be announced for their event.

Szlendakova placed second in the heptathlon and Sherman placed second in the discus, while Griebel placed third in the shot put this weekend to round out the leaders.

“The field events were a big part of the team’s success,” said Lee. “Coach O’Mara and his throwers did a great job.”

Coach Lee felt his seniors led the way for the team throughout the year and performed well at the championships.

“Handling the senior year can be tough,” said Lee. “It can be a tough time in your life. Fortunately, everyone knows what they’re doing next year and that allowed them to stay focused on what they wanted to do athletically.”

Men’s head coach Steve Lynn also felt the Big 12 Championships went well.

“We had some very good performances,” said Lynn. “We placed in 12 of the 18 events we entered. Our competitiveness moved up a lot from last year, but we need to continue to get better.”

Lynn said “the two best things” were the championships captured by Joey Brunkhorst in the high jump by clearing 7-2 1/4 and Mike Mwangong winning the 10,000 meter run with a time of 29:47.26.

“Joey won against a strong field,” said Lynn. “It adds to his Drake title. He had a great year.”

Lynn also had strong praise for Mwangong.

“Mike was very, very impressive,” added Lynn. “He had said before the race if he was with the leaders with 600 meters left, he was going to win it. He ran his last 400 in under 60 seconds. It was a big win.”

Mwangong also came back Sunday to place fourth in the mile and secure the Cyclones ninth place finish.

Lynn also noted the performance of Tunji Giwa, who placed second in the long jump.

“The conditions were not conducive to long jumping,” said Lynn. “His best jump was 23-5 coming into the meet and he jumped 24-5 there.”

Daniel Kaczmarczyk placed fourth in the long jump after suffering a pulled hamstring on an early jump.

Both Mwangong and Brunkhorst will be moving on as well next year, but Lynn said they have a good chance to do well at nationals.

“We’re losing those two guys, but that’s what happens,” said Lynn. “Joey was hurt last year—but sometimes things work out. They are both looking to be All-Americans.”

Lynn felt the championships ended the season on a positive note. “This year has been a lot of fun,” said Lynn. “I almost wish it was starting again right now instead of ending.”

The NCAA track and field national championships will be held in Baton Rouge, La. from May 31st through June 2nd.