Athletes from over 50 schools across the country gathered in Ames this weekend, looking for a chance to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships.

The Iowa State Classic hosted runners from nearby schools like Iowa, Drake and Minnesota, as well as teams from Texas A&M, Arkansas-Little Rock and the U.S. Naval Academy.

ISU men’s head coach Steve Lynn calls the Iowa State Classic a big-time event.

“It is one of, if not the biggest event in the nation,” he said. “Other teams come here, and they know they are going to have great competition. They are all trying to get into the NCAAs.”

Overall, 16 automatic and 88 provisional NCAA scores were racked up at the meet, eight automatic and 51 provisional coming from the men’s side.

A provisional score does not guarantee a spot at the championships but places the competitors in a position to fill one of the remaining spots not taken by the automatic bids.

The ISU men held their own with many strong performances, although no one was able to win their respective event.

Sophomore Daniel Kaczmarczyk finished third in the long jump with an NCAA provisional 25-1 3/4. His teammate, freshman Tony Douglas, finished sixth with a jump of 24-0 3/4.

Kaczmarczyk also competed in the 60-meter dash and finished with a time of 6.90. Although he didn’t make it to the finals, Lynn was excited about Kaczmarczyk’s performance.

“Daniel’s never really been a sprinter,” Lynn said. “The fact that he was able to run well in the 60 shows that he’s getting better and more comfortable with his long jump.”

Lynn expects Kaczmarczyk to break out a big jump any time now.

“He’s ready to bust one,” he said.

Sophomore Ryan Boyington finished fifth in the 600-meter dash, with a time of 1 hour, 12 minutes, 27 seconds followed by freshman Andy Hadden, who placed eighth with a time of 1:13.07.

The 4×400-meter relay team composed of Peter Hess, Nik Moser, Brandon Covington and Ryan Nicholson took first in their heat and finished seventh overall with a time of 3:14.26.

Junior Ryan Wilson took an eighth place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 16′ 0 3/4″.

Wilson continues to improve this season, citing consistency for his success.

“I just keep doing what I’ve been doing,” Wilson said. “Each meet I’ve been doing better and better.”

Wilson said he enjoyed the competition of the Iowa State Classic.

“It really helps prepare us for the conference meet, which is what we work toward all season,” he said.

Overall, Lynn was pleased with his team’s performance.

“We are close to being right there. We had a lot of personal bests,” he said. “The middle and long distance guys finally got back on the track. This was there first real big meet, and they are starting to get back in shape.”

One highlight of the meet not involving any Cyclones was Kansas weight-thrower Scott Russell, who broke his own collegiate and Canadian record on Friday with a throw of 81-1 1/4. He had previously set the record one week ago at the Jayhawk Invitational.

The track and field team will be at the UNI Dome Open in Cedar Falls this weekend.