Many new school records and NCAA qualifying performances were set at the Cyclone Classic track meet for both the men and the women.

Held on Feb. 7-8 in the Lied Recreation-Athletic Facility, the Cyclone Classic was highlighted for the men by ISU mile runner Corey Ihmels and hurdler Jason Woods.

Ihmels, who automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament with his mile time of 4-minutes, 0.13 seconds, said he was disappointed he didn’t break the school record.

“I thought I was going to break it, but it was only a split second,” said Ihmels, who became the third-fastest mile runner in school history with the 4:00.13 mark.

Cyclone hurdler, Jason Woods, broke his own school record he set last week with his time at the Cyclone Classic.

His time of 7.78 seconds, ranks him 6th in the country in the 60- meter hurdles.

“It was without a doubt the top performance of the meet,” said Steve Lynn, head coach of the men’s track team.

Woods has also improved nearly a half a second since his best time of last season.

“I didn’t expect to run that fast. I had a good start and the Iowa guy really pushed me,” said Woods, who qualified automatically for the NCAA tournament with his run.

Frank Nwamkpa, ISU’s leading sprinter, placed third in both the 60- meter dash and the 200 meter dash.

His time of 21.16 in the 200- meter dash set a new school record,and ranks him second in the nation in the event.

Yago Lamela-Tobio also contributed to the team performance in the triple jump. Lamela-Tobio placed third with a mark of 51-0 feet.

Lynn said, “Yago had some good jumps that he fell on. We’ll see real big jumps out of him in the next few meets.”

Iowa State also won the weight throw competition, with Jamie Beyer throwing 58-1.75 feet.

“I didn’t throw as well as I could. I’m wanting more and looking forward to qualifying,” said Jamie Beyer, ranked 18th in the nation going into the meet.

ISU has also been hounded with injuries this season.

Kevin Farrow, one of Iowa State’s leading distance runners, hasn’t run since cross country.

Dustin Avey also ran some of his first races of the season at the classic.

Lynn said, “We’re getting healthier and the team is running really well now.”

With the Big 12 Conference coming up, ISU is getting into the heart of its season.

Nebraska, the defending national champions, will be ISU’s target for the conference tournament.

Lynn said, “With the addition of the Texas schools, the competition now is tremendous for the title. We’ve just got to keep doing things we’ve been doing and hopefully we’ll have a shot at it.”

The women’s team also finished the Cyclone Classic with many top performances.

Kris Curnyn won the weight throw competition with a throw of 61-2 feet, and placed second in the shot put with a mark of 47-9.

“I was hoping to throw 62-5 to qualify automatically, but it fell a little short. I’m still happy with the throw,” said Curnyn, who set a new meet and facility record with her throw.

Trina Radske, currently ranked second in the nation in the long jump, won the event with a jump of 21-0.75.

“I’m really, really happy. I want more now that I’ve made it to the NCAA tournament already,” said Radske, who is an automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament.

Sydney Pounds ran a gutsy race in the 5000-meter run, placing third. Her time was 16:54.9. Jane Groves added to the team’s performance with second place in the distance medley relay and the mile run.

“The (mile) race got started out a little slower than I’d hoped, but I’m pleased to do well,” said Groves, who finished with a time of 4:57.28.

Her mile time in the distance medley was faster than her open mile time, as the relay qualified provisionally for the NCAA tournament with a time of 11:.37.3.

“We’re making progress, but it’s hard to tell how we fit in with the Big 12 schools,” said Dick Lee, head coach of the women’s track team.

The next women’s track meet is on Friday at UNI, followed by the Big 12 tournament.