Cyclones Begin With Strong Start to Husker Invite
Then-sophomore Katarina Vlahovic waits before the 60-meter hurdle event Jan. 25, 2020, at the Cyclone Open.
February 7, 2020
It was a relatively brief first day of action for the Iowa State Track and Field squad, but it was led by some impressive performances. The Cyclones only had seven athletes competing in three events across the board at the Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Starting off in the field events, the men’s weight throw finals was highlighted by redshirt senior Vlad Pavlenko. Competing as an “unattached” athlete due to having already extinguished his indoor athletic eligibility, Pavlenko continued his strong start to the season. The Arlington Heights, Illinois, native broke his personal and program best in the event, producing a toss of 22.06 meters. Pavlenko’s previous record was 21.86 meters, which was good enough for second place at last year’s Big 12 Indoor Championships. The next Cyclone behind Pavlenko was freshman Joe Ryan, who finished 20th with a throw of 15.35 meters, followed closely by fellow freshman Jonathan Gannon’s best mark of 14.39 meters, good enough for 23rd place.
The only events on the track for Iowa State today were the 60m hurdles. On the women’s side, sophomore Katarina Vlahovic picked up where she last left off in the Texas Tech Invite, where she set a personal best of 8.35 seconds. Vlahovic won her heat ahead of Texas State junior Paige Kimble in a time of 8.42 seconds. This performance ensured Vlahovic to tomorrow’s final and was also the second fastest time of the night behind Barton County CC sophomore Yoveinny Mota’s time of 8.36 seconds.
Over on the men’s side, senior Mason Weh did not finish his heat, while freshman Jack Garber finished 27th overall in the preliminary standings with a time of 8.61 seconds.
The Cyclones will be return to the Bob Devaney Center tomorrow to close out the the Husker Invitational, with the first event being slated to start at Over in New York, senior All-American Edwin Kurgat will also be competing for Iowa State, running in the Dr. Sander Invitational Men’s 3000m race at the prestigious Millrose Games. The race will be shown live on NBC at approximately 3:56 p.m.
