Cyclones set to host conference’s best
Then-sophomore Katarina Vlahovic waits before the 60-meter hurdle event Jan. 25, 2020, at the Cyclone Open.
February 27, 2020
The Iowa State track and field program will host its final meet of the 2020 season this weekend with the Big 12 Indoor Championships. The Lied Recreation Athletic Center will see athletes from all 10 of the Big 12 programs.
On the track, the Cyclones will be looking to senior Mason Weh in the men’s division and sophomore Katarina Vlahovic in the women’s division for the 60-meter hurdles. Both athletes have shown consistent form throughout the indoor season so far, with Vlahovic having broken her personal record over four consecutive meets dating back to the Cyclone Open in January.
Weh, originally from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, finished second in the 60 hurdles at the Cyclone Classic two weeks ago. In that meet, Weh finished with a time of 8.04 seconds, finishing runner-up to South Dakota’s Brithton Senior.
It will also be a final home meet for redshirt senior distance runner Abby Caldwell.
The Waverly, Iowa, native has had a long journey since first coming to Ames in 2014 on both the track and cross country course, which she commented on in a recent interview.
Caldwell has made the most of her farewell season in a Cyclone singlet. She earned All Big 12 Honors on the cross country course this past fall, and broke her personal best in the indoor 3000-meter run at the Cyclone Classic, having finished eight in the field with a time of 9:26.47.
In the field, sophomore long jumper Erika Furbeck’s season on the track has been a bit under the radar with all of the top times being ran. Nevertheless, the Geneso, Illinois, native has the 26th best mark in the nation this season, with a jump of 20 feet, 4 and 1/4 inches, which she achieved at the Texas Tech Invitational a few weeks ago.
Furbeck’s high school career was also a story in success. She was a two-time state champion in the long jump her junior and senior years, and went undefeated in meets throughout those two years.
The Big 12 Indoor Championships will commence at 10 a.m. Friday at Lied Recreation Athletic Center with the 60 hurdles of the women’s pentathlon. The second session will continue at 3 p.m. with the women’s weight throw in the field.
