In their final meet of the outdoor regular season, Iowa State would see not one, but two school records broken on Friday and Saturday at the Rock Chalk Classic. In addition to this, one Iowa State runner would become the fastest runner in his event in the NCAA.

School Records Shattered

Two Iowa State throwers would each set a new school record on two separate days of the Rock Chalk Classic.

Two-time All-American Vlad Pavlenko would set a new program record in the men’s hammer throw. 

Although the senior from Arlington Heights, Illinois, was already the school record holder, he just further improved upon his previous best set earlier this season at the Florida Relays. 

Pavlenko would have a best throw of 237-9 on Friday, which breaks his previous mark of 222-9 by exactly 15 feet. Although he would only finish third, Pavlenko’s performance is good enough to put him at the No. 4 in the NCAA in the event as of right now. 

Then, the Cyclones would see a new school record set in the women’s discus by Emily March.

The sophomore from Livermore, California, broke the previous school record of 176-05 set back in 2003 by Susan Sherman in her first throw on Saturday with a 191-2. Then, her second throw of the day would have also been far enough to break the previous school record as she threw a 178-10. 

In addition to shattering the school record, March also beat her previous best of 165-4 by almost 30 feet. 

March’s new personal best is also good enough to put her at the No. 8 spot in the NCAA as of right now.

Festus Lagat dominates in the 800

There was a slight change of plans in the lineup for Head Coach Martin Smith at the Rock Chalk Classic.

Originally, the men’s middle-distance group was scheduled to head to Starkville, Mississippi for the Maroon and White Invite at Mississippi State on Friday. 

However, a last-minute decision led to Festus Lagat and company traveling to Lawrence, Kansas, to compete in the Rock Chalk Classic with the rest of the team. 

The switch up seemed to have little effect on Lagat in his performance.

The senior from Eldoret, Kenya, competed in the men’s 800-meter open, and with the help of Roshon Roomes on pacing duties, he would set a new NCAA best. 

The four-time All-American would go on to post a time of 1:46.09 en route to finishing first among the other collegiate athletes competing. 

Lagat’s teammate Daniel Nixon also ran in the event, and would finish with a time of 1:47.81, which is good enough for No. 8 in the Iowa State record books and top-15 in the NCAA in the event as of right now.

Other notable Iowa State performances

The women’s distance group would have a solid outing in the 1,500-meter run. 

The Cyclones would go 3-4 in the event with Abby Caldwell, 4:28.33, finishing third and Jannette Schraft, 4:29.64 finishing fourth.

Freshman Madelynn Hill would also run in the women’s 1,500-meter run alongside Caldwell and Schraft. Although Hill would only finish eighth, she shaved nearly 10 seconds off her previous personal best as she posted a time of 4:32.20.

Then, in the men’s javelin, senior Scott Fuchs impressed.

The former Division III All-American would set a new personal record of 217-9 on his first throw Friday. 

His new personal record is also good enough to move him up from the No. 2 spot from the No. 4 spot in the Iowa State record books.