It was another busy weekend for Head Coach Martin Smith and the Cyclones in a split weekend. At the Michael Johnson Invitational, the women’s sprints, hurdlers and jumpers showed out and Gable Sieperda had a solid outing at the Virginia Challenge meet.

Women’s sprints and hurdles group have solid performances

It was the women’s sprints, hurdlers and jumpers that had quite the Saturday night in Waco, Texas.

Leading the efforts for Smith was sophomore Kaylyn Hall.

The sophomore from London, Ontario, suited up to compete in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Although she finished 12th overall against a very strong field, she posted a time of 13.78. 

In the women’s triple jump, Jalaiya Bartley stole the headlines for the Cyclones.

The junior from Cypress, Texas, had a season-best jump of 12.25 meters en route to finishing 10th overall.

Finally, in the women’s 4×400-meter relay, the Cyclones had a good showing.

The team comprised of Bria Barnes, Zakiyah Amos, Erika Furbeck and Katarina Vlahovic finished with a time of 3:44.81, which was good enough for sixth place overall in the event.

Gable Sieperda dominates in debut meet

For the ninth-ranked men, redshirt freshman Gable Sieperda drew all the eyes. 

It was his first meet in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, but it did not look like it. With five laps to go, Sieperda began to move up in the pack, moving from eighth to fourth.

By the final 1,000 meters, Sieperda was alone in the front. His final lap of the race was timed at 66.22, which was the fastest lap of the heat by any competitor that night.

He finished first overall en route to posting a time of 8:51.41. 

The time was good enough to put Sieperda at the No. 9 spot in the Iowa State record books. It also has him ranked No. 13 in the NCAA in the event, which means two Cyclones are now in the top 13 in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Other notable Cyclone performances 

Iowa State already has two elite runners in the men’s 10,000-meter run in Wesley Kiptoo and Edwin Kurgat, however Friday night it was another Iowa State runner’s turn to show his strength in the event.

Senior Thomas Pollard finished fourth overall in the event, finishing with a time of 28:59.91. Pollard’s time is a 30-second personal record from his previous time set back in 2017 at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships.

After Pollard’s race, four Cyclones have now gone sub-29 in the men’s 10,000-meter run this season. 

Another Cyclone runner to impress was sophomore Jeffery Pedersen.

Pedersen competed in the men’s 5,000-meter run Friday night at the Virginia Challenge meet. Although he finished 10th overall, he set a new personal record by over 20 seconds by finishing with a time of 14:39.00.