The Iowa State track and field team participated in two meets Friday and showed out in both in preparation for the Big 12 Indoor Championships next week.

Both the Snowshoe Open and the Arkansas Qualifier saw new records be made as well as stand-out performances from the athletes. 

To begin, the Arkansas Qualifier had the team of Jason Gomez, Frank Hayes, Alex Lomong and Nehemia Too compete in the Men’s Distance Medley Relay and they did not disappoint. The team finished in fourth place for the event and beat the previous school record with their time. 

Having finished with a time of 9:24.07, the Cyclones beat last year’s record of 9:27.90 and also completed the fourth fastest men’s DMR time in NCAA Division one this year. Not only that, but they also ran the eighth fastest time in men’s DMR history for Division one as well. 

Hayes, Lomong and Darius Kipyego also competed in the men’s 800m run as they all stood out finishing in the top three spots. 

Hayes earned his second straight win in the event with a time of 1:48.46, Lomong came in second with 1:48.52 and Kipyego ran a new personal record with his time of 1:48.87 which saw him come in third. 

Finally, Wesley Kiptoo participated in the men’s 3,000 run where he finished in third place. Kiptoo’s time of 7:43.61 finished up a great performance for Iowa State at the Arkansas Qualifier as he beat his own school record. 

Moving over to the Snowshoe Open hosted by the University of Minnesota, the Cyclones again had multiple athletes competing in various events. 

The first event which saw the Cyclones compete was the Men’s 60 meter hurdles. Jack Vetsch, James Ezeonu and Thai Thompson each competed and qualified for the final.  

In the preliminaries, Vetsch came out on top between the three with a time of 8.41 followed by Ezeonu with 8.46 and Thompson with 8.59. In the finals, Vetsch finished in fifth with a time of 8.39, Thompson in sixth with a time of 8.44 and Ezeonu in eighth with a time of 8.56.  

Vetsch also competed in the men’s pole vault event where he finished in seventh with a distance of 3.74m. 

The women’s weight throw also had a trio of Cyclones compete with Antonella Creazzola, Emily March and Danielle Hoyle all participating. Each of the three finished within the top 10 for the event in what as an impressive showing for the trio. 

Creazzola finished the highest of the three with a distance of 18.59m which is a new personal record as she took third place. March also notched a new personal record with her distance of 17.75m placing her fifth and Hoyle finished right behind in sixth with a distance of 17.51m.

In the Women’s 60m Hurdles, Sydney Willits was able to make it through to the finals with her fourth-place finish. Willits qualified with a great time of 9.12 as she made her way to the finals and improved upon her time in the prelims.  

Willits finished fourth in the finals with a time of 8.97. 

Finally for the Snowshoe Open, Kevin Sakson participated in the men’s shot put invite where he finished in fourth. His distance of 17.76m was enough to finish within the top five and end the Snowshoe Open on a high note.