Part of the ISU men’s track and field team will make the trip down Interstate 35 to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Jim Duncan Invitational. 

Iowa State is coming off a weekend in Auburn, Ala., where it set three personal records and notched multiple top-five finishes.

This meet will be the third of Iowa State’s outdoor season. And with the team just over a month away from the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, the Cyclones made the point that it’s important to keep on a healthy pace, and in turn, have a chance to compete at that level. 

ISU thrower Henry Kelley, a Waukee, Iowa native, has competed in the Jim Duncan Invitational for seven years, beginning in high school. He currently owns the high school record in the discus throwing event. This weekend is another chance for him to compete in front of friends and family. 

“It’s nice to compete close to home,” Kelley said. “It’s cool to go there. … Some kids from my high school will be there but I don’t think I have too many fans,” Kelley added jokingly. 

Kelley set his personal record in the hammer throw at the Tiger Track Classic at 57.3 meters last weekend, which was good for fifth in school history. He said he’s trying to improve upon that mark at the Jim Duncan Invitational, especially after missing the first outdoor meet due to an illness. 

“I’m kind of having a slow open, if you will,” Kelley said. “I feel like one of the meets in the future, I’ll be at the level I want to be at. My pace is pretty conservative and hopefully that pace picks up and I start throwing a lot further.”

The Cyclones will bring sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and field event athletes to the meet.

The meet will start at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Drake. It will conclude on Saturday.

Sun Angel Invitational

Another group of ISU men’s track and field athletes will go to the dry and sunny climate of Tempe, Ariz., to compete in the Sun Angel Invitational.

The invitational will mark the first outdoor meet for the NCAA indoor 800-meter champion Edward Kemboi. He will run in the 400-meter race this weekend. He will be joined by other distance runners. 

With the runners used to running in the Midwestern climate, which is usually a bit chilly this time of year, the adaptation to the hot and dry weather in Arizona might prove tough. 

“It’s a lot different climate for some of the team, it being some of their first or second meets,” said distance runner Brandon Barnes. “That can play a factor but I think that everyone is coming out of the weekend kind of flushed out and ready to go for the rest of the season.”

Barnes set a personal record in the 400-meter race at the Tiger Track Classic last weekend with a time of 49.36 seconds. 

According to weatherchannel.com, the temperature in Tempe could reach up to the high-80s with little cloud cover. But in the morning, when the meet is slated to start, the temperature is predicted to be in the mid-70s. 

The competition is set to begin at 10 a.m. Friday at Arizona State.