University of Iowa track and field junior Ryan Johnson broke his own program record with a 77.64-meter throw to win the hammer throw title at the Big Red Classic in Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 17. The performance gave Johnson the national lead after surpassing his previous personal best twice during the competition.
The achievement highlights a strong showing for Iowa’s hammer throw group, as several athletes posted personal records and high placements. Tate Joens debuted for Iowa with a third-place finish and a personal best of 67.74 meters, entering fourth on the school’s all-time list. Sean Smith finished fifth with a mark of 65.54 meters, while Austin Busch placed seventh at 64.15 meters.
Director of Iowa Track and Field Joey Woody said, “We had some terrific results across the country, starting with the men’s and women’s hammer at Nebraska. Ryan continued his amazing season with another school record and NCAA-leading mark today, while beating a great field.” Woody also praised Joens’ debut and solid performances from Smith and Busch.
In women’s events, Peyton Wilson achieved a personal best of 59.19 meters to place sixth in the hammer throw—eighth-best in program history—while Josephine Flynt recorded a top-10 finish in her collegiate debut with a throw of 56.98 meters. “Peyton and Josephine both had great meets with a huge PR by Peyton,” Woody said.
Iowa athletes competed at multiple meets nationwide over the weekend, including strong showings at Florida’s Tom Jones Invitational where freshman Jordan Gross set an outdoor personal record in the men’s 200-meter invite (20.81 seconds), finishing fifteenth; senior Holly Duax matched her personal best (23.18 seconds) to place twenty-second in her event; Alexandria Edison ran 23.66 seconds in another heat; David Akhalu ran second among collegians (20.94); Zidane Brown was fourth (20.98). In hurdles events, Prior Ochonogor moved up to sixth all-time at Iowa by clocking a lifetime best of 49.83 seconds in the men’s invitational race.
Woody commented on these performances: “At Florida, I was very pleased with how Prior raced today… Alex and Holly both ran great… David executed his race very well to win his heat… Jordan had another great race.”
Elsewhere at California’s Bryan Clay Invitational, Leanna Lewis advanced to second all-time for Iowa women’s 800 meters (2:03.24), earning eighth place overall; Rosemary Arthur moved up to fifth on that list (2:04.47). Terrick Johnson became seventh-fastest ever for Iowa men’s 800 meters (1:47.71). Several other Hawkeyes set career or season-best marks across various events throughout three different competitions.
Looking ahead, Iowa will conclude its participation across these meets on Saturday morning.
