Hurdlers Shine in Arkansas

AMES, Iowa- The Iowa State women's track and field team took full advantage of Arkansas' brand new track surface, qualifying two hurdlers for the NCAA Regional Track and Field Championships.

The Cyclone hurdle squad had a breakout day at the John McDonnell Invite, qualifying three athletes into finals. Rebecca Williams was ISU's top hurdler once again, finishing third overall in the 100-meter hurdles, with a time of 13.41 seconds. Williams kept pace with unattached runner Lauren Smith until clipping the eighth hurdle. Smith's winning time of 12.94 seconds shattered the meet record.

Freshman Jenna Caffrey had a break out performance in the final of the 100-meter hurdles, finishing right behind Williams with a time of 13.72 seconds. Caffrey's time qualified her for the NCAA Regional Championships in May. Going into finals Caffrey was nursing tight muscles in her hip and was less than 100 percent, but still managed to reach her mark.

“Jenna ran very well today,” said sprints and hurdles coach Scott Roberts. “Now that she has hit the regional qualifying mark I think it will take a lot of pressure off of her and will only make her faster as the season goes on.”

Junior Megan Nielsen was the third Cyclone to qualify for the 100-meter hurdle finals. Nielsen's time of 14.48 seconds crushed her previous career best of 15.01. The Altoona native will be the third piece of next week's shuttle hurdle relay team at the Drake Relays. Nielsen will be joined by teammates Williams, Caffrey and Boisen with high hopes of bringing home a coveted relays title.

Senior Sara Boisen returned to prime form in the 400-meter hurdles, running a season-best time of 1:00.23. Boisen's effort earned her second place and a trip to the NCAA Regional Championships in Des Moines. This will be Boisen's second trip to the regional meet. Last season, she advanced to the NCAA outdoor championships, finishing 19^th.

“Sara came in today knowing her time was running out to qualify for regionals,” said Roberts. “She competed extremely hard today and it paid off for her in the end.”

The Cyclones also had career best efforts by freshman Lashawn Wright and sophomore Leia Jackson in the 200-meter dash. Jackson also set a career best in the 100-meter dash. 800-meter runner Kaylee Small had a season-best effort and freshman Paige Ties finished second in the 1500 with a career best effort of 4:51.

Cyclone Results

800-meter run- 1, Faithy Kamangila, Oral Roberts, 2:16.16. 6, Katie Paulson, Iowa State, 2:17.40.

1,500-meter run-1, Rachael Sneedon, Pittsburgh State, 4:46.28. 2, Paige Ties, Iowa State, 4:51.21. 5, Dawn Caffrey, Iowa State, 4:56.90.

100-meter hurdles- 1, Lauren Smith, Unattached, 12.94. 3, Rebecca Williams, Iowa State, 13.41. 4, Jenna Caffrey, Iowa State, 13.72. 7, Megan Nielsen, Iowa State, 14.48.

400-meter hurdles- 1, Mariam Barnes, Louisiana Tech, 58.86. 2, Sara Boisen, Iowa State, 1:00.23.

Long Jump- 1, Toni Smith, Oklahoma, 20-01 ?. 5, Priya Hoze, Iowa State, 19-01 ?.

High Jump- 1, Katherine Johnson, Oklahoma, 5-7. 2, Leigh Wagner, Iowa State, 5-5.

Players Mentioned

Sara Boisen

Dawn Caffrey

Jenna Caffrey

Priya Hoze

Leia Jackson

Megan Nielsen

Katie Paulson

Kaylee Small

Paige Ties

Leigh Wagner

Leigh Wagner

Rebecca Williams

Lashawn Wright

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