Men's Track & Field

CURRENT, FORMER WARRIORS STAR AT HAWKEYE INVITE

CURRENT, FORMER WARRIORS STAR AT HAWKEYE INVITE
Posted: Jan 16, 2022

Iowa City, IA – The Indian Hills Men's Track & Field program was well-represented at the Hawkeye Invitational on the University of Iowa campus on Saturday as the Warriors opened up the 2022 calendar year in impressive fashion.

"We had some big performances at Iowa from some individuals who had yet to compete or put down the marks that we felt like they were capable of," head coach Brent Ewing stated. "As a whole, I thought we did some things very well. We are still training rigorously as we have our eyes set on the national meet in March. I expect we will see some very impressive marks as February draws nearer and we start to prepare for post season."

The Warriors posted a number of strong individual efforts led by Rivaldo Marshall's (Kingston, Jamaica/Calabar) school record 600-meter dash with a time of 1:18.56. Marshall's time is the top mark in the National Junior College Athletic Association) and qualifies for the indoor national championships. Marshall has now set two school records on the year and qualified for three separate events for the indoor national championship – the 600-meter, 800-meter, and 1000-meter events.

"Rivaldo was super passive at the beginning, going straight to the back on the pack," Ewing noted. "His 400-meter split was pedestrian, but he was able to close in 26.00 seconds and take the lead in the final 30 meters. It's not common to see someone negative split a 600-meter race. For Rivaldo to run the time that he did with the way that he ran the race, tells me he is ready to run sub 1:50 in the 800-meters any race now. That's the goal at Iowa State next weekend."

In the 200-meter dash, an event that saw former Indian Hills great Kenny Bednarek set a facility record in 2019, Damoy Allen (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) placed third with a time of 21.66 which ranks in the top-five all-time in program history. Saturday's event was a glimpse into the future for Allen who is set to compete for the University of Iowa next year.

"Damoy had a very controlled looking 200-meter indoor personal best time of 21.66," Ewing said. "I was really happy to see him bounce back after he was hoping for a better mark in the 60-meter prelims."

Indian Hills Men's Cross Country All-American Nick O'Connor (Tiffin, IA/Clear Creek Amana) qualified for the national championship in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:33.72, the fourth-fastest time in school history.

The Warriors placed three individuals in the top-10 in the 400-meter dash, led by Kendrick Winfield's (Louisville, KY/Louisville Male) mark of 48.96 which was good enough for fourth overall at the meet.

Isaac Bryant (Grinnell, IA/Grinnell-Newburg) ran the second-fastest time in school history in the men's 3000-meter with a time of 9:00.05 to place seventh overall on the day.

Isiah Thomas (Milwaukee, WI/Destiny High School) ran a personal best time of 6.83 in the men's 60-meter dash to place fourth overall for the Warriors.

"Isiah Thomas continues to show up and post impressive performances every weekend," Ewing added. "Isiah had a personal-best in the 60-meter and then bounced back and ran his second fast 200-meter indoors. He brings a certain level of energy to our team that is going to be greatly missed next year."

Along with the current Warrior performances, Indian Hills alum Kalen Walker (2020-21) set a meet record in the men's 60-meter dash. Walker posted a 6.80 qualifying mark and bested his performance in the finals with a 6.71 record to claim first-place.

The Warriors are set to ramp up their indoor schedule in the coming weeks. Next up on the schedule is the Iowa State Open on Jan. 22.