Hammer Trio Put Iowa State Women Into Early Lead

MANHATTAN, Kan. - For Iowa State throws coach Grant Wall, Friday was a very good day. Iowa State came up with some big throws in the hammer when they needed them Friday to post major points on the first day of the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the R.V. Christian Track Complex.

The Iowa State women are tied with Texas A&M for the first-day lead with 21 points. The Iowa State men are seventh with 10 points. Texas A&M leads the men's race with 23 points.

The Cyclones got clutch performances out of its trio of women's hammer throwers. Laishema Hampton, Danielle Frere and Hayli Borzarth, who finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, all threw for personal bests. For Iowa State throws coach Grant Wall, it doesn't really get any better than that.

"They feed off each other," Wall said. "We had a rough stretch in April but I felt we were all right coming here.  I was a little worried about Laishema. Ultimately, they really got rolling in the finals.

Hampton was the last qualifier out of the preliminary round, holding eighth place until unleashing her career best toss of 197-01 on her fourth attempt. Frere threw 190-03 and Bozarth 188-07. Alena Krechyk of Kansas won the event with a Big 12 meet record of 226-05. Hampton's 197-01 broke the previous school record of 195-08 set by Britta Christofferson last season.

Zack Richards came up with his best career throw on his fourth attempt in the men's hammer. The junior's  supreme effort of 202-00 earned him runner-up status. The effort is a school record, bettering the 200-03 set by Zac Brouillette in 2009.

"His first throws weren't big ones but they were technically sound," Wall said. "He just relaxed and trusted what he was doing and hit a big one. There will be more."

Cyclone Dani Stack placed fourth in the women's 10,000 meters in 34:40.19. Katie Moen was eight for the Cyclones in 36:35.62. Marty Coolidge was eighth for the Iowa State men in the 10,000 meters in 30:04.69. Dan Newhouse was eighth in the javelin for the Cyclone men.

Jamal Currica and Ethan Wilkins of Iowa State stand fourth and fifth, respectively in the decathlon.

Day two action starts with the multi-events begin at 10 a.m. Field events start at 2 p.m. Running events start at 3 p.m.

Results

WOMEN'S RESULTS:
Team Scoring: 1. Texas A&M 21; IOWA STATE 21; 3. Kansas 20; 4. Missouri 14; 5. Baylor 12; 6. Oklahoma 10; Texas 10; 8. Texas Tech 6; Oklahoma State 3

Hammer Throw: 1. Alena Krechyk, Kansas, 226-05; 3. Laishema Hampton, IOWA STATE, 197-01; 4. Danielle Frere, IOWA STATE, 190-03; 5. Hayli Bozarth, IOWA STATE, 188-07.

Javelin: 1. Brittany Borman, Oklahoma, 181-02; 14. Jordan Andreassen, IOWA STATE, 124-11

10,000-meter run: 1. Natosha Rogers, Texas A&M, 34:18.66; 4 Dani Stack, IOWA STATE, 34:40.19; 8. Katie Moen, IOWA STATE, 36:35.62; 9. Taylor Petersen, IOWA STATE, 36:50.68; 10. Maddy Becker, IOWA STATE, 37:26.58.

MEN'S RESULTS:

Team Scoring: 1. Texas A&M, 23; 2. Oklahoma State, 22; 3. Oklahoma, 21; 4. Missouri , 13; 5. Kansas State, 12; 6. Kansas, 11; 7. IOWA STATE, 10; 8. Texas, 5

Hammer Throw: 1. Nick Miller, Oklahoma State, 216-06; 2. Zack Richards, IOWA STATE, 202-00

10,000-meter run: 1. George Alex, Oklahoma, 29:32.61; 8. Marty Coolidge, IOWA STATE, 30:04.69; 17. Charlie Paul, IOWA STATE, 31:03.78; 21. Besu Shannon-Tamrat, IOWA STATE, 31:24.20

Decathlon (Day one scores): 1. Isaac Murphy, Texas, 4121; 4. Jamal Currica, IOWA STATE, 3835; 5. Ethan Wilkins, IOWA STATE, 3818

Javelin: 1. Sam Humphreys, Texas A&M, 259-01; 8. Dan Newhouse, IOWA STATE, 201-03