Jack Latham was like, “See ya later, alligator!” as he dashed off the blocks during the men’s 60m hurdles at the Iowa State Cyclone track and field Open at Lied Recreation Center, Ames, Iowa, back on Jan. 24, 2025.
So, the Cyclones were all about local competition, trying to get their groove on before the big postseason shindig on Friday night, you know? Field events were poppin’ with 18 top-five finishes and six PRs.
In the women’s hammer, senior Kaitlyn Burson nailed third place with a throw of 190-4, while redshirt sophomore Ella O’Neall snagged sixth with a throw of 170-5. On the men’s side, two out of five Cyclones rocked the top five.
Senior Cam Jones crushed it in second place with a throw of 199 feet, and redshirt junior Garret Wagner hustled into fifth with a throw of 193-11. Redshirt freshman Brandon Fischer came in ninth with a throw of 172-5. Freshmen Nathan Rotherham and Hanson King weren’t far behind, taking 11th and 14th with throws of 164-7, a PR, and 144-2.
In the women’s shot put, O’Neall snagged third with a throw of 47-11 ¼, while freshman Candra King chucked seventh with a throw of 43-5 ¾. On the men’s side, Jones dominated with a throw of 61-8 ½, and Wagner held it down in sixth with a throw of 54-7 ½. Rotherham and King weren’t too shabby, taking ninth and 10th with throws of 49-11 ¼ and 48-4 ½.
Freshman Maia Denge-Hagan, junior Kailynn Gubbels, and senior Kiersten Fisher showed off in the women’s high jump, soaring to third, fourth, and fifth with heights of 5-6, 5-4 ¼, and 5-2 ¼. On the men’s side, redshirt sophomore Braden Goellner flew high, winning the event with a height of 6-9.
In the long jump, sophomore Amari Lang crushed it on the women’s side with a distance of 20-2 ½, a PR that put her at seventh in school history. On the men’s side, sophomore Justin Gleason hit third with a jump of 23-5 ¼. Sophomore Cooper Spurgeon and freshman Chase Lathrop weren’t far behind, taking seventh and eighth with jumps of 22-2 ¼ and 21-10. Senior Thai Thompson also soared to fourth in the men’s pole vault with a height of 15-7.
In the men’s discus, senior Daniel Norris and Fischer swept the top two spots with throws of 179-1 and 169-1. Lathrop and Thompson landed in 10th and 13th with throws of 135-4 and 122 feet. Sophomore Katie Strotman showed her stuff, taking fifth on the women’s side with a throw of 137-4.
In the javelin, Gubbels crushed it with a throw of 130-1 on the women’s side, resulting in a PR. On the men’s side, sophomore Nathan Vincent and redshirt sophomore Kole Becker rocked second and third with throws of 192-2 and 184-6. Spurgeon and freshman Tristan Rheingans weren’t too shabby either, taking seventh and eighth with throws of 171-9 and 159-4. Vincent, Spurgeon, and Rheingans all hit PRs.
Sophomore Brooklyn Sandvig was like, “Catch me if you can!” as she dominated the women’s 100 and 200 meter dashes. Her 11.49 in the 100 meter dash was just .02 seconds off from the school record, while her 23.39 in the 200 meter dash was also the second fastest in school history.
Senior Sydney Willits wasn’t about to let Sandvig steal all the spotlight, taking second in the women’s 100 meter dash and third in the women’s 200 meter dash. Willits sprinted an 11.77 in the 100 and a 24.36 in the 200. Amari Lang hit 10th in the women’s 100 with a 12.25, and freshman Ellie Lynch landed in 16th in the women’s 200 with a 26.23.
In the women’s 400, all four Cyclones showed up in the top 10, with freshmen Karryne David and sophomore Camryn Hubbard dominating in first and second with times of 54.96 and 55.32, a PR for Hubbard. Sophomore Cameron Moon hit fifth with a time of 56.27, and Lynch wasn’t far behind in eighth with a time of 1:00.41.
Mikey McClain showed everyone how it’s done with another first-place finish in the men’s 200 meter dash, clocking in at 20.77. Ty Koehnk wasn’t about to let McClain steal all the thunder, adding a PR to his freshman season with a second-place finish in the 400 meter dash, hitting a time of 47.43.
The men’s 4×400 relay team faced off against Northern Iowa, with the relay dual never seeing separation of more than 0.75 seconds. Iowa State’s team of Gus Langford, Dugion Blackman, Darius Kipyego, and Calvin Curcija rocked it, taking first with a time of 3:06.04, beating out the Panthers by 0.75 seconds.
Kiersten Fisher was all about establishing her presence in the top five, crushing the third fastest time in the prelims and later taking second in the finals in the women’s 100 meter hurdles. Her preliminary time was a 14.01, followed by a 13.86 in the finals. Her PR tied for the 10th-fastest time in school history in the event.
In the men’s 110 meter hurdles, junior Alec Carr, redshirt sophomore Jack Latham, and sophomore Grayson Hartman showed off, snagging second, third, and fifth both in the prelims and the finals. Carr sprinted a 13.86 in the prelims, scoring a PR and sixth in school history. Later he clocked in at 13.99 in the finals. Latham hit 13.99 in the prelims and a 14.04 in the finals. Hartman sprinted a 14.30 in the prelims and PRed in the finals with a time of 14.27. In the men’s 400 meter hurdles, freshmen Aidan Jacobsen and Tristan Rheingans rocked it, taking first and seventh with times of 53.07 and 56.19.
The Cyclones were all about speed in the 800, with the women’s trio of freshman Becca Heitzig and juniors Makayla Clark and Kaia Holtkamp dominating the top three spots out of a 15-runner field. Clark crushed it in first with a time of 2:01.99, currently the 20th fastest in the nation. Heitzig hit an outdoor PR with her second-place finish of 2:06.54, while Holtkamp wasn’t far behind in third with a time of 2:07.40, a PR across both indoor and outdoor.
On the men’s side, the Cyclones saw three times under 1:50. Senior Tyler Carreon was all about winning with a time of 1:48.24, while freshmen Jacoby Harmon and senior Leroy Russell III showed up in fifth and seventh with times of 1:49.07 and 1:49.09.
With the men’s and women’s 1500s split up into different classes, the Cyclones showed off their skills with the four fastest men in the Fitness Sports 1500 meter run and the six fastest women in the Lever 1500 run.
In the Fitness Sports 1500, freshman Robin Kwemoi-Bera showed everyone how it’s done, taking third with a 3:39.71, the seventh fastest in school history. Sophomore Devan Kipyego and senior Silas Winters weren’t far behind, hitting times of 3:42.25 and 3:43.18, landing in sixth and eighth. Junior Emanuel Galdino sprinted to 11th with a time of 3:52.63.
In the Lever 1500, junior Maelle Porcher dominated, taking first with another PR of 4:18.71, the sixth-fastest in school history. Freshman Betty Kipkore wasn’t far behind, hitting 4:19.90 and taking second. Redshirt junior Riley Beach landed in fourth with a 4:21.30, making moves in the final two laps. Redshirt sophomore Mya Trober and sophomore Sydney Morrell hit sixth and seventh with times of 4:24.92 and 4:26.41, while senior Kiki Connell wasn’t far behind in 11th with a time of 4:32.34.
The Cyclones weren’t messing around in the traditional women’s 1500, with sophomore McKinley Wheeler and freshman Josie Baker crushing it in first and second with times of 4:32.54 and 4:32.81, Baker hitting a PR. Freshman Olivia Verde and sophomore Kayci Martensen showed their stuff, hitting seventh and eighth with times of 4:35.67 and 4:36.55. Redshirt sophomore Aspen Fulbright and freshman Camryn Sattler weren’t about to let the others steal all the glory, landing in 11th and 14th place with times of 4:38.38 and 4:45.09.
In the traditional men’s 1500, junior Nathan Pestka and senior Riley Simpson showed everyone how it’s done, dominating the top two spots. Pestka took first with a 3:47.86 and Simpson wasn’t far behind in second with a 3:47.98. Junior Hanibal Haile and freshman Isaac Rivera weren’t messing around either, hitting sixth and eighth with times of 3:51.03 and 3:52.30. Freshman AJ Schermerhorn wasn’t about to let the others steal all the spotlight, finishing in 15th with a time of 4:02.46.
With the regular season in the books, the Cyclones will be bringing the heat to the Big 12 Championship meet in Lawrence, Kansas from Thursday through Saturday. The competition is fierce, and the runners are ready to give it their all.
