KEMBOI’S NEW HOME: Former Iowa State NCAA champion Edward Kemboi is moving across the country to join the Atlanta Track Club.
Kemboi started his tenure in the ATC’s red and black colors by winning an 800 meters at the Orange and Purple Classic at Clemson University in 1 minute, 49.15 seconds on Jan. 6. Kemboi also ran a 3,000 that day in 8:32.40 to place third in that event.
“I’m thrilled to be here in Atlanta,” said Kemboi, who won the 800 NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in 2015, in a press release. “Atlanta Track Club has built a program like no other where I am able to train with great athletes and be part of a truly special running community.”
Kemboi was a member of High Performance West in Portland, Ore., from March of 2016 until August of last year.
Kemboi, 24, will be joining his former Cyclone teammates, Christian DeLago and Patrick Peterson, in the ATC middle distance stable. He will be coached by Amy and Andrew Begley in Atlanta and will be a Mizuno representative.
Kemboi will be aiming to beat his best of 1:44.77 in the 800, set last year in New York, and 3:39.02 in the 1,500 while trying to qualify for the 2018 IAAF Indoor Championships for Kenya in Qatar.
“We are proud to welcome Edward to Atlanta Track Club’s community,” said Rich Kenah, Atlanta Track Club’s Executive Director, in a press release. “We believe in the enclave effect here. Bring together a roster of elites, provide them with world-class resources and watch them develop. Edward has already shown himself to be world class and we look forward to helping him get to the next level.”
BOTH HAWKEYE TEAMS RANKED: Both of the University of Iowa track teams are ranked in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings that came out Monday. The Iowa men come in at No. 22 and the women are 27th, their highest ranking in 10 years.
The Hawkeyes host their third and final indoor home meet of the 2018 season with the Black & Gold Premier on Saturday. Admission is free.
WEEKEND UPDATE: The second Larry Wieczorek Invitational brought 32 professionals and many of Iowa’s finest track and field athletes to Iowa City for the two-day event. Former Iowa All-American and 2016 World Indoor bronze medalist Erik Sowinski didn’t disappoint the pro-Hawkeye crowd Friday, winning the 600-meter Premier race in 1:16.40. The Nike runner who trains under UI director of track and field Joey Woody and who lives in Iowa City edged Alex Amankwah of Ghana by .14 of a second.
Iowa State senior Jaymes Dennison was third in 1:17.26 and Hawkeye senior Carter Lilly, a Sioux City native, was fourth in 1:17.79. All four ran in Section 3.
Junior Jasmine Staebler started her impressive weekend by winning the 1,000 meters and leading a 1-2-3 Cyclone finish. The Guttenberg native ran 2:46.04, the second-fastest time in school history. Fellow junior Erinn Stenman-Fahey was second in 2:49.85 and senior Evelyne Guay third in 2:50.78.
Iowa State junior Dan Curts was third in the 1,000 in 2:25.75, which was a better time than the track record he set a year ago.
In the women’s version of the 600-meter Premier, Iowa sophomore Mallory King took third in 1:33.11. Nike runner Courtney Okolo ran an impressive 1:28.54 track record.
Turning to Saturday, Iowa sophomore Tysen VanDraska defeated a quality field to win the 800-meter Premier race in a personal-best time of 1:52.40. The Section 2 winner nipped Section 1 winner Travis Hodge of Kansas State by .38 of a second.
Iowa State grabbed second, third, fourth and fifth in the 1 mile Premier women’s race. Staebler ran 4:49.01 for second place and Stenman-Fahey clocked in at 4:49.63 for third. Cyclone junior Anne Frisbie was fourth in 4:50.77 and Guay was fifth in 4:51.33.
Iowa State also landed a top performance in the 1 mile Premier race when sophomore Andrew Jordan logged a 4:08.07 time. Iowa sophomore Nathan Mylenek was third in 4:09.73. Arizona sophomore Carlos Villarreal set a track record in 4:02.79.
Iowa junior Andrea Shine ran to a 9:39.02 time in the 3,000 Premier race to finish third. Florida State’s Militsa Mircheva broke the facility record set a week earlier by Iowa Central’s Adva Cohen by running 9:25.22.
Finally, in the men’s 3,000 Premier, Iowa senior Michael Melchert took fourth in 8:22.62 and Hawkeye junior Ian Eklin was fifth in 8:25.68.
Several Iowa teams were at the two-day Jim Emmerich Invite in Brookings, S.D., over the weekend. Former Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson athlete Eldon Warner of the University of South Dakota had a memorable meet. The junior won the 3,000 meters on Saturday in 8:26.74, just a day after finishing second in the mile in 4:11.30.
Cohen, the Iowa Central freshman, won Section 1 and the overall women’s mile event in 4:49.57. She topped Northern Iowa senior Brette Correy, a former Western Dubuque prep, by 1.54 seconds.
Northern Iowa also produced a fine third-place performance from senior Jordan Pingel, a Pella native. Pingel ran 1:52.20.
Iowa Central also notched a runner-up finish from Agnes Mansaray in the 800 meters in 2:12.74. On Friday, the Tritons also picked up a win in the men’s 5,000 meters from sophomore Jhordan Ccope Tapara, who ran 14:48.82.
Finally, at Boise State’s Bronco Invitational on Saturday, former Waverly-Shell Rock standout Anna McDonald finished second in 2:14.20. That time was a personal-best for the Boise State redshirt senior.