Men's Track & Field Finishes 3rd at Nationals; Women End in 4th Place

MONROE, La. - After three days of competition at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, Iowa Western's Men's Outdoor Track & Field Team finished on the team podium ending with a 3rd place finish.

The Reivers were led by Distance Runner Geofrey Ronoh who scored 22 of the teams 88 points, earning a runner-up finish in the 10,000m and 5,000m, and finishing 3rd in the 3,000m steeplechase.  High Jumper Paul Rowden would claim the only national title on the men's side, jumping 2.12m in the high jump.

The team also found success in the throwing competitions, scoring a total of 30 points in Javelin, Shot Put, Hammer, and Discus.

The women's team saw Triple Jumper Mercy Honesty claim her 2nd national title as a Reiver with a mark of 12.68m, adding to her Indoor Triple Jump championship earlier this year.  Throwers Natalie Albert and Sarai Simpson both finished as NJCAA All-Americans with Albert ending as the national runner-up in the Hammer Throw and Simpson finishing 3rd in Shot Put.

A 4th place finish for the women's team capped off a very successful 2023-24 season. This year saw 8 individual national championships, the programs 3rd women's indoor team national title, a team runner-up in women's half marathon, 3rd place team finishes in men's outdoor track & field, and top-5 finishes in men's cross country, men's half marathon, men's indoor track & field.  93 athletes earned USTFCCCA All-American status, and more than 100 athletes earned automatic bids to nationals; 27 school records also fell throughout this year.

Men's Team Standings Top 5
South Plains - 116 pts
New Mexico JC - 107 pts
Iowa Western - 88 pts
Barton - 76 pts
Indian Hills - 73.5 pts

Women's Team Standings Top 5
New Mexico JC - 98 pts
Barton - 93 pts
Cloud County - 78 pts
Iowa Western - 73 pts
South Plains - 47.83 pts