IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa field hockey seniors Esme Gibson, Sofie Stribos and sophomore Mia Magnotta were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List, it was announced Wednesday. It is the second straight season Gibson has a been preseason honoree.

Last season, the trio lead the Hawkeyes to NCAA Elite Eight appearance finishing the season 12-8.

Gibson was a NFHCA Second-Team All-American, NFHCA First-Team All-West Region honoree and second-team All-Big Ten selection a season ago. The Worcestershire, England, native recorded 18 starts, logged 1,114 minutes while playing the duration of eight games, finishing with four goals and four assists.

Stribos, a third-year starter for the Hawkeyes, recorded starts in all 20 games logging 1,009 minutes. The Belgium native scored three goals with four assists recording 10 points last season.

Magnotta made her season debut last year in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan, tallying her first career win in the NCAA Sweet 16 in a shootout victory over Virginia. She recorded a career-high four saves in the Elite Eight shootout loss against Northwestern last season.

The Hawkeyes, ranked seventh in the Penn Monto/NFHCA preseason poll, open the season with the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Iowa will face No. 12 Wake Forest on Friday and defending champions No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Iowa State senior tight end Easton Dean says competition at key spots will make the offense better. ISU is without quarterback Hunter Dekkers and running back Jirehl Brock in fall camp after they were charged in connection to a gambling probe.

Despite missing some key players Dean is confident the Cyclones will make progress this season.

Dean says whoever wins the job of starting quarterback will gain crucial experience.

The Cyclones open at home against Northern Iowa on September second.

Drake defensive end Finn Claypool has had plenty of success early in his career but the Des Moines native is far from satisfied. Claypool was the Pioneer League Freshman Defensive Player of the Year after registering eight sacks for a Bulldog team that finished 3-8. It did not take him long to adapt to the college game.

Claypool begins the season on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, It is given to the top defensive player in the FCS.

His number one goal is to win. The Bulldogs have suffered through back-to-back losing seasons. That had not happened since the mid 80s.

Drake opens September second at North Dakota.

(Atlantic) — Regardless of humidity and heat Tuesday, the Atlantic Cross Country Team held their time trials. The results were a massive improvement from last year’s team and impressed Head Coach Dan Vargason.

The depth revealed from Tuesday was a pleasant surprise. Coach Vargason sees the competitiveness from this group and the leadership from athletes like Claire Pellett.

Pellett noted the improvement from her teammates during the time trials Tuesday morning. Different athletes made efforts to not walk and be competitive. The larger number of runners this year’s gave Pellett pride on what they can accomplish.

Coach Vargason is looking forward to Saturday’s meet at Glenwood. He wants his team to use it as an opportunity to train and show some guts.

The Trojan Cross Country team starts their season Saturday, August 26 at Glenwood.

IRVING, Texas – Iowa State redshirt freshman Avery Gillahan has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week for her performances across the first week of action.

Gillahan had big shoes to fill as she replaced program legend Jordan Silkowitz who was drafted into the NWSL this past winter.

In her first-ever week of collegiate action, Gillahan allowed just one goal across two matches. Gillahan earned her first clean sheet against Northern Colorado as her prowess in the net helped lead ISU to a 1-0 win over the Bears.

Gillahan played all 180 possible minutes for the Cyclones over the week, tallying three saves. Iowa State is 2-0 for the first time since 2015 and the Cyclone defense, anchored by Gillahan, is a big reason why.

She is the first Cyclone to win Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors since teammate Lauren McConnell did so in 2021. Gillahan is just the seventh ISU player to earn the award, joining the likes of Anna Lindgren, Olivia Edwards, Mira Emma, Hannah Cade and Klasey Medelberg.

ISU will be back in action on Thursday, August 24, when it heads to Iowa City to face off with the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first action of the 2023 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

Big 12 Weekly Award Winners 

Offensive Player of the Week: Emma Hawkins (OU) & Trinity Byars (UT)

Defensive Player of the Week: Kendell Petersen (BYU) & Jazmin Brown (KSU)

Goalkeeper of the Week: Melania Pasar (KU)

Freshman of the Week: Avery Gillahan

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Former University of Iowa track and field thrower Laulauga Tausaga made history on Tuesday, becoming the United States’ first-ever women’s discus gold medalist at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary.

Tausaga, a 2021 Iowa graduate, registered a four-meter personal best to outthrow her competition with a final mark of 69.49 meters on her fifth throw. Fellow American Valerie Allman took second with a 69.23-meter throw.

“Lagi is the most humble and amazing person and I’m so proud of her,” Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody said. “She has worked her way through many ups and downs of being a post-collegiate athlete, but she has continued to keep her constant focus and dedication to her goals of winning a World Championship title! She is one of the best competitors we’ve ever had in our program, and she showed that with how she came back from a couple of fouls in the preliminary before throwing a personal best to earn three more throws,” Woody added. “That set her up for another massive PR and one of the all-time best throws in United States and World history to take the lead and secure the win.”

The Spring Valley, California, native, was the 2019 NCAA Discus Champion, 2021 NCAA discus runner-up, eight-time All-American, 2021 USTFCCCA Outdoor Midwest Regional Female Athlete of the Year, 2020 USTFCCCA Indoor Midwest Regional Female Field Athlete of the Year, five-time Big Ten Champion and 2020 Big Ten Indoor Female Field Athlete of the Year and Championship.

Former Hawkeye sprinter Brittany Brown also represented the United States and Iowa track and field program at the World Athletics Championships, placing seventh in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.97.

“Brittany has had a tremendous season with her first year really focusing on the 100-meters,” Woody said. “The women’s 100 is one of the toughest events in track and field right now with four to five of the all-time fastest athletes in history all competing at this year’s World Championships. Making the World Championships final in that event is such a terrific accomplishment for Brittany and that experience will set her up well going into the Olympics next year!”