Kal Lewis — former Shelter Island track star and current University of Iowa freshman — posted two excellent performances last weekend at the Larry Weiczorek Invitational in Iowa City.
On Friday, January 22 in his first indoor 600 meter race as a Hawkeye, Lewis won the Open Division with a lifetime best of 1:21.19 to edge out Phil Hall (1:21.44) of the University of Illinois. Jason Marchese of Nebraska was third in 1:23.22. Passing 400 meters in 53.7 in second place, Lewis overtook Hall in the final 100 meters turning a 27.45 second final 200 meters to nail down his first collegiate victory.
On Saturday, he came back in the Premier Mile Run to take third place with another lifetime best of 4:14.84. Lewis lead gamely through the first 3/4-mile in 3:11 but teammates Nick Trattner (4:12.57) and Noah Healy (4:12.66) got by in the last 400 meters to take first and second.
Iowa Head Track Coach, Randy Hasenbank, said of Kal, “He is very, very coachable. Kal has a lot of natural talent with the rare combination of speed and athleticism. There is lots more still to come.”
Iowa easily won the team title beating out Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Minnesota.
Editor’s Note: Cliff Clark, a standout track athlete and coach in his day, will keep us posted about Kal’s progress as a Hawkeye. Thank you, Cliff!
