Panthers Prepped To Host MVC Championships

Saturday, February 27

Cedar Falls, Iowa

9:30 a.m.

University of Northern Iowa

MVC Indoor Championships

Panthers Prepped To Host MVC Championships

2/25/2016 4:55:00 PM | Track and Field

Meet Schedule | Heat Sheets | Live Results

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa track and field program is set to host the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, Feb. 27-28. The event will take place inside the UNI-Dome.

The two-day event will be open to the public with tickets costing $10 for adults and $5 for college students/youth. Multi-events will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 followed by field events (1:15 p.m.) and competition on the track (3 p.m.). The meet will resume on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 9:30 a.m., wrapping up the multi-events along with field events starting at 11:30 a.m. and the finals on the track beginning at 1:25 p.m.

UNI will enter the meet with 14 men and 14 women ranked in the top-eight in their individual events. The Panthers also return eight indoor all-conference athletes from last year's meet that include two all-conference relay teams on the women's side.

Live results for the meet will be available at www.UNI.edu/MVCIndoors. Fans can also follow along with the action by adding UNI track and field on Twitter (@UNITrackFieldXC). Results and a recap will be available at www.UNIPanthers.com following the completion of each days' events.

Meet Preview

THROWS
Senior Jamie Lindstrom has shined for the Panther women this season, ranking herself in the top-five in the Valley in both the shot put and the weight throw. She wrapped up her regular season with a huge personal-best in the shot put, going 52-10.75 to put her at No. 2 all-time at UNI and in the top-30 in the country. The UNI women have three athletes in scoring spots in the weight throw, with Lindstrom (5^th, 60-11.25), Chloe Schmidt (6^th, 59-5.50) and Sarah Pate (57-11.25) all ranked in the top-eight heading into the MVC meet.

The men's throws crew has improved week after week, with each athlete scoring at least one personal-best this season. At the Wisconsin Open, Jake Humpal launched himself into fourth in the Valley with a career-best in the shot put (55-5.00) while Brad Walski scored a PR in the weight throw at the same meet to rank him No. 6 (63-11.00). Isaac Holtz, a sophomore from Monticello, Iowa, has also started to climb the ranks in the Valley, putting himself behind Humpal in the shot put (5^th, 55-2.75) along with a No. 7 ranking in the weight throw (60-3.00).

JUMPS/POLE VAULT
Junior Shawn Koch has led the UNI jumpers in the sand pit this season. He scored team points in the triple jump at last year's indoor championships, also earning all-conference in the event in 2014. The Medinah, Ill. native is currently ranked second in the triple jump, scoring a season-best jump of 48-10.00 at the Wisconsin Open. Koch (3^rd, 24-0.75), Weston Riesselman (6^th, 23-5.25) and Steven Addison (8^th, 23-2.00) all have top-eight marks in the men's long jump while on the women's side senior Tatiana Rice enters the meet with an indoor PR in the triple jump (38-0.25) and season-best mark in the long jump (17-11.75).

In the high jump, UNI has three women that have come on strong late in the season, with Chaley Rath placing herself at the top of the conference after a key mark at the Wisconsin Open. Rath's PR height of 5-8.75 put her second all-time as a Panther. Kassidy Sharp and Emily Endelman are also sitting in the top-eight in the conference, with Sharp ranked fifth (5-7.00) and Endelman ranked seventh (5-5.25). UNI's two pole vaulters have also posted top-15 marks in the Missouri Valley this season, with Anna Loken turning in a personal-best vault of 11-7.75 and Charles Fenner with a season-best of 15-7.25.

SPRINTS
On the men's side, headlining the Panthers will be eight-time MVC Champion Brandon Carnes. The Bradenton, Fla. native will look to defend his title in the 60 and 200 meter dashes after posting big personal-bests in both events this year. He broke his own school record in the 60 meters at the Nebraska Invite (6.64), followed by a career-best in the 200 meters with a time of 21.30 to rank him second all-time at UNI. Adding youth to a veteran sprint squad this season has been true freshman Corey Hertz. He currently sits in fourth place in the Valley in the 200 meters (22.03) and in eighth in the 400 meters (48.55).

For the women, a trio of Maddie's have been shining in the sprints, with senior Maddie Bell, sophomore Maddie Irmen and freshman Maddie Bell teaming up in the long and short sprints, as well as in the relays. Beeler ran indoor PRs in both the 400 meters (56.16) and the 200 meters (25.37) and has been a huge part of UNI's 4X400 meter relay success this season.

In the hurdles, Paige Knodle, Jon Rus and Daurice Fountain have put themselves in scoring position this season, all ranking in the top-five in the conference. Knodle ran a personal-best in the 60 meter hurdles of 8.41 this season to rank her No. 2 all-time at UNI, while Rus and Fountain have both run career-bests this season. Fountain is currently fourth in the Valley with a time of 8.00 (4^th all-time at UNI) and is also the third-fastest Division I football player competing in the 60 meter hurdles this season.

MID-DISTANCE/DISTANCE
The Panthers have put in top-performance after top-performance this season in the men's and women's 800 meters, with seven student-athletes ranked in the top-10 in the MVC. Amber Clock ran the fastest time in the Valley this season on the women's side, coming across the line in 2:07.94 to rank her second all-time at UNI. Brette Correy, defending indoor 800 meter champion, is ranked closely behind in second with a time of 2:10.46. For the men, transfer Dylan Eigenberger has improved throughout the season, turning in a career-best of 1:53.39 at the Mark Messersmith Invitational to win the event at the meet and propel him into the top-five in the MVC.

In the 3,000 and 5,000 meter races, Trai Bunch and Kelsey Kirchoff have led the Panthers. Bunch currently sits at No. 9 in the Valley in the 5,000 (14:43.01) with senior Ben Fick also looking to score points this weekend. Kirchoff set a new school record in the 5K at the Iowa State Classic, finishing with a time of 16:52.61, the fourth fastest time in the conference this season.

MULTIS
Lauren Frederick, Paige Knodle and Rachel Peth will all compete in the women's pentathlon this weekend for the women while Jayvon Matthews will represent the Panthers in the men's heptathlon. Matthews will return to the track after earning second place in the event at last year's meet with Peth also scoring points for the women by placing fourth. Knodle, an outdoor All-American in the heptathlon, will make her return after sitting out last season with an injury. She currently sits at No. 3 all-time at UNI in the pentathlon with a career-best 3,903 points.