Panthers Ready For 107th Drake Relays, April 27-30

Meet Schedule | Heat Sheets
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa track and field program will head to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 107^th Drake Relays, April 27-30.

The Panthers will have nine men competing in seven events and eight women taking on eight events in the open competition while also competing in the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, shuttle hurdle, sprint medley and distance medley relays.

The meet will kick off Wednesday, April 27, with the women's heptathlon and the men's decathlon. UNI will send Paige Knodle, Rachel Peth and Lauren Frederick to compete in the heptathlon along with true freshman Austin Heitland for his first decathlon.

All three of UNI's heptathletes have experience at the Drake Relays with both Peth and Frederick competing in last year's event and Knodle getting back to the blue oval after sitting out last season with an injury. Knodle enters the weekend with the 12^th best heptathlon score in the country at 5,680.

The senior from Byron, Ill., also will compete in the open 100-meter hurdles after setting a school record in the event at the Musco Twilight. Knodle turned in a time of 13.26, breaking her own UNI record and ranking her No. 13 in the NCAA West Regional.

The Panther men also will make a showing in the 110-meter hurdles as Jon Rus and two-sport athlete Daurice Fountain compete. Rus is ranked in the top-48 in the NCAA West Region in the event while Fountain will be competing in his second meet of the outdoor season while also juggling spring football training as a wide receiver.

Brandon Carnes will look to move up the regional and national rankings in the 100-meter dash as he runs in the open race. The junior from Bradenton, Fla., has pushed himself to No. 9 in the NCAA West in the event after his time of 10.27 at the Tom Botts Invitational on April 15.

The women will send their middle distance tandem of Amber Clock and Brette Correy to compete in the seeded and unseeded 800 meter races. Both student-athletes scored huge personal bests in the event at the Musco Twilight on April 23, ranking them in the top-five all-time at UNI. Correy sits at No. 18 in the West Region with her PR time of 2:06.85 while Correy is ranked No. 43 with her time of 2:08.71.

Moving into the field events, school record holders Knodle and Chaley Rath will take a run at the javelin and high jump, respectively. Rath pushed herself into third in the Missouri Valley in the high jump with her season-best mark of 5-07.75 while Knodle has landed at No. 2 in the MVC with her season-best of 150-09.00 in the javelin.

In the jumps, Shawn Koch will look to improve on an already strong personal-best in the triple jump, a mark that ranked him No. 23 in the triple jump. His mark of 50-07.50 at the Tom Botts Invitational also ranks him No. 2 in the Valley and No. 4 all-time at UNI.

Rounding out the individual events, the Panthers will take a talented group of throwers that will compete in the shot put, hammer throw and discus.

On the men's side, UNI record holder Justin Baker will compete in the hammer and shot put in hopes to improve on an already standout senior campaign. He sits at No. 7 in the NCAA West in the shot put and No. 7 in the hammer throw. He will be joined in both competitions by Brad Walski, who has also pushed himself into the top-48 in the West Region in the hammer with a personal-best toss of 192-09.00.

Isaac Holtz will be UNI's lone male competitor in the discus competition after his personal-best performance at the Husker Spring Invitational on April 9. He threw for a distance of 179-01.00, ranking him No. 30 in the West and No. 2 in the MVC.

On the women's side, Jamie Lindstrom, Hope Koerperich and Chloe Schmidt will compete in the discus throw followed by an appearance in the hammer by Schmidt and Lindstrom. Lindstrom is ranked in the top-48 in the NCAA West in the hammer with a toss of 184-09.00 while also earning a top-48 rank in the shot put, her last event of the meet.

Fans can follow along with the action this weekend through live results and by following UNI on Twitter (@UNITrackFieldXC). For results, fans can go to the Drake Relays Central page or check www.UNIPanthers.com for UNI results and recaps following the meet.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Panthers Ready For 107th Drake Relays, April 27-30

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Baker

Brandon Carnes

Amber Clock

Brette Correy

Lauren Frederick

Austin Heitland

Isaac Holtz

Paige Knodle

Shawn Koch

Jamie Lindstrom

Rachel Peth

Chaley Rath

Jon Rus

Chloe Schmidt

Brad Walski

Upcoming Events