Panther Cross Country Set For MVC Championships

Saturday, October 31

Evansville, Ind.

TBA

University of Northern Iowa

MVC Championships

Panther Cross Country Set For MVC Championships

10/29/2015 3:36:00 PM | Cross Country

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa cross country program will head to Hoosier state to compete in the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships, hosted by Evansville.

The meet will take place on Saturday, Oct. 31 with the men's 8K race will take place at 10:30 a.m. with the women's 5,000 meter run to follow at 11:30 a.m. Both races will be run at Angel Mounds in Evansville, Ind.

The Panther men and women have excelled this season and plan to hit the ground running at the championship meet. With a combined seven seniors on both squads, UNI's experienced runners will look to capitalize on an already successful 2015 year.

On the women's side, junior Kelsey Kirchoff and seniors Callie Matthews and Hanna Martin have the fastest 5,000 meter times heading into the championship meet. For the men, seniors Trai Bunch and Ben Fick, along with juniors Bailey Wetherell and Dylan Eigenberger have shined in the 8,000 this season.

Kirchoff, a Denver, Iowa, native, has led the Panthers in every meet this season, now ranking sixth all-time at in the 5K and second all-time in the 6K. The junior finished with a personal-best in the 5,000 meters at the Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 17:46.80 and added a PR in the 6K at the Bradley Classic (21:01.60).

Matthews, a senior from Nashua, Iowa and Martin, a senior from Pella, Iowa, both scored huge personal-bests in the 5,000 meters this season at the Notre Dame Invite. Matthews is now ranked 20^th all-time at UNI with a time of 18:13.30 while Martin is tied for 23^rd as a Panther with a time of 18:16.30.

Train Bunch turned in the fastest 8K time for the Panther men at the Bradley Classic, tying his personal-best time of 24:48.80 to keep him ranked 20^th all-time at UNI. Fick turned in a personal-best on the same course, coming in at 25:10.00 with Wetherell and Eigenberger posting their 8K PRs just seconds behind him at 25:13.20.

At last season's MVC Championships in Carbondale, Ill., the women turned in a fifth place team finish after Alex Wilson placed second overall in the meet. Kirchoff came in at 20^th with Ashley Norem (31^st) and Maddie Reynolds (34^th) rounding out UNI's top-35 finishers.

For the men, Terri Nielsen (31^st) and Ben Fick (34^th) both turned in top-35 performances at the championship meet in 2014 with Shane Kirchoff rounding out UNI's top-four finishers in 41^st place overall.

To follow along with the action at this year's MVC Championship meet, follow the Panthers online on Twitter (@UNITrackFieldXC). Fans can also check www.UNIPanthers.com following the completion of the meet for a full recap and results.