Panthers Off To Lincoln For Husker Invite

Saturday, April 9

Lincoln, NE

10 a.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Husker Spring Invitational

Panthers Off To Lincoln For Husker Invite

4/7/2016 11:25:00 AM | Track and Field

Meet Schedule
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Heading into the third week of the 2016 outdoor track and field season, the Panthers are set to take on the Husker Spring Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. on Saturday, April 9.

UNI has hit the ground running this spring, with multiple athletes ranking in the top-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference and in the top-46 in the NCAA West Region. To qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary meet in May, student-athletes must be ranked in the top-46 in their respective events.

Starting in the hurdles, both Paige Knodle and Jon Rus sit in the top-five in the Valley and in the top-40 in the NCAA West Region. Rus opened the 2016 outdoor season with a time of 14.42 in the 110 meter hurdles to put him at No. 5 in the league and No. 36 in the NCAA West while Knodle sits at No. 2 in the conference and No. 29 in the region with her fast time of 13.71 that she put out at the Texas Relays.

At the Texas Relays, Knodle also turned in one of the best performances in the country in the heptathlon, pushing to the top of the Valley and ranking herself No. 6 in all of Division I track and field. She finished just one-point off her PR, racking in 5,680 points that included a big throw in the javelin of 150-9.00 that lands her at No. 32 in the West region.

Moving into the middle distance races, the Panthers have a pair of athletes that have opened the 2016 season with strong marks in the 800 meters, with both Brette Correy and Dylan Eigenberger ranking in the top-three in the conference. For the men, Eigenberger started his outdoor season with a time of 1:54.68 at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic while for the women, Correy turned in a time of 2:13.16 to win the race.

Continuing a tradition of top performances by the UNI throwers, throws coach Dan O'Mara has led a group of veteran athletes to some personal-bests to start the season.

On the women's side, Jamie Lindstrom, Chloe Schmidt and Sarah Pate hold spots in the top-five in the MVC in the shot put, discus and hammer throw, respectively. Lindstrom has highlighted the Panthers this season with an opening throw of 48-9.50 in the shot put, putting her at No. 3 in the league and No. 33 in the West region.

Justin Baker has kicked off his senior campaign with marks in the hammer throw and shot put that catapulted him into the rankings in the NCAA West Region. He leads the conference in the hammer with a personal-best and school record toss of 209-1.00 that puts him at No. 9 in the West region and No. 30 in all of Division I track and field.

The Husker Spring Invitational begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 9 with field events along with events on the track getting started at 1:35 p.m. Live results will be available here when the meet starts with a full recap and results being available at the end of the meet at www.UNIPanthers.com.