University of Northern Iowa
MVC Indoor Championships
Panthers Set To Host The MVC Indoor Championships
2/23/2017 3:12:00 PM | Track and Field
Â
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa track and field program is set to host the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in the UNI-Dome, Feb. 25-26.
The Panthers are hosting the event for the 17th time and for the 10th consecutive year. The two-day event will be open to the public with tickets costing $10 for adults, $5 for youth and free to UNI students.
Multi-events will get started at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25 with the pentathlon, followed by field events at 2 p.m. and action getting underway on the track at 4 p.m. On Sunday, the meet will being at 9:30 a.m. with the completion of the men's heptathlon with field events at 11 a.m. and track action starting at 1:25 p.m.
The MVC Indoor Championships will be bringing in 13 men in 11 events and 10 women in four events that are currently ranked in the top-50 in the nation, giving track and field fans a chance to see the best talent in the country this weekend.
The top-eight finishers in each event will score team points, with the Panthers heading into the weekend with 17 men and 12 women ranked in the top-eight in the Valley. Â UNI has been led this season by senior Brandon Carnes, who enters the meet ranked No. 1 in the MVC, No. 3 in the NCAA and No. 18 in the world in the 60 meter dash.
This season alone the Panthers have had eight women and four men break onto the all-time top-five list at UNI, including two school records from Carnes. The Panthers have had over 90 career-best performances on the women's side and more than 80 PRs by the men.
Carnes currently leads the Valley in both the 60 meters and 200 meters this year, with his time of 6.59 in the 60 also counting as the new MVC record. His personal-best time of 21.03 in the 200 meter dash also gave him the UNI record in the event.
In the 60 meter hurdles, the Panther men have four athletes ranked in the top-eight, including Daurice Fountain, who earned all-conference at last year's meet. He is joined by Cole Phillips, Connor Ham and Jon Rus. Rus currently ranks third in the Valley this season with a PR time of 7.91, ranking him third all-time at UNI.
Shawn Koch, who is a two-time indoor all-conference honoree in the triple jump, will look to continue his habit of scoring points at the championship meet. He is ranked No. 7 in the Valley heading into the weekend with a season-best mark of 47-5.25.
In the throws, Brad Walski has had a strong junior year, ranking second in the MVC in both the shot put and the weight throw. His PR tosses of 59-7.75 in the shot put and 65-5.00 in the weight throw are the third and fifth best marks in program history.
On the women's side, the middle distance and distance athletes have shined throughout the season, including senior Lindsey Kite who ranks first in the Valley in the 800 meters. She ranks fourth all-time in UNI history with her personal-best time of 2:09.04 while sophomore Lyndsie Schinkel is currently fourth in the Valley with a career-best 2:10.85.
In the 3,000 meters both Ashley Norem and freshman Hannah Truniger rank in the top-five in the conference. They both posted personal-best times this season with Norem running 9:48.17 and Truniger recording a time of 9:49.91, the fourth and fifth fastest times in UNI history.
Truniger also ranks third in the Valley this season in the 5,000 meters with the No. 3 time in school history (16:56.07). The true freshman is coming of an outstanding cross country season where she earned MVC Freshman of the Year honors.
Moving into the throws, freshman Allison Griffin, who now holds the freshman shot put record at UNI, is sitting at No. 3 in the MVC. She threw a personal-best toss of 49-9.00 last weekend to send her into the weekend ready to score points.
In the weight throw, Osceola, Iowa, native Sarah Pate has been leading the way for the Panther women. She threw a huge personal-best in the event in January of 62-10.75 to rank her second in the MVC and fifth all-time as a Panther.
Lauren Frederick will also look to contribute team points this weekend in the pentathlon, entering the weekend with the fifth-best point total. She won the pentathlon at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational in January with a total of 3,728 points for fourth all-time at UNI.
Fans wishing to follow along with the action at the MVC Indoor Championships can watch live on ESPN3 on Saturday (Live at 6:30 p.m. CT) and Sunday (Live at 1:15 p.m. CT). Live results will also be available with updates on Twitter (@UNITrackFieldXC).
UNI Competitors (SATURDAY)
Women's Pentathlon (9:30 a.m.): Maria Gonzalez, Lauren Frederick
Men's Heptathlon (10 a.m.): Cade Kirkpatrick, Alex Duff, Austin Heitland
Women's Weight Throw ( Trials & Finals, 2 p.m.): Allison Griffin, Maddy O'Brien, Sarah Pate, Hope Koerperich
Men's Long Jump (Trials & Finals, 3 p.m.): Charles Brown, Chase Van Sant, Cade Kirkpatrick, Xavior Williams, Shawn Koch, Jamison Whiting, Bryce Newcomb
Men's Weight Throw (Trials & Finals, 4 p.m.): Evan Colfack, Kyler Yodts, Isaac Holtz, Brad Walski
Women's 60 Hurdles (Semis, 4:30 p.m.): Abigail Ranschau, Lauren Frederick
Men's 60 Hurdles (Semis, 4:45 p.m.): Daurice Fountain, Connor Ham, Cole Phillips, Jon Rus
Women's 400 Dash (Prelims, 4:55 p.m.): Maddie Irmen, Maddie Bell
Women's Long Jump (Trials & Finals, 5 p.m.): Danielle Reicherts
Men's 400 Dash (Prelims, 5:10 p.m.): Corey Hertz, Brett McCalla, Jacob Smith, Evan Long
Women's 60 Dash (Prelims, 5:25 p.m.): Katie Maschmann, Taylor Raines
Men's 60 Dash (Prelims, 5:35 p.m.): Brandon Carnes, Elijah Hicks
Women's 800 Meters (Prelims, 5:45 p.m.): Lindsey Kite, Theresa Connelly, Lyndsie Schinkel
Men's 800 Meters (Prelims, 5:55 p.m.): Luke Johnston, Dylan Eigenberger, Jordan Pingel, Colynn Black
Women's 200 Dash (Prelims, 6:05 p.m.): Daianera Whitaker, Katie Maschmann
Men's 200 Dash (Prelims, 6:25 p.m.): Elijah Hicks, Corey Hertz, Brandon Carnes, Bryce Newcomb
Women's 5,000 Meters (Finals, 6:45 p.m.): Hannah Truniger
Women's Distance Medley Relay (Finals, 7:25 p.m.): Theresa Connelly, Maddie Bell, Lyndsie Schinkel, Ashley Norem
Men's Distance Medley Relay (Finals, 7:40 p.m.): Andrew Arndt, Bo Hjelle, Colynn Black, Luke Johnston
Players Mentioned
