UNI Men Second, Women Fourth at MVC Indoor Championship

Saturday, February 23

Cedar Falls, Iowa

University of Northern Iowa

MVC Championships

UNI Men Second, Women Fourth at MVC Indoor Championship

2/24/2019 8:38:00 PM | Track and Field

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI men finished second, the Panther women finished fourth, Connor Ham was named the Most Outstanding Track Athlete and 14 individual and a pair of relay teams earned All-Conference honors to highlight the final day of the Missouri Valley Indoor Conference Championship Sunday at the UNI-Dome.

The Illinois State men won with a team score of 159, UNI was second with a total of 144.5. Indiana State was third with a score of 95.50.

On the women's side, Illinois State won with a score of 173. Indiana State was second at 141, Southern Illinois scored 95 points for third and the Panthers were fourth with a total of 78.5.

Connor Ham won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.93, a personal best and the highest ranked mark in the NCAA among the men's track events which earned him Most Outstanding Athlete honors.

Maddie McCalla also earned a gold medal with a win in the 400-meter dash. She won the event with a time of 54.89 seconds, matching her career best from the MVC Outdoor Championship a year ago.

The final UNI championship came from the men's 4x400 team. The Panther team of Sven Van Den Bergh, Tayshaun Cooper, Bryce Newcomb and Connor Blough won the event by more than two seconds with a time of 3:14.38.

McCalla tallied a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.52, a personal best. Lyndsie Schinkel tallied a third-place finish in the 800-meter with a time of 2:10.37. Patrice Watson finished third in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.58, a tenth of a second faster than her previous best time. Maria Gonzalez scored a third-place finish in the high jump with a jump 5-feet, 5.25 inches to earn All-Conference honors for the second consecutive season.

On the men's side, Evan Long finished second in both the 200-meter dash and 400-meter run. He notched a time of 21.65 in the 200 and 47.79 in the 400. Van Den Bergh joined Long on the podium in the 400 with a time of 48.25.

Austin Heitland closed out the heptathlon with a strong performance in the pole vault and a PR in the 1,000-meter run to finish second with a final score of 5,066. He was just seven points short of the Jordan Wilkerson who won with a score 5,073.

In the field events, Keegan Tritle finished second in the shot put with a throw of 61-feet-5. He led a pack of Panthers that picked up four, top-six finishes.

Saturday, the Panthers picked up All-Conference honors from Brooke Lorenz in the pentathlon, Cade Kirkpatrick in the long jump, Isaac Holtz in the weight throw and the women's distance medley relay team.

The second-place finish is the highest finish in the indoor meet since the Panthers took home the title in 2009.

UP NEXT:

Despite the weather outside, the outdoor season is just around the corner. The Panthers are slated to open at the Jim Duncan Invite on March 30 in Des Moines. The UNI men will look to defend their outdoor title, which they won by one point over Illinois State a season ago.

All-Conference
Connor Ham - 1st – 60H
Patrice Watson – 3rd – 60H
Evan Long - 2nd - 200M
Maddie McCalla - 2nd - 200M
Evan Long - 2nd - 400M
Sven Van Den Bergh – 3rd – 400M
Maddie McCalla - 1st – 400M
Lyndsie Schinkel – 3rd – 800M
Austin Heitland - 2nd - heptatlon
Brooke Lorenz - 2nd - pentahtlon
Maria Gonzalez – 3rd – HJ
Cade Kirkpatrick - 2nd - LJ
Keegan Tritle - 2nd - SP
Isaac Holtz - 2nd - WT
Men's 4x400 - 1st
Women's DMR - 2nd