UNI Men Earn Second Consecutive Conference Title, Panthers Total 21 All-Conference Finishes

Friday, February 26

Cedar Falls, Iowa

University of Northern Iowa

MVC Indoor Championships

UNI Men Earn Second Consecutive Conference Title, Panthers Total 21 All-Conference Finishes

2/28/2021 4:59:00 PM | Track and Field

Final Results

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI men's track and field team earned their second consecutive and 14th conference title at the UNI-Dome on Sunday. The men scored 167.5 points over the course of the weekend. The UNI women placed third in the team standings with 107 points. The Panthers posted a total of 21 total of all-conference finishes on the weekend and earned four of the conference's specialty awards.

Senior Tayshaun Cooper earned the Men's Most Valuable Athlete award for the most points scored at the meet, graduate student Darius King was named Men's Most Outstanding Field Athlete for the highest-ranking individual performance on the NCAA list, freshman Parker Kiewiet was named Men's Freshman of the Year for most points earned by a freshman, and head coach Dave Paulsen was named Men's Coach of the Year.

Sunday's action saw the Panthers post 10 all-conference finishes. In the men's 200-meter final, senior Tayshaun Cooper took home gold, posting a time of 21.63 while graduate student Elijah Hicks placed third with a time of 21.89. Cooper also earned silver in the men's 60 meters with a time of 6.75 and anchored the men's 4x400 meter relay team that clinched gold with a time of 3:18.20 and sealed the UNI men's team victory. Junior Thai Thompson posted an all-conference finish in the men's heptathlon, finishing second with a score of 5082. Senior Sven Van Den Bergh and sophomore Jack Sumners earned bronze in the men's 400 meters (49.08) and men's 60-meter hurdles (8.00), respectively.

Redshirt senior Aleenah Marcucci earned silver in the women's 60-meter hurdles, stopping the clock at 8.70 and freshman Sophia Jungling placed third in the women's 800 meters with a time of 2:10.49. The women's 4x400 meter relay team closed out the meet with a second-place finish, stopping the clock at 3:52.69.

Up Next
Darius King finishes the season ninth in the NCAA in the shot put. The top 16 ranked athletes in each event compete in the NCAA DI Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 11-13 at the Randal Tyson Center in Fayetteville, Ark. UNI cross country participates in its lone meet of 2020-21, the MVC Championship in Evansville, Indiana on March 3. The Panthers open outdoor competition on Mar. 26 at the Blue Oval Invitational hosted by Drake in Des Moines, Iowa.

Specialty Awards
Dave Paulsen – Coach of the Year
Tayshaun Cooper – Men's Most Valuable Athlete
Darius King – Men's Most Outstanding Field Athlete
Parker Kiewiet – Men's Freshman of the Year

All-Conference Finishes
Jill Bennett – Women's 4x400-Meter Relay (2)
Connor Blough – Men's 4x400-Meter Relay (1)
McKayla Cole - Women's 5000 Meters, 17:34.95 (3)
Tayshaun Cooper – Men's 200 Meters (1), Men's 4x400 Relay (1), Men's 60 Meters (2)
Seb Gearhart – Men's 4x400-Meter Relay (1)
Allison Hilleman – Women's 4x400-Meter Relay (2), Women's Distance Medley Relay (2)
Elijah Hicks – Men's 200 Meters (3)
Paige Holub – Women's Mile (3), Women's Distance Medley Relay (2)
Sophia Jungling – Women's 800 Meters (3), Women's 4x400-Meter Relay (2), Women's Distance Medley Relay (2)
Parker Kiewiet - Men's Long Jump
Darius King - Men's Shot Put (1), Men's Weight Throw (3)
Cierra Laux – Women's Pole Vault (2)
Aleenah Marcucci - Women's Long Jump (2), Women's 60-Meter Hurdles (2)
Brendan Safley – Men's Pole Vault (1)
Sydney Shaffer – Women's Distance Medley Relay (2)
Jack Sumners – Men's 60-Meter Hurdles (3)
Thai Thompson – Men's Heptathlon (2)
Sven Van Den Bergh – Men's 400 Meters (3), Men's 4x400-Meter Relay (1)
Emily Vos – Women's 4x400-Meter Relay (2)
Kyler Yodts - Men's Weight Throw (1), Men's Shot Put (3)