University of Northern Iowa
ISU Holiday Classic
UNI track & field wins nine events at ISU Holiday Classic
12/9/2023 7:01:00 PM | Track and Field
AMES, Iowa— The UNI track and field team kicked off the 2023-24 indoor season on Friday and Saturday at the ISU Holiday Classic, picking up nine first-place finishes in the process.
Alivia Silvestri won the first event for the Panthers on the weekend in the women's pole vault with a 3.50-meter jump, while Sydnee Scott (3.35 meters) and Hannah Wallace (3.05 meters) finished in second and third place respectively. Isabelle Cox placed fourth with 3.90 meters. Shortly after, Brendan Safley took home gold in the men's pole vault with a 5.00-meter leap, with Aaron Sobush, competing unattached, finishing in third-place (4.15 meters).
Recording a personal-best score in the women's pentathlon, Katy Stephens topped the podium with 3,496 points in Ames, while Kelly Proesch (3,318 points) and Katy Hand (2,992 points), who competed unattached, placed third and fifth on the board. In the men's Heptathlon, Drew Bartels led Northern Iowa with 5,001 points to finish in third, while Brody Lovell placed seventh with 4,332 points.
On day two in the field events, Sarah Byrd and Spencer Kessel both picked up first-place finishes in the shot put. In the women's shot put, Byrd threw for 14.67 meters, while Kessel registered a 17.86-meter toss to win the men's title. Jorie Hanenburg finished in fifth-place (12.58 meters) in the women's shot put. Carson Lienau and Sebastian Swistak placed fourth and fifth in the men's respectively. In the women's weight throw, Bryd placed third with a career-best throw of 18.64 meters.
Competing in the women's high jump, Chloe Largent finished in second-place with a leap of 1.60 meters, while Josie Moreland (1.60 meters) and Soren Maricle (1.60 meters) placed third and fourth for the purple and gold. Maleah Walker and Josey Dunbar finished fourth and fifth in the women's long jump, marking their collegiate debuts in Ames.
On the track, Caroline Benfeldt Sorensen secured a first-place finish in the women's 60-meter dash with a finals time of 7.62 seconds. Benfeldt-Sorensen clocked a 7.57-second time in the prelims, the fifth-fastest mark in program history. Ariana Yaklich placed second with 7.69 for UNI.
In the men's 60-meter dash, Tinashe Chigudu placed third with a personal-best time of 6.74, tied for the sixth-best time in school history. Auriona Kimbrough finished first in the women's 600 meters (1:26.01), as freshman Mary Kelly placed fourth (1:28.73)
Jack Sumners took home third-place in the men's 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.07 second. In the women's 60-meter hurdles, Paige Kisley placed third with a time of 8.93 and Olivia Kramer (9.08) took home fourth. Eva Van De Mortel finished in fifth-place, running a time of 25.49 in the women's 200-meter dash.
In the women's 300 meters, Libby Wedewer took third-place in a time of 40.46. Jill Bennett (40.67) and Eden Barrett (40.77) finished fourth and fifth. On the men's side of the 300-meter race, Luke Meyers finished with a time of 34.54 to place third, as Kaden Emanuel and Titus Jackson finished fourth and sixth on the board. Issac Vaske finished in fifth with a personal-best time of 49.68 in the men's 400-meter dash.
Freshman Kendra Niseen placed second with a time of 2:16.42 in the women's 800-meter and Millie Hill took third-place with a personal-best time of 2:16.75. Chase Knoche placed fifth with a time of 1:50.43 in the men's 800 meters.
In the men's mile run, Kon Dut and Karson Kleve placed fifth and seventh, respectively, while Liza Schaffer (2:58.42) finished third and Kaylin Lacher (3:05.31) placed fourth in the women's 1000-meter.
To close out the meet, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Kimbrough, Bennett, Wedewer and Barrett finished in first place (4:00.48), while the men's team of Emanuel, Jackson, Mitchell and Knoche secured the men's 4x400-meter relay title (3:24.17).
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to competition on Jan. 13 as they visit Iowa City for the Hawkeye Invitational.
Players Mentioned
