UNI track & field crowns 10 champions at Wartburg to open outdoor season

UNI track & field crowns 10 champions at Wartburg to open outdoor season

4/2/2023 8:22:00 PM | Track and Field

WAVERLY, Iowa — UNI track and field kicked off the 2023 outdoor season over the weekend with an impressive outing with 10 first place finishes at the Wartburg Outdoor Select at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly.

Makenna Wilson opened UNI's breakout performance in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 61.38 meters to take first place. Mari Shavers followed Wilson in second, throwing 58.68 meters. On the men's side, Jacob Baier posted a career-best throw of 55.28 meters to finish in fourth place.

2023 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Indoor Championships MVP Carter Morton took sixth place in the men's javelin throw with a toss of 49.96 meters, with Zack Butcher taking ninth (47.22m). Katy Stephens paced the Panthers by finishing second in the women's javelin with a throw of 38.43 meters, and Emma Decker in fourth (37.90m).

Caleb Shumaker closed out Saturday's competition in the men's 10,000 meters, taking home fourth place in a time of 31:40.

UNI swept the sprint hurdle events with Paige Kisley topping the podium in the women's 100-meter hurdles to open competition on Sunday. Jack Sumners also picked up gold in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a career-best time of 14.10 seconds.

Tyler Gray led the Panthers in the women's 100-meter dash, clocking a time of 12.47 seconds to take sixth place, with Erin Kerkhoff (12.67) and Lindsey Sires (12.68) finishing in ninth and tenth respectively. Butcher posted a career-best mark in the men's 100-meters, taking third place after clocking a 10.71.

In the distance events, Emma Hoins took bronze in the women's mile run with a time of 4:34.60, as Paige Holub came in seventh place (4:42.78). Brady Griebel led the UNI men with a 13th place finish in the men's mile (4:03.83).

Three Panthers placed in the top-five in the women's 400-meter dash, led by first place finisher Libby Wedewer with a career-best time of 58.09. Jill Bennett (58.32) and Eden Barrett (1:00.03) placed second and fifth respectively. Bennett placed second (58.32) and Barrett placed fifth (1:00.03). Paige Kisley finished in eighth place (1:00.93), with Olivia Hubler taking ninth (1:01.02).

Andrew Feguson completed the Panther sweep of the 400-meters with a win on the men's side, topping the podium with a personal-best mark of 47.98 seconds. Tinashe Chigudu finished in fourth place (49.76) for the Panthers.

In the women's 800-meter dash, Auriona Kimbrough placed top-five for the Panthers with a time of 2:22.11. Dylan Darsidan, making his college-debut in the men's 800-meters, posted a time of 1:58.64 to take seventh.

Anna Winterrowd came in sixth for UNI in the women's 400-meter hurdles, recording a 1:05.20, while Bill Mukhtar took tenth for the Panther men with a time of 56.53. Erin Kerkhoff secured third place in the women's 200-meters (26.07), while Gray ran a time of 26.24 to finish in fifth. Titus Jackson led the UNI men to third in the men's 200-meters with a career-best time of 21.91 seconds. Onal Mitchell took tenth place (22.43).

Following up his victory in the javelin on Saturday, Morton won in the men's triple jump with a leap of 14.19 meters. Drew Bartels also won the men's long jump for the purple and gold with a jump of 7.03 meters. Butcher came in second place for UNI (7.00m), as Brody Lovell took fourth with a new career-best mark (6.49m). Katy Stephens jumped a career-best in the women's long jump with 5.55 meters, finishing in third place.

Wilson took home first place for the Panthers in Sunday's women's shot put, throwing 14.56 meters, while Sarah Byrd (13.85m) and Shavers (13.56) came in third and fourth place. Wilson also took fourth in the women's discus (42.56m). Allison Flanscha placed seventh (12.58m). In the men's shot put, Carson Lienau placed second with a throw of 16.19 meters, and Sebastian Swistak placed ninth (14.47m). Lienau would take fifth place in the discus (49.66m), with Swistak in sixth (49.59m).

Rylie Todd secured a first place finish in the women's high jump, jumping 1.60 meters for UNI, while Isabelle Holtzen placed third in the pole vault (3.47m). Alivia Silvestri took fourth in the vault (3.32m), with Sydnee Scott taking seventh (3.32m).

UNI closed out the meet with the Panther women taking first in the 4x400 meter relay in a time of 3:59.45, composed of Kisley, Lauren Klein, Makinley Levin, and Amanda Lietz. The UNI team of Drake Hanson, Luke Meyers, Chigudu and David Holesinger II came in second place after clocking a 3:20.99.

UP NEXT
The Panthers return to competition on Saturday, April 8 at the Fighting Illini Challenge, hosted by the University of Illinois. Competition is slated to begin at 10 a.m. CT at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Illinois.

OTHER NOTABLE UNI PERFORMANCES

Men's Javelin Throw