UNI track & field: Wilson wins discus, shot put at Augustana

Friday, April 21

Rock Island, Ill.

12 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Meet Of Champions

UNI track & field at 2023 Fighting Illini Challenge

UNI track & field: Wilson wins discus, shot put at Augustana

4/22/2023 12:38:00 PM | Track and Field

Final Results

Panthers win seven events at the Meet of Champions. UNI prepares for Drake Relays and Kip Janvrin Open next week.

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — After a sudden change in schedule early in the week, UNI track and field rerouted its travel plans and headed south, competing in Augustana's Meet of Champions on Friday at the Austin E. Knowlton Outdoor Athletic Complex, picking up seven first place finishes on the day.

Makenna Wilson opened UNI's afternoon by clinching the women's discus title with a career-best throw of 48.80 meters, before taking first in the women's shot put shortly after with a toss of 15.10 meters. Sarah Byrd finished just behind Wilson in the shot put in second place (13.92 meters), while Mari Shavers took fifth (12.97 meters). In the discus, Katie Fare claimed fifth place (43.19 meters), with Allison Flanscha placing seventh with a new career-best mark of 40.72 meters.

For a second straight week, Brendan Safley topped the podium in the men's pole (4.93 meters) after winning the event at Drake's Jim Duncan Invitational last week with a career-best day. Safely vault of 4.93 meters is the second-best mark of his career after clearing 5.06 meters last week.

In the men's long jump, Jack Sumners edged out Loras' Derik Bunten by 0.06 meters to take home gold with a leap of 7.28 meters, marking his second victory this outdoor season, as well as his first field win of the outdoor campaign.

On the track, Paige Holub picked up her first win since 2021 as she crossed the finish line in a time of 4:38.20 in the women's 1500 meters. Ella Popenhagen followed, finishing in fourth place in a career-best mark of 4:41.88. The Panthers placed four in the top-ten in the women's 400-meter hurdles, with Darci Wiseman leading the pack with a first place finish in a winning time of 1:04.49. Anna Winterrowd placed second (1:05.76), with Amelia Hill and Clare Basala finishing in sixth and eighth respectively.

Emily Vos led UNI's sprinters by winning the women's 200-meter dash in 24.42, as Libby Wedewer came in third place (24.73). Madelyn Sanda and Eden Barrett finished in fifth and eighth. Tinashe Chigudu took home silver in the men's 200-meters in a career-best time of 21.35, while Luke Meyers came in sixth place, also running a career-best pf 21.71.

Erin Kerkhoff claimed second place for the Panthers in the women's 400-meters, as Jill Bennett finished in eighth place (1:00.93). On the men's side, Onal Mitchell took home fourth place (49.21), as Titus Jackson and Deonte Dean took fifth and eighth, with Jackson clocking a career-best mark (49.31).

In the sprint hurdles, Paige Kisley claimed bronze in the women's 100-meter hurdles in 14.56, while Hunter Manock also grabbed third place in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a new career-best time of 15.08. Kisley also placed seventh in the women's 100-meter dash (12.29).

Locking into the mid-distance races, Sophia Jungling took second place in the women's 800-meter run in 2:15.50, while Sydney Schaffer followed in eighth (2:22.72). Chase Knoche led UNI in the men's 800-meters in 1:52.96, as Drake Hanson took fourth (1:53.07). Meanwhile, Bill Mukhtar finished in fifth in the men's 400-meter hurdles (56.18).

In the men's throws, Carson Lienau clinched third place in the shot put (14.54 meters) with Sebastian Swistak registering a top throw of 14.51 meters to take seventh. Swistak also competed in the men's discus throw with a sixth place finish (48.55m).

In the javelin, Emma Decker finished in third in the women's competition (33.23m), as Brody Lovell placed eighth with a career-best throw of 42.07 meters. Alivia Silvestri placed fourth in the women's pole vault (3.58m), while Isabelle Holtzen took sixth place (3.43m).

Rylie Todd cleared 1.57 meters for a fourth place finish in the women's high jump, as teammate Morgan Johnk cleared 1.52 meters to take eighth. Zach Butcher meanwhile finished in sixth place in the men's high jump with a new personal-best of 1.87 meters.

UP NEXT
UNI returns to action next week with a pair of meets in central Iowa. The Panthers will begin competition at the 113th running of the historic Drake Relays beginning on Wednesday morning with the decathlon and heptathlon in Des Moines, with additional events running through Saturday. Other Panthers will head further south to Indianola to compete in the Kip Janvrin Open at Simpson College.

OTHER UNI PERFORMANCES

Men's Discus