UNI track & field: Wilson clinches hammer throw title on opening day of MVC Championships

2023 MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships | Redbird Track & Field Complex (Normal, Ill.)

Photo by: Illinois State Athletics

UNI track & field: Wilson clinches hammer throw title on opening day of MVC Championships

5/12/2023 9:05:00 PM | Track and Field

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Panther women sit in second place after conclusion of first three events. UNI men tied for fifth.

NORMAL, Ill. — After breaking school records each of the last two weeks, Makenna Wilson scored another major victory on Friday afternoon with a conference title in the women's hammer throw as the Panthers opened up competition at the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Redbird Track and Field Complex.

Wilson, who broke the program record at the Drake Relays and again last week at the Wisconsin Alumni Classic, entered the conference championship meet with the MVC's furthest throw of the season of just over 66 meters. The Charleston, Illinois native threw a mark of 64.32 meters on her sixth and final attempt to become the first Panther to win the MVC title in the event in school history. Mari Shavers finished in a close second place after a 61.19-meter toss, while Sarah Byrd placed 11th (46.29 meters).

Putting his skills to the test in five field events this weekend, Carter Morton kicked off his active MVC Championships in the javelin throw, notching a career-best mark of 55.17 meters. Zack Butcher placed fifth with a toss of 52.21 meters.

The Panthers advanced three sprinters into Sunday's 200-meter dash finals, as Isaiah Trousil led the field in the preliminary heats with a career-best time of 20.52 seconds. Deonte Dean came in fourth at 21.21, while Tinashe Chigudu finished in seventh (21.15). Emily Vos also clocked a career-best time in the women's 200-meter prelims with a 24.21 mark to take sixth place.

In the decathlon, five Panthers wrapped up the first five events of the multi-event competition with Butcher leading the ten-man field with 3,922 points, thanks to first place finishes in the 100 meters (10.76), shot put (13.00 meters) and 400 meters (48.79). Drew Bartels sits in third place with 3,565 points after winning the long jump (7.16 meters), with Brody Lovell in fourth (3,423 points) and Caden Ungs in sixth (3,097 points). The final five events of the decathlon are scheduled to begin on Saturday morning.

Friday marked a day of personal bests for the Panthers in the heptathlon, as Katy Stephens recorded career-bests in the first four events of the competition. Sitting in third place with 2,983 points, Stephens' breakout day included a time of 15.50 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, a 1.68-meter leap in the high jump, a 11.28-meter throw in the shot put and 26.41 second time in the 200 meters. Kelly Proesch sits in tenth place (2,672 points), while Darci Wiseman posted career-bests in three events to put herself in 13th place with 2,499 points. Lydia Berns-Schweingruber is in 15th place with the final three events scheduled for Saturday.

Kate Crawford and Caleb Shumaker both kicked off the distance events in the 10,000-meter run early on Friday, with Crawford taking sixth with a time of 37:19.27. Shumaker took 12th place in 32:07.36. Paige Holub also secured her spot in the finals for the women's mile, clocking a 4:35.20 to finish in sixth.

UP NEXT
UNI returns to action for the second day of competition at the MVC Championships beginning at 10:30 a.m. CST on Saturday. Events will include the conclusion of both the decathlon and heptathlon, as well as finals for the shot put, high jump, long jump, pole vault and 3,000-meter steeplechase. Preliminary heats will include the running of the 100 and 110 meter hurdles, 400 meters, 100 meters, 800 meters and 400-meter hurdles.

OTHER UNI PERFORMANCES

Decathlon (Through five events)