University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Friday Knight Lights
Panther track & field sweeps up 14 titles at Wartburg’s Friday Knight Lights
1/26/2024 9:14:00 PM | Track and Field
WAVERLY, Iowa — UNI track and field kicked off its final meet weekend of January on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers took the short trip up to Wartburg College for the Friday Knight Lights at Hoover Fieldhouse, picking up 14 first-place finishes with multiple career-best performances across the board.
Carson Lieanu began off the meet for the Panthers in the men's shot put, finishing in first-place with a throw of 17.54 meters. Spencer Kessel (17.41m) and Sebastian Swistak placed second and third respectively, while Swistak's throw of 16.65 meters set a new career-best and Zack Butcher took home fifth-place with a career-best toss of 13.14 meters.
Katy Stephens (12.37m) finished third in the women's shot put with Allison Flanscha (12.25m) placing fifth. Competing unattached in the men's and women's shot put invite, David Russel took home the men's title (15.46m) as Colin Buch (11.10m) came in second. On the women's side, Katie Fare (16.40m) came in first-place, while Jorie Hanenburg placed second with a career-best throw of 13.09 meters.
In the women's pole vault, Hannah Wallace finished in first-place for Northern Iowa with a 3.05-meter vault, with Isabelle Cox (3.05m) placing second. Brody Lovell finished in second-place in the men's high jump with 1.86-meters.
Competing unattached, Kileigh Lachacz finished in second-place in the women's weight throw invite with 12.65-meters. The Panthers dominated the men's weight throw as Jacob Baier finished in second-place with 17.44-meters, as Carson Lienau (17.14m) and Bo Braunecker (16.82m) took third and fourth-place respectively, both recording career-best throws.
Chloe Largent and Rylie Todd tied for first-place in the women's high jump both jumping 1.61 meters, with Josie Moreland (1.61m) and Soren Maricle (1.61m) placing third and fourth-place. Aaron Sobush finished second in the men's pole vault after clearing 4.30 meters as an unattached athlete.
On the track, Anna Winterrowd took home gold in the 400-meter dash in a time of 1:00.96, as Carlie Jo Fusco, competing unattached, placed second with a career-best time of 1:01.48. Natalie Heupel came in third place, while Emma Arnold placed fifth (unattached). In the women's mile, Liza Schaffer finished in third-place in a time of 5:10.85, as Mary Kelly crossed the finish line in first place in a career-best time of 1:38.96 in the women's 600 meters.
Paige Kisley recorded a time of 8.82 second in the 60-meter hurdles to take home first-place. Silvana Kabolo placed third in the women's 60-meter hurdles with a career-best time of 9.09, with Olivia Kramer (9.09) finishing in fourth. On the men's side, Jack Sumners secured the 60-meter hurdles title in a time of 8.24, with Carter Accola and Hunter Manock finishing behind in second and third-place.
In the women's 60-meter dash, UNI swept the top-five spots on the board as Caroline Benfeldt-Sorensen led the Panthers with a winning time of 7.61. Eva Van De Mortel took second-place in a career-best time of 7.74 and Ariana Yaklich took third. Madelyn Sanda and Eden Barrett finished in fourth and fifth place. Deonte Dean took home gold in the men's 60 meters in a time of 6.91, followed by Austin Kunkle (7.04) placed fourth.
Anna Winterrowd topped the podium in the women's 200 meters in a time of 26.81. In the women's 800-meter run, Grace Schaefer placed second in a time of 2:27.90, as Ty Getz placed fifth in the men's 800 meters in 2:02.60 competing unattached. Kendra Nissen closed out the meet for the Panthers with a first-place finish in the women's 1,000-meter in a time of 3:03.61, as Amelia Hill (3:03.77) finished in second.
UP NEXT
UNI returns to action tomorrow afternoon as the Panthers compete at Iowa's Black and Gold Invite. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT at the Iowa Indoor Track Building in Iowa City.
Players Mentioned
