University of Northern Iowa
ISU Holiday Invite
UNI track & field: Six Panthers earn titles at ISU Holiday Invite
12/14/2024 6:37:00 PM | Track and Field
AMES, Iowa --- The UNI track and field team kicked off the 2024-25 indoor season over the weekend at the ISU Holiday Invite, held at the Harry Hoak Track inside the Lied Recreation Athletic Center.
With a mix of Panther athletes competing both attached and unattached, Northern Iowa picked up six first-place finishes in their first meet of the new season, including multiple career-best marks.
Brendan Safley opened the weekend's action with a first-place finish in the men's pole vault, clearing 5.30 meters with Carter Phiefer and Davis Bergan finishing in second and third respectively as unattached athletes.
Joey Perry led a cohort of Panthers in the women's pentathlon, with Perry finishing in second with 3,502 points. Silvana Kabolo placed fourth (3,204 points), followed by Katy Hand in fifth (3,200 points) and Makayla Crannell in sixth (2,659).
Kati McHale and Alivia Silvestri, both competing unattached, finished first and second in the women's pole vaults after both clearing 3.60 meters with Hannah Wallace taking third (3.15 meters). Katie Fare also placed third in the women's weight throw (17.65 meters), followed by Kileigh Lachacz in third (17.65 meters).
Carter Morton, who returned to the Panthers this weekend after missing last season with injury, began Saturday's action by dominating the men's heptathlon with a new career-best score of 5,776 points. Zack Butcher followed Morton in fourth (5,054) and Ty Hardin in seventh (4,753).
Rylie Todd topped the field in the women's high jump, clearing 1.72 meters for gold, as Josie Moreland took second. Chloe Largent cleared 1.62 meters to earn fourth place with Soren Maricle right behind in fifth (1.57 meters). Maricle also placed third in the women's triple jump (10.82 meters), as Maleah Walker followed with a fourth-place effort (10.68 meters).
UNI dominated both the men's and women's shot put competitions with reigning Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) indoor champion Spencer Kessel winning the men's competition with a career-best 18.93-meter toss, with Carson Lienau (17.85 meters) taking second and Sebastian Swistak (17.00 meters) placing fourth. Katie Fare dominated the women's shot put field with a new career-best mark of 17.09 meters. Breanna Hackman (14.01 meters) finished in third, as Jorie Henenburg (12.83 meters) took fourth.
Freshman Maya Williams shined in her collegiate debut by winning the women's 400-meter dash in 56.34 second, with Jersey Jones, Carlie Jo Fusco and Darci Wiseman all notching top-eight finishes as well.
In additional sprint races, Zach Falls earned himself a fourth-place finish in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 47.93 seconds, as Mary Kelly (1:37.10) and Anna Van Kooten (1:39.05) placed third and fourth respectively in the women's 600 meters. Drew Bartels and Carter Accola finished third and fourth in the men's 60-meter hurdles, while Paige Kisley took fourth in the women's race (8.84).
Drake Hanson led the Panthers with a second-place finish in the men's 1,000 meters with a time of 2:25.93. Amelia Hill competed unattached and won the women's 5,000 meters, leading an impressive pack of Panther distance runners with Emma Hoins (17:03.15) in second), Melody Ochana (17:23.33) in third, Kate Crawford (17:40.76) in fourth, Eden Mueller (18:10.11) in fifth and Kayla Young (18:11.81) in sixth. Caleb Shumaker meanwhile took home silver in the men's 5,000 meters with a time of 14:35.24, with Chase Lauman finishing fifth place (14:59.35).
The women's 4x400-meter relay was swept up by both UNI teams finishing first and second place. Leading the pack was Darci Wiseman, Carlie Jo Fusco, Maya Williams and Jersey Jones with a winning time of (3:53.41) while Anna Van Kooten, Mary Kelly, Liza Schaffer and Kendra Nissen placed second (4:03.93). On the men's side, the unattached team of Titus Jackson, Kon Dut, Brayden Picken and Karson Kleve placed second with a time of 3:20.81, with the other unattached team of Knoche, Derek Woods, Zach Van Wychen and Ty Getz placed fourth (3:31.12).
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Friday, Jan. 13 as they host the Jack Jennett Open inside the UNI-Dome.
UNI track and field action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Track and Field), X (@UNITrackFieldXC) and on Instagram (@uni_tf_xc). Schedules and rosters, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
Players Mentioned
