Panther track & field begins outdoor season with three meets

UNI track and field at Texas Relays

Mike Myers Stadium | Austin, Texas
March 27-30, 2024
2:30 p.m. CT (Mar. 28) | Men's Pole Vault
11 a.m. CT (Mar. 30) | Men's Shot Put

UNI track and field at Bobcat Invitational

Texas State Track & Field Complex | San Marcos, Texas
March 28-30, 2024
12 p.m. CT | 11 a.m. CT | 10 a.m. CT

UNI track and field at Good Friday Challenge

Walston-Hoover Stadium | Waverly, Iowa
March 29, 2024
12 p.m. CT

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI track and field returns to action on Thursday for the start of the outdoor season competing at three meets down south in Texas, as well as in its own backyard in Waverly.

The Panthers will stay close to home at Wartburg's Good Friday Challenge, with additional athletes traveling to Texas to compete in both the Texas Relays at Mike Myers Stadium in Austin and at the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Texas State in San Marcos.

Brendan Safley (pole vault) will begin competing at the Texas Relays on Thursday (2:30 p.m.), with Spencer Kessel (shot put) in action on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT with Safley also set to compete at Texas State on Friday afternoon. Katy Stephens will compete in the two-day heptathlon on Thursday and Friday in San Marcos. The majority of the Panther roster will compete on Friday afternoon in Waverly at Walston-Hoover Stadium with competition scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CT.

Wrapping up indoor season, Stephens became UNI's first Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) pentathlon champion since Paige Knodle in 2016, finishing in the top-five in three out of the five events with a career-high 3,692 points to crack UNI's top-five all-time list. Stephens notched a first-place finish in the shot put portion of the pentathlon with a throw of 12.83 meters, second place in the long jump (5.49m) and third place in the high jump (1.65m). In running events, Sophia Jungling came in second place in the women's 800-meter finals in a time of 2:12.15. Jill Bennett ran a new season-best time of 56.55 in the women's 400-meter finals to place seventh. Through the field, Rylie Todd recorded a season-best 1.71-meter jump to place third in the women's high jump final.

On the men's side, Kessel secured his first MVC individual title as a Panther in the men's shot put. Throwing a career-best 18.24 meters, Kessel is now the fourth Panther to win the men's indoor shot put at the MVC Championships, and first since Darius King's three-peat run from 2020-22. Kessel also cracked UNI's top-five all-time list in the event, which came during his sixth and final throw of the competition.

In the men's heptathlon, Zach Butcher finished in second place with 5,297 points while he finished in the top-five in all seven events. Chase Knoche earned runner-up honors in the men's 800-meter final with a time of 1:49.28. Tinashe Chigudu placed second in the 200-meter dash finals in a season-best time of 21.17. In the field, Brendan Safely came in second in the men's pole vault with a personal-best vault of 5.35-meters.

Good Friday Challenge Tentative Schedule of Events

3/29 Field Events

12 p.m. - Javelin (Women/Men)
12 p.m. - Hammer (Men/Women)
12 p.m. - Shot Put (Men/Women)
12 p.m. - Discus (Women/Men)
12 p.m. - Long Jump (Men/Women)
12 p.m. - Triple Jump (Women/Men)
2 p.m. - High Jump (Women/Men)
2 p.m. - Pole Vault (Men/Women)

3/29 Running Events

12:30 p.m. - 5,000m - W
To Follow - 4x100m Relay (Women/Men)
To Follow - 5,000m (Men)
To Follow - 110m High Hurdle (Men)
To Follow - 100m Hurdle (Women)
To Follow - 100m Dash (Men/Women)
To Follow - 1500m Run (Women/Men)
To Follow - 400m Dash (Women/Men)
To Follow - 800m Dash (Women/Men)
To Follow - 400m Hurdles (Women/Men)
To Follow - 200m Dash (Women/Men)
To Follow - 3000m Steeplechase (Women/Men)
To Follow - 4x400m Relay (Women/Men)
To Follow - Exhibition 4x100m Mixed Gender Throws
To Follow - 10,000m (Women/Men)

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