University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
MVC Indoor Championships
UNI track and field to chase conference crowns at MVC Indoor Championships
2/26/2025 10:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Panther men’s tabbed second in pre-championship poll with women predicted to place third. Competition begins Sunday in the Windy City.
UNI track & field at 2025 MVC Indoor Championships
- March 2-3, 2025
- Gately Park | Chicago, Ill.
- 9 a.m. CT (Sunday) | 9:30 a.m. CT (Monday)
- WATCH (ESPN+ - Day One)
- WATCH (ESPN+ - Day Two)
- LIVE RESULTS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The indoor track and field season reaches a key stage this weekend for the UNI Panthers, who head to Chicago for the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Indoor Championships at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track and Field Center at Gately Park, co-hosted by UIC and Valparaiso.
Competition is slated to begin at 9 a.m. CT on Sunday, March 2 and 9:30 a.m. CT on Monday, March 3.
Entering this year's conference meet, the Panthers were among the top teams in the league to contend for the team championships, with the UNI picked to finish second in the coaches' pre-championship poll with a conference-high five first-place votes and 93 total points, just one point behind and one first-place vote ahead of reigning champion Indiana State. The Northern Iowa women were tabbed to place third behind Indiana State and Illinois State. UNI's last team titles came in 2021 for the men and 2008 for the women when the Panthers hosted both championship meets in the UNI-Dome.
MVC Men's Indoor Pre-Championship Poll (Points) [First-Place Votes)
- 1st - Indiana State (94) [4]
- 2nd - UNI (93) [5]
- 3rd - Illinois State (83) [1]
- 4th - Southern Illinois (67)
- 5th - Bradley (66)
- 6th - Drake (47)
- 7th - Belmont (43)
- 8th - UIC (24)
- 9th - Valparaiso (17)
- 10th - Evansville (16)
MVC Women's Indoor Pre-Championship Poll (Points) [First-Place Votes)
- 1st - Indiana State (140) [9]
- 2nd - Illinois State (127) [1]
- 3rd - UNI (110)
- 4th - Murray State (105) [2]
- T5th - Belmont (89)
- T5th - Bradley (89)
- 7th - Southern Illinois (69)
- 8th - Drake (61)
- 9th - Missouri State (60)
- 10th - UIC (38)
- 11th - Valparaiso (26)
- 12th - Evansville (13)
This coming weekend's action will be key for Panthers looking to earn a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia next month. Northern Iowa leads the MVC in eight total events heading to Chicago:
- Parker Kiewiet - Men's 400m
- Drew Bartels - Men's 60m Hurdles
- Tye Hardin - Men's High Jump
- Carter Morton - Men's Long Jump & Heptathlon
- Josey Dunbar - Women's Long Jump
- Spencer Kessel - Men's Shot Put
- Katie Fare - Women's Shot Put
Morton also ranks eighth nationally in the heptathlon with a career-best score of 5,807 points from the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational earlier this month, while Fare is 22nd in Division I in the women's shot put (17.09m). Kessel ranks 28th in the country in the men's shot put (18.93m) as Safley posts a 29th in the nation mark in the men's pole vault (5.43m).
Two reigning MVC individual indoor champions will be set to defend their conference crowns in the Windy City, as Kessel seeks to repeat as the men's shot put champion, and Katy Stephens competes for her second straight heptathlon title. UNI also returns a trio of former MVC champions in Safely (2021 men's pole vault champion), Morton (2023 men's triple jump and heptathlon champion) and Drake Hanson (2023 men's 800-meter champion).
UNI had shown vast improvement throughout the indoor season with multiple career and season-best marks. The Panthers have set 11 new top-five all-time marks on both the men's and women's side, including new school records in the women's high jump (Josie Moreland) and men's 1,000-meter run (Chase Knoche).
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
