University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Panther trio capture titles on opening day of MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships
3/2/2025 8:46:00 PM | Track and Field
Panther men sit in first place after first day of competition with the UNI women tied for second.
CHICAGO — The opening day of the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Indoor Track and Field Championships got off to a strong start for the UNI Panthers on Saturday at Gately Park with three first-place finishes by veteran Panthers.
Katy Stephens (heptathlon), Brendan Safley (pole vault) and Carter Morton (long jump) all recaptured previously held conference titles in their respective events while also setting new career-best marks in each competition. Northern Iowa also saw multiple athletes punch their tickets to Monday's championship heats at Gately Park with season and personal-best times and marks.
Through the first day of action, the UNI men, who were picked to finish second in the league's pre-championship poll by the coaches, sit in first place in the team standings ahead of Indiana State by four points as they chase their first indoor team title since 2021. The Panther women are meanwhile tied for second with Belmont.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stephens dominated the pentathlon with a new career-best score of 3,859 points, which included her tying Josie Moreland's program record in the high jump after clearing 1.76 meters, a mark just set a few short weeks ago at the Iowa Open. The junior multi-event athlete, who won the pentathlon at the MVC Indoor Championships last year, is the first repeat winner of the event at the conference meet since Madison Meyer (Southern Illinois) won three titles in a row from 2019-21. Joey Perry meanwhile finished in third with 3,695 points, while Silvana Kabolo placed 14th (3,158 points).
In the men's pole vault, Safely took back the MVC crown for the first time since 2021, clearing a career-best 5.45 meters. Carter Pheifer also made the podium in third place after a career-best vault of his own of 4.90 meters. Morton also tied for fifth place (4.75m). Kait McHale meanwhile placed fifth in the women's pole vault (3.72m).
Morton, who two years ago was named the most valuable athlete of the 2023 MVC Indoor Championships before sitting out last season with injury, returned to the top of the podium with a winning leap of 7.54 meters, good enough for a new career-best for his second conference title all-time in the event. Zack Butcher finished in fifth (5.11m), as Stephens also placed fourth in the women's long jump, tying her season-best of 5.68 meters.
The first day of the heptathlon saw a strong start for UNI as Butcher jumped out to an early lead with 3,206 points through the first four events, holding a 129 point lead on Ariel Atlas (Illinois State). Brody Lovell (2,800), Tye Hardin (2,771) and Colin Buch (2,442) all sit in seventh, eighth and ninth place respectively.
On the track, Hunter Manock (7.97) and Drew Bartels (8.00) went 1-2 in the men's 60-meter hurdle prelims, easily securing spots in Monday's final, with Carter Accola also advancing with an eighth-place finish (8.27). In the women's 60-meter hurdles Paige Kisley (8.56) and Olivia Kramer (8.65) placed sixth and eighth respectively to move on to the finals.
Chase Knoche led the way with the top time in the prelims of the men's 800-meter run in 1:50.05, with Drake Hanson following in fifth with a season-best time (1:50.49) to qualify for Monday's final. Jake Bosch placed 11th for the Panthers in 1:53.98.
In the men's 400-meter dash, Parker Kiewiet, competing in his first MVC Indoor Championship meet in two years, clocked a 47.79 second time to place second in the preliminary heats, with Zach Fall also advancing in sixth place (48.46). Kiewiet also advanced in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.40 seconds and a third-place performance, joining Luke Meyers (21.51) and Jerome Jessup (21.60).
On the straightaway, Caroline Benfeldt-Soerensen (7.63) finished fourth in the women's 60-meter dash prelims to advance, with Eva Van De Mortel (7.52) clocking a career-best to move on to the finals. Meyers also advanced in the men's 60 meters with a fifth-place effort in 6.77 seconds.
In the distance events, Kate Crawford posted a seventh-place finish in the women's 5,000-meter run in 17:15.09, while Eden Mueller recorded a new career-best time in 17:19.34 for ninth. Caleb Shumaker also placed sixth in the men's 5,000 meters (14:29.07). Emma Hoins (4:52.04) and Chase Lauman (4:16.06) also posted top-eight finishes to advance in the women's and men's miles.
In the throwing circles, Katie Fare earned UNI a team point with a seventh-place effort in the women's weight throw (16.87m), while Justin Olson took sixth in the men's competition (17.85m). Spencer Kessel (17.29m) followed in seventh.
Leah Klapatauskas, Darci Wiseman, Kendra Nissen and Kaylin Lacher closed out the first day of the meet in the women's distance medley relay with the fourth-fastest time in school history in 11:47.91 and a seventh-place finish. The men's distance medley team of Knoche, Micaiah Ellis, Brayden Picken and Levi Hill finished sixth (10:06.29).
MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)
- 1st - UNI (44.5)
- 2nd - Indiana State (40.5)
- 3rd - Bradley (27)
- 4th - Illinois State (26.5)
- 5th - Drake (17)
- 6th - Southern Illinois (15)
- 7th - Belmont (10.5)
- 8th - UIC (7)
- 9th - Valparaiso (5)
- 10th - Evansville (2)
WOMEN'S TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)
- 1st - Indiana State (45)
- T2nd - Belmont (27)
- T2nd - UNI (27)
- 4th - Illinois State (26)
- 5th - Drake (24)
- 6th - Bradley (19)
- 7th - SIU (11)
- 8th - Missouri State (8)
- 9th - Murray State (5)
- 10th - UIC (3)
UP NEXT
The second and final day of action of the MVC Indoor Championships will begin at 9:30 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the meet can be found on ESPN+ beginning at 12:15 p.m. CT.
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
