University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Mustang Distance Carnival & Open
Panther track and field crowns eight champions at Mount Mercy
4/12/2025 5:52:00 PM | Track and Field
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- One day following a solid outing at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, the UNI track and field team was back in action at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex on Saturday at the Mustang Distance Carnival and Open on the Mount Mercy University campus.
Northern Iowa recorded eight first place finishes among attached athletes, along with three new career-best marks, five season-best performances, as well as one new meet record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Giada Grimes clocked a career-best time of 1:00.32 to win the women's 400-meter dash, while both Hunter Manock (14.08) and Paige Kisley swept the 110 and 100 meter hurdle events respectively. Drew Bartels (14.54) and Carter Accola (14.55) followed close behind Manock in second and fourth, as Carlie Jo Fusco followed Kisley in fifth (14.57). Fusco would put together another strong showing in the women's open 200 meters with a winning time of 25.23 as UNI captured the top-six positions on the podium with Maya Williams in second (25.28), Aleksys Gannon in third (25.53), Eden Moore in fourth (25.54), Kanijah Angel in fifth (25.85) and Brynn Walters (26.05) in sixth.
Northern Iowa swept the top four positions in the women's 100-meter dash with Caroline Benfeldt Soerensen leading the way with a winning time of 11.85 seconds. Angel (12.01), Jessica Kyne (12.06), Moore (12.19) and Gannon (12.49) followed in second, third and fourth respectively, as Carter Meyers took second in the men's 100 meters (10.63), while Kendra Nissen and Kaylin Lacher went 1-2 in the women's 800-meter elite race with times of 2:16.65 and 2:16.80 respectively. Liza Schaffer (2:17.86) and Anna Van Kooten (2:19.71) also placed fifth and seventh.
In the 400-meter hurdles competition, Darci Wiseman (1:03.23) set a new meet record and career-best time with a first-place performance with Anna Winterrowd following behind in second (1:05.01). Bill Muktar led the Panthers in the men's 400-meter hurdles in third place (55.49). Kyne followed up her 100-meter performance with an impressive showing in the 200-meter elite sprint, topping the field in 25.11 seconds with Jersey Jones following in third (25.41). Jerome Jessup took third in the men's 200 meter elite competition (21.74).
Jayden Dickson led a trio of Panthers in the men's 800-meter elite race, clocking a 1:559.59 to take third place with Ty Getz notching a season-best mark of 1:56.80 to finish sixth. Titus Jackson took seventh in the men's 400-meter dash (50.17) with Micaiah Ellis in eighth (50.28), while Kaiden Quandahl placed seventh in the men's triple jump (12.91m).
A handful of unattached Panther athletes also saw action in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, with Kamari Brown winning the women's shot put elite with a 14.07-meter throw and Lauren Kounkel following in eighth (11.74m). Kounkel also finished fifth in the women's hammer throw with a 44.17-meter toss, while Tory Wash earned a fourth-place finish in the men's shot put (14.90m) and seventh in the hammer (45.65m).
UP NEXT
UNI returns to action next week with a pair of competitions. Select Panthers will head west for the Bryan Clay Invitational, April 16-18 in Azusa, California. Other Northern Iowa athletes will head to Terre Haute, Indiana for the Gibson Invitational, hosted by Indiana State University, April 18-19.
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
