University of Northern Iowa
MVC Outdoor Championships
UNI track and field eyes Valley gold at MVC Championships this weekend
5/14/2025 1:01:00 PM | Track and Field
Panther men seek first indoor-outdoor team title sweep since 2021. Both teams tabbed third in pre-championship polls.
UNI track & field at 2025 MVC Outdoor Championships
- May 17-18, 2025 | 9:30 p.m. / 9 a.m. CT
- Lew Hartzog Track & Field Complex | Carbondale, Ill.
- Championship Hub
- WATCH (Day One) [ESPN+]
- WATCH (Day Two) [ESPN+]
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — A stellar season for the UNI track and field team turns the page to the postseason this weekend as the Panthers venture south to Carbondale, Illinois for the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Outdoor Championships.
Competition is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. CT on Saturday morning at the Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex on the Southern Illinois University campus, with the final day of action beginning at 9 a.m. CT on Sunday. Live coverage of the meet can be found on ESPN+.
The Northern Iowa men's team will look to sweep both the indoor and outdoor team title for the first time since 2021, while the Panther women will be in search of their first outdoor championship since 2008. Both Panther squads were picked to finish third in their respective pre-championship polls, as voted on by the league's coaches (full results listed below).
UNI returns its lone outdoor conference champion from 2024 in Justice Miller in the men's javelin, as he looks to become the first Panther to win multiple MVC javelin titles, as well as the league's first repeat javelin champion since Sam Overton (Indiana State) in 2018 and 2019. Miller currently leads the MVC in the event with a career-best 65.30-meter toss this season at the Gibson Invitational.
Three Panthers will also look to sweep both the MVC indoor and outdoor titles in their respective events this weekend. Katie Fare, a two-time MVC Women's Field Athlete of the Week this outdoor season, will look to capture the outdoor shot put crown after a second-place finish at the 2023 outdoor championships. Brendan Safley, who won the MVC outdoor pole vaulting title in 2023 and finished second a year ago, will go for the indoor-outdoor sweep, while Josie Moreland, this year's MVC indoor high jumping champion, looks to continue to shatter her outdoor career-best mark of 1.78 meters, set to compete alongside teammate and 2022 MVC outdoor high jumping champion Rylie Todd.
ÂMVC MEN'S PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL (Points) [First-Place Votes]
- 1st - Indiana State (96) [6]
- 2nd - Illinois State (87) [1]
- 3rd - UNI (85) [3]
- 4th - Southern Illinois (66)
- 5th - Drake (56)
- 6th - Bradley (55)
- 7th - Belmont (45)
- 8th - Valparaiso (22)
- T9th - Evansville (19)
- T9th - UIC (19)
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MVC WOMEN'S PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL (Points) [First-Place Votes]
- 1st - Indiana State (144) [12]
- 2nd - Illinois State (129)
- 3rd - UNI (112)
- 4th - Murray State (90)
- T5th - Belmont (81)
- T5th - Bradley (81)
- 7th - Missouri State (79)
- 8th - Drake (72)
- 9th - Southern Illinois (69)
- 10th - UIC (35)
- 11th - Valparaiso (23)
- 12th - Evansville (21)
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Heading into the weekend, the Panthers lead the MVC in ten events:
- Men's 800m | Drake Hanson - 1:47.90
- Men's 4x400m Relay | Kiewiet, Hanson, Fall, Jackson - 3:06.79
- Men's Shot Put | Carson Lienau - 18.66m
- Men's Javelin | Justice Miller - 65.30m
- Decathlon | Zack Butcher - 7,052 pts
- Women's 400m Hurdles | Carlie Jo Fusco - 59.26
- Women's 3,000m Steeplechase | Emma Hoins - 10:15.39
- Women's 4x400m Relay | Perry, Fusco, Williams, Jones - 3:42.89
- Women's Shot Put | Katie Fare - 17.23m
- Heptathlon | Joey Perry - 5,174 pts
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UNI also ranks in the top-25 in five event groups according to the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA):
- #5 - Men's Shot Put
- #11 - Decathlon
- #12 -Women's High Jump
- #13 - Heptathlon
- #15 - Women's 400m Hurdles
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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
