Dunbar, Miller and Safley secure titles on opening day of MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships
5/17/2025 8:14:00 PM | Track and Field
Panther women sit in second in team race after day one of action in Carbondale. UNI men in third.
CARBONDALE, Ill. --- The opening day of the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships got off to a strong start for the UNI Panthers on Saturday as Northern Iowa secured three field event titles at the Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex on the Southern Illinois University campus.
Josey Dunbar set a new career-best to win her first MVC championship in the women's long jump, while Justice Miller successfully defending his conference title in the men's javelin throw. Additionally, Brendan Safley outlasted a competitive field to win the men's pole vault in thrilling fashion.
The Panthers also secured 14 qualifying spots in 13 events for Sunday's finals, recording 12 career-best marks. UNI sits in second place in the women's team race with 31 points, while the Panther men are in third with 37.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Dunbar set the tone early in the women's long jump, leaping for a career-best 6.09 meters on her first attempt, the second-best mark in outdoor program history. After placing 11th in the MVC indoor long jump back in February, Dunbar joins Dianna Leftridge (1994, 1995) and Allenah Marcucci (2021) as the fourth MVC outdoor long jump champion in school history, and only the fourth Panther to ever leap for over six meters.
Miller's javelin title defense was a tight competition, but would swing his way with a 64.57-meter throw to become Northern Iowa's first-ever thrower to win the javelin in consecutive seasons, while also being the conference's first repeat champion in the event since 2018 and 2019. Davis Brogan also put on a strong showing in the javelin throw with a career-best 59.13-meter toss, while Zack Butcher took seventh (54.56m).
Safely's chase of a second outdoor conference pole vaulting crown came down to the wire, edging out Indiana State's Will Staggs with a 5.38-meter vault, tying his career-best. With the win, Safely, who previously won the MVC outdoor pole vault in 2023 and the indoor vaulting title this past winter, becomes the first UNI vaulter to sweep both the indoor and outdoor vaulting championships in the same year since Sam Kranz in 2011.
In the multi-event competitions, the Panthers flexed their muscles with Joey Perry jumping out to an early lead on day one through four events, winning the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, along with a second place showing in the high jump to record 3,199 points. Katy Hand, who won the shot put portion of the heptathlon, sits in fifth (2,939 points) with Silvana Kabolo (2,902 points) in eighth. Butcher meanwhile leads the decathlon through five events with 4,040 points, winning the 100 and 400 meters, as well as the shot put with second place showings in both the long jump and high jump. Brody Lovell sits in in seventh in the decathlon with 3,458 points.
Additionally in field action, Breanna Hackman collected a runner-up finish in the women's discus with a 47.45-meter throw, while David Russell threw for 50.78 meters in the men's discus, placing fifth.
In distance competition, Emma Hoins finished second in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:20.08), while Caleb Shumaker (30:53.87) and Eden Mueller (37:32.52) each recorded a fifth-place finish in their respective 10,000-meter runs.
ÂThe following athletes all secured top finishes in their preliminary heats and will advance to Sunday's finals:
Women's 1,500m
- Liza Schaffer (8th | 4:33.89)
Women's 100m Hurdles
- Paige Kisley (7th | 13.88)
Men's 400m
- 4th - Zach Fall - (Ran a 47.89 in prelims yesterday)
- 5th - Parker Kiewiet - (Ran a 48.01 in prelims yesterday)
Women's 400m
- Jersey Jones (8th | 55.74)
Men's 100m
- Luke Meyers (5th | 10.54)
Men's 800m
- Chase Knoche (4th | 1:50.68)
- Derek Woods (6th | 1:50.97)
- Drake Hanson (9th | 1:51.73)
Men's 400m Hurdles
- Ashton Hogrefe (5th | 53.56)
- Bill Mukhtar (7th | 53.90)
Women's 400m Hurdles
- Carlie Jo Fusco (1st | 59.39)
- Eden Moore (6th - 1:01.91)
Men's 200m
- Parker Kiewiet (4th | 21.06)
- Deonte Dean (7th | 21.19)
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WOMEN'S TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)
- 1st - Indiana State (66.5)
- 2nd - UNI (31)
- T3rd - Missouri State (29)
- T3rd - Illinois State (29)
- 5th - Drake (26)
- 6th - Belmont (21)
- 7th - Murray State (11.5)
- 8th - Bradley (11)
- 9th - Southern Illinois (9)
- T10th - Evansville (0)
- T10th - UIC (0)
MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)
- 1st - Indiana State (64)
- 2nd - Illinois State (44)
- 3rd - UNI (37)
- 4th - Belmont (35)
- 5th - Drake (23)
- T6th - Southern Illinois (11)
- T6th - Valparaiso (11)
- 8th - Bradley (6)
- 9th - Evansville (3)
- 10th - UIC (0)
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UP NEXT
The Panthers will conclude action at the MVC Outdoor Championships tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the meet can be found on ESPN+ beginning at 1:10 p.m. CT.
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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
