University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Minnesota Open
UNI track and field opens New Year with strong showings at Minnesota, Iowa
1/10/2026 8:31:00 PM | Track and Field
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The UNI track and field team jumped back into action on Saturday after the holiday break, competing at the Minnesota Open as well as the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City.
Northern Iowa combined for six first-place finishes between the two meets, with multiple career and season-best performances set in the Panthers' second and third meets of the 2025-26 indoor season.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Minnesota Open)
Josey Dunbar (18' 8"), Josey Perry (17' 5 ½") and Maleah Walker (17' 4 ¾") started off the competition in the Twin Cities finishing in first, third and fourth respectively in the women's long jump. Tye Hardin and T.Y. Pour followed closely behind as they both set career bests in the men's long jump, leaping for 22' 9 ¼" and 21' 11 ½ ". A slew of Panthers top the charts in the men's pole vault, led by a first-place showing from Carter Morton (16' 5 ¼"), followed by Jacob Yoerger (15' 9 ¼"), Ryan Stilglic (15' 9 ¼") and Carter Pheifer (14 9 ½") with career-best marks.
Daniel Adams entered this weekend ranked in the top-15 in all of Division I for the men's high, taking second-place with a 6' 7" leap. On the women's side Josie Moreland cleared for 5' 5" in the women's vault to take third place. Spencer Kessel (59') and Carson Lienau (58' 8 ¾") meanwhile went 1-2 in the men's shot put.
Jersey Jones (1:34.82) and Maya Williams (1:36.78) competed for the Panthers in the women's 600-meter dash, taking second and third respectively. Jordan Townsend (1:20.85) collected a third place finish in the men's 600 meters with Zach Fall setting a new career-best for the event in 1:29.09.
Emma Randecker and Tyler Sickerson both posted second-place finishes in the women's and men's 60-meter dash in 7.68 and 6.91 seconds respectively. Carter Accola also set a new season-best in the men's 60-meter hurdles as he won the race in 8.22 seconds with Gabe Funk narrowly behind collecting a third-place finish in 8.56 seconds.
Olivia Kramer (9.01), Joey Perry (9.08) and Darci Wiseman (9.09) finished second through fourth for the 60-meter hurdles. Rounding out the weekend, Wiseman took sixth in the 200 meters, setting a new career-best for the event in 25.80 seconds.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Hawkeye Invitational)
Amelia Hill dominated the women's mile in Iowa City, completing the event in 4:55.27 with Kaylee Woolery setting a career-best in second-place in 4:56.07. On the men's side, it was Colin Lillie and Ty Getz who earned third and fifth place finishes as they finished in 4:13.63 and 4:14.23.
Ana Van Kooten set a new career best in the 600- dash as she completed the race in 1:34.92 for a third-place finish. Not far behind was Mary Kelly as she posted a fifth-place finish in 1:37.31.
The men's 400-meter dash was dominated by Panthers as Parker Kiewiet (48.17) and Kaden Emanuel (49.26), competing unattached, topped the podium in first and second. Brynn Walters captured a fifth-place finish in the women's 60-meter finals in 8.10 seconds.
UP NEXT
UNI returns to action next Friday as it competes at both the Bill Bergan Classic in Ames, as well as the Thane Baker Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas.
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
