University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
USATF Indoor Combined Events Championships
Stephens take ninth in pentathlon at USATF Indoor Combined Events Championships
2/22/2026 5:00:00 PM | Track and Field
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- UNI track and field senior Katy Stephens took home ninth place on Sunday in a competitive 13-woman pentathlon field, competing at the USATF Indoor Combined Events Championships in central Indiana.
The Burlington, Iowa native, who captured the Missouri Valley Conference's (MVC) pentathlon title in 2024 and placed third a year ago, scored a total of 4,105 points in Sunday's five-event competition, the second-highest score in program history. Stephens also joins UNI Athletics Hall of Famer Paige Knodle as the only two Panther pentathletes to score at least 4,100 points in the event.
Stephens set new career-best marks in four events, including a new school record in the high jump with a five foot, ten and a half inch leap, besting her previous school record mark by a half inch. She also ran the 60-meter hurdles in a career-best 8.78 seconds, as well as the 800 meters in a career-best 2:29.65. In the remaining two field events, Stephens leapt for a career-best 19 feet, four and one-quarter inches in the long jump, while also setting a new season-best mark in the shot put (39' 10").
Stephens, who has competed this indoor season unattached for the Panthers, won the pentathlon at Nebraska's Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational with 4,038 points earlier this month, becoming UNI's third-ever pentathlete to surpass 4,000 points. She also took third in the event unattached at the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational in January in Iowa City with a score of 3,571 points.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action at the 2026 MVC Indoor Championships, March 1-2 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. Live coverage of the meet can be found on ESPN+.
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
