University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
MVC Indoor Championships
Panthers crown four champions on opening day of MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships
3/1/2026 9:25:00 PM | Track and Field
UNI leads men’s team race after first day with Panther women in second.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The 2026 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Indoor Track and Field Championships opened with a bang for UNI on Sunday in central Indiana as the Panthers captured four individual event titles on the first day of competition.
Carter Morton, successfully defended both his men's long jump and high jump titles from a year ago at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, while Josie Moreland repeated as the MVC's indoor champion in the women's high jump. Combined events athlete Joey Perry meanwhile won the pentathlon for the Panther women, marking the third straight season a UNI athlete has won the event.
After one day of action, the Northern Iowa men, who entered as the pre-championship favorites to win its second straight team title, sits in first place by 22 points ahead of Illinois State. The UNI women meanwhile hold on to second place behind Indiana State.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Moreland cleared five feet, seven and three-quarter inches on her second attempt to win her second straight indoor conference title in the women's high jump, while Perry set new career-best marks in the 60-meter hurdles and long jump to win the pentathlon, continuing a streak of three straight UNI winners in the event after Katy Stephens captured the title for the Panthers in 2024 and 2025.
Morton needed just one leap of 24 feet, ten inches on his first attempt to win his second straight MVC indoor long jump title, while clearing six feet, 11 inches to win his second consecutive high jump crown, with Parker Kiwiet taking second for the Panthers (24' 8 ½), Tye Hardin in fourth (23' 8 ¼) and T.Y. Pour in sixth (23' 6 ¼).
A 2025 NCAA All-American, Morton also leads the heptathlon after the first day of action with 3,233 points, with teammates Tye Hardin sitting in third (3,009 points) and Colin Buch in tenth (2,510 points). Morton also narrowly placed second in the men's pole vault (17' ¾).
Elsewhere in field competition, freshman Erica Miner took second in her first conference championship meet in the women's pole vault after clearing 13 feet and three-quarter inches. Josey Dunbar finished third in the women's long jump (19' 5 ½), as three Panthers placed in the top-five in the men's weight throw, led by Justin Olson in third (65' 8 ¼), David Russell in fourth (64' 4 ½) and Carson Lienau in fifth (62' 4 ½).
Sunday's action on the track featured four finals with Ameila Hill taking third in the women's 5,000 meters (16:44.60) and Colin Lillie finishing in eighth in the men's race (14:32.08). The distance medley relays also took to the track as the men's team of Ethan Olds, Kaden Emmaunel, Micah Ellis and Jonas VanDis placed third (9:59.77), and the women's squad of Claire Wright, Eden Moore, Josee Simonson and Evie Henneberry finished in fifth (12:04.53).
UNI qualified for the finals in 11 events during Sunday's preliminary heats. Panther finalists for Monday and their prelims results include:
Women's Mile
- 8th - Kaylee Woolery - 4:52.53
Women's 60m Hurdles
- 7th - Olivia Kramer - 8.66
Men's 60m Hurdles
- 4th - Carter Accola - 8.02
- 8th - Ashton Hogrefe - 8.18
Women's 400m
- 1st - Emma Randecker - 54.60
- 6th - Jersey Jones - 56.24
- 7th - Darci Wiseman - 56.33
Men's 400m
- 2nd - Parker Kiewiet - 47.40
- 5th - Zach Fall - 47.96
- 7th - Jordan Townsend - 48.30
Women's 60m
- 8th - Olivia Kramer - 7.70
Men's 60m
- 5th - Tinashe Chigudu - 6.75
Women's 800m
- 3rd - Sarah Feddersen - 2:12.52
Men's 800m
- 7th - Derek Woods - 1:52.07
Women's 200m
- 2nd - Emma Randecker - 23.86
Men's 200m
- 5th - Tinashe Chigudu - 21.24
- 8th - Parker Kiewiet - 21.40
MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)
- UNI (76.5)
- Illinois State (54.5)
- Drake (27)
- Indiana State (23)
- Belmont (20)
- UIC (18)
- Bradley (9)
- Southern Illinois (4)
- Valparaiso (2)
- Evansville (0)
WOMEN'S TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)
- Indiana State (75)
- UNI (57)
- Illinois State (46.5)
- Murray State (36.5)
- Drake (19)
- Bradley (18)
- Southern Illinois (9)
- Belmont (8)
- UIC (3)
- Evansville (1)
- Valparaiso (0)
UP NEXT
Day two of action at the MVC Indoor Championships resumes on Monday at 8:30 a.m. CT. Selection 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
