University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Drake Relays
Panther track & field take on Drake Relays, Kip Janvrin Open this week
4/21/2026 3:07:00 PM | Track and Field
UNI track & field at Drake Relays
- April 22-25, 2026
- Drake Stadium | Des Moines, Iowa
- LIVE RESULTS
UNI track & field at Kip Janvrin Open
- April 24-25, 2026
- Buxton Stadium | Indianola, Iowa
- LIVE RESULTS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI track and field team looks to continue building its momentum towards postseason competition next month as the Panthers return to Des Moines to compete in the 116th running of the historic Drake Relays this week.
Competition at Drake Stadium will be held Wednesday through Saturday throughout the day, while additional Panther athletes compete just south of the Des Moines metro at Simpson College's Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola. Action at Simpson will begin at 11 a.m. CT on Friday and 10 a.m. CT on Saturday.
Northern Iowa saw strong growth last week with 14 event titles and 27 new career-best marks competing at the Phil Esten Challenge in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Carson Lienau (59' 11), David Russell (59' 4 ¼), and Spencer Kessel (58' 8 ¼) swept the top-three spots men's shot put, as Erica Miner cleared the third-highest mark in team history and best since 2012 to win the women's pole vault with a 12' 10 vault.
Daniel Adams cleared 6' 7 ¼ to win the men's long jump, while Josey Dunbar (19' 5) and Maleah Walker (18' 6 ¾) finished first and third in the women's long jump. In the jumping pits, Josie Moreland also claimed victory for UNI with a 5' 6 leap to win the women's high jump.
On the track, Tinashe Chigudu, Parker Kiewiet, Luke Meyers and Luke Nevitt dominated the men's 4x100-meter relay in 39.77 seconds for the third-fastest time in program history. Emma Randecker (54.52) and Jersey Jones (55.09), meanwhile, took first and second respectively for the Panthers in the women's 400 meters with Randecker continuing her breakout freshman season with the sixth-fastest time in UNI history.
Entering this week of competition, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in seven events, while also ranking in the top-five in 29 total events :
- Women's 400m Hurdles - Darci Wiseman (1:00.30)
- Men's 4x100m Relay - Chigudu, Kiewiet, Meyers, Nevitt - 39.77
- Women's High Jump - Katy Stephens - 5' 8 ½
- Men's Long Jump - Carter Morton - 25' 2 ½
- Men's Shot Put - Carson Lienau - 59' 11
- Heptathlon - Katy Stephens - 5,728 pts
- Decathlon - Carter Morton - 7,782 pts
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
