University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Drake Relays
Panthers claim two titles and break one school record at Drake Relay
4/25/2026 5:08:00 PM | Track and Field
DES MOINES, Iowa --- The 116th running of the historic Drake Relays was a strong one for the UNI track and field team, which finished with two event titles and one school record at Drake Stadium in the annual running of America's Athletic Classic.
Northern Iowa saw Joey Perry capture the heptathlon title on Thursday with Carter Morton winning the men's long jump championship on Saturday afternoon. UNI's women's 4x400-meter relay team also broke an 18-year old school record in its final race on the track. In all, nine career-best marks were set on the Blue Oval by Panther athletes this week in Des Moines.Â
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The relays began with a bang for the Panthers on Wednesday and Thursday with the multi-event competitions as Perry captured the heptathlon title with a career-best score of 5,674 points, the fourth-best mark in team history. The first UNI athlete to win the Drake Relays heptathlon, Perry set career-best marks in both the high jump and 200 meters, while teammate Katy Hand finished in eighth. In the decathlon Colin Buch finished in 12th, as Brody Lovell took 15th.
In Thursday's distance carnival, Amelia Hill claimed a second-place finish in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:34.13. Colin Lillie finished 11th in the men's 5,000-meter run (14:55.53), while Meghan Wheatley took 11th as well in the women's 10,000 meters (37:24.12).
Kicking off a busy Friday of action at Drake Stadium, Tye Hardin became the first men's high jumper in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) to clear seven feet in outdoor competition this year with a seven foot, one-quarter inch mark to win the men's high jump in the university/college division. Spencer Kessel meanwhile racked up a second-place finish in the men's shot put throwing 58' 6", while Carson Lienau competed for the Panthers for the shot put championship with his own mark of 58' 4 ¾" to finish seventh.Â
Erica Miner and Carter Pheifer both claimed podium finishes in the pole vault as Miner cleared a height of 12' 10 ¾" to take second place, with Pheifer setting a new career-best of 16' 3 ¼" to finish third. Rounding out the field events was Breanna Hackman placing ninth in the women's discus university/college division, throwing for 144' 9".
On the track on Friday, Katy Stephens clocked a new career-best time in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.86 for an eleventh place finish, while Derek Woods claimed a sixth-place finish in the men's 800 meters in 1:50 flat.Â
Emma Randecker set two new career-best times as she placed third in the 400 meters (54.28) for the second fastest time for a Panther in the event. She followed up her performance by placing ninth in the 100-meter dash prelims, clocking the fifth-fastest time in school history finishing the event in 11.72 seconds. Jersey Jones took an eighth place finish in the women's 400 meters (55.43), as Parker Kiewiet finished fifth in the men's 400-meter dash (47.30).
Saturday action at the Blue Oval included a career performance from Morton in the men's long jump championship, winning the event with a personal-best mark of 25' 4" to capture his second Drake Relay title as a Panther after winning the 2023 decathlon. Kiewiet followed Morton in the event in fourth place (23' 11 ¾"). Stephens would win the women's high jump in the university/college division with a 5' 8 ¾" leap with Josie Moreland following in third (5' 7 ¼").
In the final relays of the meet, Northern Iowa would make history as Perry, Jersey Jones, Carlie Jo Fusco and Darci Wiseman toppled UNI's women's 4x400-meter relay school record in 3:35.26 with a fifth-place effort, breaking the program's 2008 record by five seconds). The quartet now holds both the Panthers' indoor and outdoor school records in the event after previously setting the indoor mark earlier this winter.
UNI also placed fourth in both the women's shuttle hurdle relay with Paige Paup, Olivia Kramer, Fusco and Wiseman (59.89), as well as the men's 4x400-meter relay of Zach Fall, Kiewiet, Woods and Keegan Steege (3:08.66).
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UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next week at the Musco Twilight, hosted by the University of Iowa. Competition is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CT at the Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track in Iowa City.
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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
