University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
MVC Outdoor Championships
UNI track and field sets sights on titles at MVC Outdoor Championships this weekend
5/14/2026 9:00:00 AM | Track and Field
UNI track & field at 2026 MVC Outdoor Championships
- May 16-17, 2026
- 7 a.m. CT / 8:30 a.m. CT
- Gibson Track & Field Complex | Terre Haute, Ind.
- WATCH (DAY ONE) [ESPN+]
- WATCH (DAY TWO) [ESPN+]
- LIVE RESULTS
- CHAMPIONSHIP HUB
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI track and field's outdoor season reaches its biggest test of the year this weekend as the Panthers make their way to western Indiana for the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Outdoor Championships this weekend.
Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. CT on Saturday and 8:30 a.m. CT on Sunday at the Gibson Track and Field Complex on the Indiana State campus in Terre Haute. Saturday will feature preliminary heats for multiple events ahead of Sunday championship heats, with direct finals for other events during both days. Click HERE to see the MVC Championship hub and meet schedule.
Northern Iowa enters as the pre-championship favorite to win both the men's and women's team titles after the release of the coaches pre-championship poll on Tuesday. The Panther men have won ten total MVC outdoor team titles and will be in search of its first since 2021, as well as its first indoor and outdoor team title sweep in five years. UNI will also seek its second ever women's team outdoor championship and first since 2008. Northern Iowa last swept both the men's and women's outdoor team titles in 2008.
MVC MEN'S OUTDOOR PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL [First-Place Votes]
- 1st - UNI - 100 pts [10]
- T2nd - Illinois State - 85 pts
- T2nd - Indiana State - 85 pts
- 4th - Southern Illinois - 65 pts
- 5th - Bradley - 60 pts
MVC WOMEN'S OUTDOOR PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL [First-Place Votes]
- 1st - UNI - 115 pts [6]
- 2nd - Indiana State - 113 pts [4]
- 3rd - Illinois State - 99 pts
- 4th - Bradley - 88 pts [1]
- 5th - Murray State - 75 pts
Entering the MVC Outdoor Championships, UNI leads the MVC in 11 total events, including six men's and five women's competitions. The Panthers are also top-five in 28 combined events entering the weekend:
- Men's 200m - Parker Kiewiet (20.84)
- Women's 400m Hurdles - Joey Perry (58.11)
- Men's 4x100m Relay - Chigudu, Kiewiet, Meyers, Nevitt (39.47) ***
- Women's 4x400m Relay - Perry, Jones, Wiseman, Randecker (3:35.26) ***
- Men's High Jump - Tye Hardin (7' ¼)
- Women's High Jump - Katy Stephens (5' 8 ¾)
- Men's Long Jump - Parker Kiewiet (25' 5 ¼)
- Women's Long Jump - Katy Stephens (20' 7 ¾)
- Men's Shot Put - Carson Lienau (61' 1 ¼)
- Heptathlon - Katy Stephens (5,728 pts)
- Decathlon - Carter Morton (7,782 pts)
*** School record
Northern Iowa also boasts seven event squads ranked in the top-25 in all of Division I track and field entering the conference outdoor championships:
- Decathlon - 2nd
- Men's Long Jump - 6th
- Men's Shot Put - 6th
- Women's 400m Hurdles - 13th
- Women's Long Jump - 13th
- Men's Hammer - 16th
- Women's High Jump - 20th
- Men's Discus - 21st
The Panthers won four individual event titles at last year's championship meet in Carbondale, Illinois with Carlie Jo Fusco (400m hurdles) and Josey Dunbar (long jump) both expected to compete and defend their respective titles in 2026. Northern Iowa also captured the heptathlon title with Joey Perry a year ago, as well as the women's shot put with Katie Fare. On the men's side, UNI won titles in the pole vault (Brendan Safley), the javelin throw (Justice Miller) and Zack Butcher (decathlon) last spring.
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.
