University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI track and field: NCAA West Prelim qualifiers announced
5/21/2026 12:30:00 PM | Track and Field
Morton, Stephens and Perry also automatically qualify for NCAA Outdoor Championships in decathlon, heptathlon.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Following a pair of team runner-up finishes at last weekend's Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Outdoor Championships, the UNI track and field team has qualified 15 athletes in ten events for the NCAA West Preliminary Meet.
The NCAA Preliminary Meets serve as the first round site for the national postseason meet, which will be held in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field, June 10-13. The two preliminary meets this year will be held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, hosted by the University of Arkansas for the West region, and Lexington, Kentucky, hosted by the University of Kentucky in the East. Both meets will run from May 27-30.
To qualify for the preliminary meets, athletes must rank in the top-48 in an individual event and top-24 for relays in their respective regions. Athletes competing in multi-event competitions (heptathlon and decathlon) will not compete at the preliminary site as the top-24 ranked competitors in the nation will automatically qualify for competition in Eugene. Top-12 finishers at the preliminary meets will earn qualification to the finals site in Oregon.
By virtue of top-24 national rankings, Carter Morton earned automatic qualification to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the decathlon, while Katy Stephens and Joey Perry also qualified in the heptathlon.
Perry and Stephens also qualified and will compete in the West Preliminary meet in the women's high jump, with Stephens also set to take the stage in the women's long jump and Perry in the women's 400-meter hurdles. Morton meanwhile will join Parker Kiewiet in Fayetteville to participate in the men's long jump.
Other qualifiers for Northern Iowa include the duo of Carson Lienau and David Russell in the men's shot put, Derek Woods in the men's 800 meters and Amelia Hill in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. The Panthers also qualified in two relays with the team of Tinashe Chidudu, Kiewiet, Luke Meyers and Luke Nevitt set to run in the men's 4x100-meter relay, while Perry, Jersey Jones, Darci Wiseman and Emma Randecker will run the women's 4x400-meter relay.
Live coverage of the NCAA West Preliminary Meet will be available on ESPN+.
UNI's 2026 NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY QUALIFIERS
- Decathlon - Carter Morton *
- Heptathlon - Katy Stephens *, Joey Perry *
- Men's High Jump - Tye Hardin
- Women's High Jump - Katy Stephens, Joey Perry
- Men's Long Jump - Parker Kiewiet, Carter Morton
- Women's Long Jump - Katy Stephens
- Men's Shot Put - Carson Lienau, David Russell
- Men's 800m - Derek Woods
- Women's 400m Hurdles - Joey Perry
- Women's 3,000m Steeplechase - Amelia Hill
- Men's 4x100m Relay - Tinashe Chigudu, Parker Kiewiet, Luke Meyers, Luke Nevitt (alt. Tyler Sickerson, Zach Fall)
- Women's 4x400m Relay - Joey Perry, Jersey Jones, Darci Wiseman, Emma Randecker (alt. Carlie Jo Fusco)
* Automatically qualify for NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Event will not be contested at the Preliminary Meet.
2026 NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 27
- 6:30 p.m. CT - Men's Long Jump (First Round) [Kiewiet, Morton]
- 7 p.m. CT - Men's Shot Put (First Round) [Lienau, Russell]
- 7:50 p.m. CT - Men's 800m (First Round) [Woods]
Thursday, May 28
- 6:30 p.m. CT - Women's Long Jump (First Round) [Stephens]
- 8:20 p.m. CT - Women's 400m Hurdles (First Round) [Perry]
Friday, May 29
- 2 p.m. CT - Men's High Jump (Semifinals) [Hardin]
- 5 p.m. CT - Men's 4x100m Relay (Quarterfinals) [Chigudu, Kiewiet, Meyers, Nevitt]
- 7:05 p.m. CT - Men's 800m (Quarterfinals) ***
Saturday, May 30
- 2 p.m. CT - Women's High Jump (Semifinals) [Stephens, Perry]
- 5:40 p.m. CT - Women's 3,000m Steeplechase [Hill]
- 7:25 p.m. CT - Women's 400m Hurdles (Quarterfinals) ***
- 8:45 p.m. CT - Women's 4x400m Relay (Quarterfinals) [Perry, Jones, Wiseman, Randecker]
*** Pending qualification
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.
