University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Cyclone Twilight
UNI track and field shows out at Cyclone Twilight
5/8/2026 9:50:00 PM | Track and Field
AMES, Iowa --- The UNI track and field team on Friday closed out the regular season portion of its 2026 outdoor competition schedule, putting on an impressive showing at Iowa State's Cyclone Twilight.
The Panthers racked up 11 event titles, including nine of the contested 16 field competitions, as well as an astonishing 44 career-best performances. Friday's meet served as a postseason prelude for UNI, who will head to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Outdoor Championships next weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Northern Iowa opened the afternoon with an impressive showing in the women's long jump led by a first-place, career-best performance by Katy Stephens (20' 7 ¾"), a second-place effort by Joey Perry with a career-best 20' 1" leap and Josey Dunbar taking fourth (19' 9 ¾"). Stephens and Perry, who now rank second and third respectively in the event in school history, join UNI Athletics Hall of Famer Dianna Leftridge as the only women in program history to leap over 20 feet in the long jump either indoor or outdoors.Â
In the men's long jump, Parker Kiewiet posted the second-best mark in UNI men's outdoor history with a 25' 5 ¼" jump with Tye Hardin taking third (23' 10 ¾"). Elsewhere in jumping action, Erica Miner (12' 5 ½") and Sydnee Scott (11' 11 ¾") went one-two in the women's pole vault as Carter Morton topped the men's pole vault (16' 7 ¼") with Carter Pheifer and Jacob Yoerger both tying for second place (16' 1 ¼"). The Panthers took first and second in both the men's and women's high jump competitions, with Daniel Adams (6' 7") and Colin Buch (5' 3 ¼") leading the charge in men's action, while Josie Moreland (5' 7 ¼") and Katy Hand (5' 3 ¼") topped the field on the women's side. Kaiden Quandahl meanwhile finished second in the men's triple jump with a personal best mark (44' 10 ¾").
In the throwing events, UNI swept the top four positions on the podium in the women's javelin, featuring Jorie Hanenburg winning with a 126' 2" throw, followed by Makayla Crannell (124'), Ciara Heffron (115' 3") and Kamryn Lande (111' 8"), the latter three of whom all set new career-best marks. Carter Morton also took second for the purple and gold in the men's javelin with a personal best toss of 181' 8".
Carson Lienau led the way for UNI in the men's shot put with a first-place toss of 61' 1 ¼" with David Russell taking third (59' 11 ¾"). Hanenburg took fifth for the Panthers in the women's shot put (48' 4 ½"). In the hammer throw, Justin Olson captured gold for Northern Iowa with a career-best mark of 199' 6", with Lauren Kounkel (178"), Kileigh Lachacz (173") and Brylie Lorence (165' 8") taking third, fourth and fifth respectively in the women's hammer. Nolan Dempsey would also take third in the men's discus (164' 10") with Lineau in fourth (164' 2").
On the track, the Panthers got to work early with a win by Giada Grimes, Aleksys Gannon, Dunbar and Brynn Walters in the 4x100-meter relay. In other sprinting action. Luke Sayonkon placed second with a personal-best time of 10.88 seconds in the men's 100-meter dash, while Walters took fourth in the women's 100 meters (12.42) and Grimes fifth in the women's 200 meters (25.15). UNI also grabbed a second-place performance from Zach Fall in the men's 400-meter dash in career-best fashion (47.11) and Jersey Jones finishing fourth in the women's 400 meters (55.66).
In the hurdling competitions, the Panthers grabbed their second 1-2-3 sweep of the night in the women's 400-meter hurdles with Darci Wiseman clocking a personal best time of 1:00.06 for the victory, followed by Carli Jo Fusco (1:00.87) and Eden Moore (1:02.71). Gabe Funk took second for UNI in the men's 400-meter hurdles (52.75) as Bill Mukhtar took third (53.00). Paige Paup also placed third for UNI in the women's 100-meter hurdles (14.86).
Closing out the night in the mid-distance and distance events, Derek Woods put his name into the UNI record book, tying the fifth-fastest men's 800 meters time with a sixth-place finish in 1:48.46. In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Evie Henneberry (11:06.07) and Brooke O'Brien (11:32.39) ended the night with second and third place performances, as Jonas VanDis (9:27.05) and Caleb Kass (9:31.64) took third and fourth in the men's race, also recording new personal bests.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17 at the MVC Outdoor Championships, hosted by Indiana State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. CT on May 16, and again at 8:30 a.m. CT on May 17 at the Gibson Track and Field Complex in Terre Haute.
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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.
