University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Perry, Stephens finish in top-12 in NCAA heptathlon
6/13/2026 9:33:00 PM | Track and Field
Perry sets UNI, MVC records in heptathlon to finish eighth while Stephens takes 12th.
EUGENE, Ore. --- The 2026 outdoor track and field season came to a close for the University of Northern Iowa on Saturday night as Joey Perry and Katy Stephens rounded out the year at the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in the heptathlon.
Battling in a competitive 24-women field and a seven-event competition over a two day span, Perry put on a show for the Panthers with personal best marks in four events to finish with a career-high 5,913 points, breaking Paige Knodle's 2016 UNI and Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) records to earn Second Team All-American status.
Stephens meanwhile notched a career-best mark in the shot put, also finishing with a career-best 5,776 points, finishing the weekend with Second Team All-American honors and a 12th place finish.
Both Perry and Stephens were the first two Panther women to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the same event in the same season, while Perry's finish marks the first time Northern Iowa has finished with a First Team All-American on both the men's and women's side after Carter Morton's sixth-place effort in the decathlon on Thursday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Day one of the heptathlon began with Stephens and Perry running 14.01 and 14.23 seconds respectively in the 100-meter hurdles. In the first of two consecutive field events, both athletes would record top-12 finishes in the high jump as both cleared 5' 8 ¾ with Stephens taking eighth and Perry 11th.
Both Stephens and Perry would notch career-best marks in the shot put with Stephens taking eighth with a toss of 41' 2 ¼ and Perry in 12th with a personal best (40' 1 ½). The opening day of heptathlon action concluded with another pair of career-bests for both Panthers as Perry ran the fourth-fastest 200-meter time in UNI history in 23.74 seconds, with Stephens finishing in ninth with a personal best of 24.26 seconds.
Day two of competition kicked off with the long jump with Perry leaping 19' 4 ¾ for 13th place and Stephens taking 20th with a jump of 18' 8 ¾. Stephens put together a strong showing in the javelin, placing third with a toss of 141' 4 on her second attempt, while Perry took 13th (122 1). Both athletes rounded out the meet in the 800-meter run with Perry running a career-best 2:12.21 in fifth place as Stephens clocked a 2:26.32 to finish 21st.
2026 NCAA DIVISION I DECATHLON FINAL RESULTS
- Ben Barton (BYU) - 8,169 pts
- Kenneth Byrd (Louisville) - 8,160 pts
- Luuk Pelkmans (Illinois) - 8,079 pts
- Ryan Gregory (Long Beach State) - 8,001 pts
- Emil Uhlin (Kansas State) - 7,996 pts
- Carter Morton (UNI) - 7,972 pts
- Edgar Campre (Miami-FL) - 7,870 pts
- Joshua Mooney (Connecticut) - 7,869 pts
- Cole Wilson (High Point) - 7,855 pts
- Dorian Charles (Kansas State) - 7,764 pts
- Maximus Tucker (Georgia) - 7,727 pts
- Michael Bennett (Duke) - 7,494 pts
- Steven Schmidt (Oklahoma State) - 7,479 pts
- Zach McGlynn (North Dakota State) - 7,430 pts
- Blake Harris (Texas A&M) - 7,407 pts
- Easton Hammond (Texas State) - 7,360 pts
- Keith Orona (CSU Fullerton) - 7,270 pts
- Paul Olson (North Dakota State) - 7,185 pts
- Seth Johnson (California) - 6,643 pts
- John Swabik (Kansas) - 6,587 pts
- Maxwell Forte (Duke) - 5,921 pts
- DNF. Andreas Hantson (Illinois)
- DNF. Tomeko Cates (Washington)
- DNF. Jip DeGreef (Illinois)
CARTER MORTON - 2026 NCAA DECATHLON RESULTS
FINAL SCORE - 7,972 pts (6th Place) [Career-best; UNI and MVC records]
- 19th | 100m - 11.18
- 2nd | Long Jump - 24' 4 ¼
- 9th | Shot Put - 44' 10 ¾ [Career-best]
- 3rd | High Jump - 6' 10 ¾
- 19th | 400m - 49.87 [Season-best]
- 12th | 110m Hurdles - 14.71 [Career-best]
- 22nd | Discus - 122'
- 2nd | Pole Vault - 16' 1 ¼
- 3rd | Javelin - 195' 2 [Career-best]
- 9th | 1,500m - 4:36.28 [Career-best]
2026 NCAA DIVISION I HEPTATHLON FINAL RESULTS
- Sofia Cosculluela (Washington) - 6,182 pts
- Juliette Laracuente-Huebner (Cincinnati) - 6,084 pts
- JaiCionna Gero-Holt (Illinois) - 6,010 pts
- Hollan Powers (Arizona) - 6,008 pts
- Meagan Huphries (Illinois) - 6,008 pts
- Annie Molenhouse (Oklahoma State) - 5,971 pts
- Tabea Eitel (Texas) - 5,948 pts
- Joey Perry (UNI) - 5,913 pts
- Pauline Bikembo (Florida) - 5,903 pts
- Maresa Hense (Connecticut) - 5,872 pts
- Marta Sivina (Vanderbilt) - 5,778 pts
- Katy Stephens (UNI) - 5,776 pts
- Zoey Bonds (BYU) - 5,775
- Ella Rush (Georgia) - 5,709 pts
- Jenna Fee Feyerabend (San Diego State) - 5,709 pts
- Kenli Nettles (Ball State) - 5,703 pts
- Angel Richmore (Oklahoma) - 5,700 pts
- Julia Gunnell (Kentucky) - 5,646 pts
- Joy Anderson (UC Irvine) - 5,554 pts
- Logan Todorovich (Baylor) - 5,533 pts
- Alice Taylor (Rice) - 5,490 pts
- Jolie Robinson (UC Irvine) - 5,313 pts
- Abigail Weeing (George Mason) - 4,467 pts
- DNF - Lilsa-Maria Lusti (Oregon)
KATY STEPHENS - 2026 NCAA DECATHLON RESULTS
FINAL SCORE - 5,776 pts (12th Place) (Career-best)
- 17th | 100m Hurdles - 14.01
- 8th | High Jump - 5' 8 ¾
- 8th | Shot Put - 41' 2 ¼ [Career-best]
- 9th | 200m - 24.26
- 18th | Long Jump - 18' 8 ¾
- 3rd | Javelin - 141' 4
- 21st | 800m - 2:26.21
JOEY PERRY - 2026 NCAA DECATHLON RESULTS
FINAL SCORE - 5,913 pts (8th Place) [Career-best; UNI and MVC record)
- 21st | 100m Hurdles - 14.23
- 11th | High Jump - 5' 8 ¾
- 12th | Shot Put - 40' 1 ½ [Career-best]
- 2nd | 200m - 23.74 [Career-best]
- 13th | Long Jump - 19' 4 ¾
- 13th | Javelin - 121' 1 [Career-best]
- 5th | 800m - 2:12.21 [Career-best]
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.
