University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
USATF U20 Championships
UNI track and field: Dempsey places eighth at USATF U20 Championships in discus
6/18/2026 10:09:00 PM | Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. --- The first of three national summer competitions kicked off for the UNI track and field team on Thursday evening as rising Panther sophomore Nolan Dempsey placed eighth in the men's discus at the USATF U20 Championships at historic Hayward Field.
Competing in a 17-man field, the Davenport, Iowa native set a new career-best mark of 184' 3" on his second attempt of the competition, notably throwing over 180" and past his previous personal best of 178' 1" on three of his six attempts. Dempsey was also notably one of three Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) athletes in the event, joining 2026 MVC runner-up D. Theo Thurmond (10th) and Ben Brown (14th), both of Indiana State.
The former Davenport West High School standout and high school state and Nike national champion notably placed third in the discus at this year's MVC Outdoor Championships in his first year with the Panthers, while also winning the event at the Jim Duncan Invitational in April. He spent the 2026 indoor season competing unattached for Northern Iowa.
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Current and former UNI track and field athletes will continue national and international competitions throughout the summer.Â
Multi athletes Carter Morton, Joey Perry and Katy Stephens, who competed earlier this month at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, will head to New York for the USATF Outdoor Championships, July 23-26. Distance runners Amelia Hill and Colin Lillie will also represent UNI and the United States at the FISU America Games in early August in Peru.
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2026 USATF U20 CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS (Men's Discus)
- Simon Rosselli (Iron Wood Track Club) - 205' 7"
- Chris Marcell (Marathon) - 200' 6"
- Noah Rau (Unattached) - 199' 3"
- Jason Atwood (Florida State) - 196' 6"
- Benjamin Lingenfelter (Unattached) - 195' 3"
- Tim Beauchamp (Florida International) - 188' 7"
- Barry Alston (North Carolina A&T) - 186' 5"
- Nolan Dempsey (UNI) - 184' 3"
- Caden Green (Unattached) - 183' 5"
- D. Theo Thurmond (Indiana State) - 183' 1"
- Joseph Goodenow (Princeton) - 182' 8"
- Justin Smithey (Abilene Christian) - 180' 9"
- Logan Clay (Unattached) - 179" 2"
- Ben Brown (Indiana State) - 179' 1"
- Ray Glory-Ejoyokah (Eastern Michigan) - 174' 7"
- Eli Johnson (Wichita State) - 173' 8"
- Samson Black (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) - 168' 6"
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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.
