The UNI track and field team traveled to Des Moines over the weekend as they competed in the Jim Duncan Invitational hosted by Drake. The Panthers had a great couple of days on the blue oval as five gold medals were awarded to UNI. 

The men’s pole vault was one of the first events where UNI would top the podium. Brendan Safley won his first medal of the outdoor season in the event as he cleared a height of 16 feet, 7 inches. Rylie Todd secured a win for the Panthers in the women’s high jump with a jump of 5 feet, 6 inches. Katy Stephens finished just behind her in second place with the same height. 

Emily Vos was the victor in the women’s 200-meter dash, running a dazzling time of 24.59 seconds. Tyler Gray finished three spots behind Vos in fourth with a mark of 25.69 seconds. The 5,000-meter run for the women saw UNI’s Emma Hoins grab the victory with a time of 17:48.19. Mia Rampton finished a few spots behind in fourth with a time of 18:23.33. 

The women’s 4×400 relay would mark the Panther’s final first place finish of the day. The team of Clare Basala, Liv Freund, Gray and Amelia Hill ran a time of 3:50.21 to secure the fifth gold medal of the day for the Panthers. The team beat Drake by over three seconds to ensure their victory. 

There were a multitude of other Panther athletes who excelled in the invitation as well. Isabelle Holtzen and Alivia Silvestri tied for third in the women’s pole vault, both clearing the height of 11 feet, 6 inches. The women’s mile saw Sydney Schaffer as the runner-up with a time of 4:41.80, with Ella Popenhagen not far behind her in fourth with a time of 4:46.54. 

Brady Griebel finished in fourth place in the men’s 5,000-meter run as he recorded a time of 15:15.24. Paige Holub took the fifth place spot in the women’s 800-meter run with a 2:18.32 as her final time. Kelly Proesch ran a 15.56 second 100-meter hurdles to get a silver medal for the Panthers. Darci Wiseman was right on her back as she notched a fourth place finish with 16.01 seconds. The 400-meter hurdles saw Anna Winterrow finish in fourth with a time of 1:04.49 in the women’s race while Bill Mukhtar ran a 55.10 in the men’s race to finish in fifth. 

Oliva Hubler ran a 12.65 in the women’s open 100-meter dash to take fourth place as Eva Van De Mortal ran her career-best with a 12.69 to get seventh. The team of Micaiah Ellis, Titus Jackson, Chase Knoche and Mukhtar ran a 3:18.03 in the 4×400 meter relay to take a fourth place finish and conclude the meet for the Panthers.

UNI will return to action on Saturday as they travel to Coralville for the Musco Twilight hosted by the University of Iowa.