On Friday, Feb. 21, the University of Northern Iowa men’s and women’s track and field teams sent groups to Iowa City to compete in the Iowa Open indoor meet. Each of Iowa’s “Big 4” universities attended this event, with most competitors hailing from Iowa, Iowa State, UNI, or Drake. Since the Iowa Open is an “open” meet, many athletes ran or threw unattached from their respective schools. Running or throwing unattached allows participants to preserve a year of athletic eligibility, should they not race in any team-scored meets the rest of the season.
After a successful outing in Wisconsin last week, multiple Panthers jumped to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference rankings in their respective events. The men and women looked to continue their stellar performances just an hour and a half drive south of Cedar Falls.
The men’s distance crew started the day for UNI with sophomore Levi Hill competing in the 3k. While donning the purple and gold for his first try over the distance, Hill raced to a fourth-place finish out of 11 competitors in 8:48.19.
Later, the mid-distance men followed Hill’s strong performance with stellar showings in the 600m, 800m, and mile. Drake Hanson won the 600m in 1:17.31, and freshman teammate Jake Bosch finished fourth in 1:19.72. Derek Woods and Micaiah Ellis provided a one-two punch for the Panthers in the 800m, placing first and second in 1:53.41 and 1:53.88, respectively. Freshman Brayden Picken rounded out the group by placing 10th in the mile in 4:17.27.
Northern Iowa female mid-distance runners also placed first and second in the 800m, with Mary Kelly and Kendra Nissen going one-two in a field of 11 runners. Kelly took the win in 2:13:09, with Nissen right behind in 2:13.27. Anna Van Kooten ran a personal record of 2:15.32 to finish fifth, while teammate Kaylin Lacher placed sixth in 2:16.40. Kaylee Woolery finished ninth in 2:26.69.
The UNI women entered five runners into the mile. Leah Klapatauskas led the way for the Panthers, placing second in 5:01.28. Eden Mueller, Brooke O’Brien, and Liza Schaffer took spots nine through 11. Muller and O’Brien finished toe to toe in 5:09.08 and 5:09.42, respectively. Schaffer ran 5:18.17. Senior Lauren Klein placed 14th in 5:23.38.
The sprinters and hurdlers also had quality days for the Panthers. On the men’s side, Jerome Jessup and Sheldon Lucas qualified for the 60m finals. Jessup took third in 6.84, and Lucas finished seventh in 7.03. Teammate Tye Hardin ran 7.12 in the preliminary round.
Colin Buch also ran a season-best 8.83 in the 60mH preliminary round.
Four Panther women qualified for the 60m finals, with Kanijah Angel, Giada Grimes, and Anna Winterrowd filling the podium. Angel won in a time of 7.74, Grimes took runner-up in 7.79, and Winterrowd came third in 7.88. All three set personal bests. Teammate Aleksys Gannon ran 8.18 to finish eighth.
Junior Darci Wiseman finished sixth in the 60mH in 9.36.
The field events started with the women’s weight throw, where Katie Fare threw 17.40m to finish third. Freshman Kileigh Lachacz placed 11th with a throw of 13.71m. Justin Olsen was the lone Panther on the men’s side to compete in the event, throwing 15.98m and finishing 10th.
Fare also competed in the women’s shot put, taking home first place by throwing 16.44. Jorie Hanenburg etched a season-best with her throw of 13.74m.
The quartet of Josie Moreland, Rylie Todd, Chloe Largent, and Soren Maricle took first through fourth in the women’s high jump, respectively. Moreland set a new personal record of 1.76m, followed by Todd at 1.70m. Largnet and Maricle each jumped 1.65m. The sophomore duo of Joey Perry and Silvana Kabolo also competed in the event for UNI. Perry lept 1.60m for seventh place, and Kabolo jumped 1.55m for eighth. For the men, Tye Hardin finished third by clearing 2.00m, and Ethan Peters placed fifth by jumping 1.95m.
Annalise Zeinemann, Hannah Wallace, and Isabelle Cox competed in a women’s pole vault field of just four athletes. Zeinemann cleared 3.40m for second place, Wallace was third at 3.15m, and Cox was fourth at 3.00m. Brendan Safley won the men’s event, vaulting 5.30m. Teammate Colin Buch cleared 3.90m for sixth.
The women’s long jump also had a multitude of Panthers competing. Katy Stephens led the way by placing second with a leap of 5.66m, followed by Josey Dunbar, who lept 5.63m to take third. Makayla Crannell jumped 5.56m for fourth and Perry 5.38m for sixth. Silvana Kabolo
Took eighth with a 5.13m jump, and Katy Hand finished ninth with a 5.00m. Zach Butcher won the men’s field by leaping 7.28m, and Peters took fourth with a 6.77m effort. Brody Lovell was sixth with a 6.20m jump.
Maricle competed in the final field event of the day for UNI, placing third in the triple jump with a leap of 11.19m. She set a new personal best in the process.
The Panther men and women will next compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships in Chicago, Ill. The meet will commence on March 2 and 3.
