After a successful opening weekend of outdoor competition at the Central Invitational, the University of Northern Iowa men’s and women’s track and field teams made the short trip to Waverly, Iowa, for the Wartburg Outdoor Select. The meet was a two-day affair, spanning from the afternoon of Friday, April 4, until the early evening of Saturday, April 5. Although no team scores were kept, UNI had multiple individual champions across various events as they hope to continue their momentum entering the bulk of the outdoor season.
The Panthers’ field athletes competed first on Friday. On the women’s side, Annalise Zeinemann placed first in the pole vault with a vault of 3.50m, and teammate Alivia Silvestri earned third with that same leap. Katie Fare achieved a new personal record in the hammer throw by throwing 55.33m.
For the men, Brendan Safley won the pole vault event by vaulting 5.30m, good enough for the nation’s 17th-highest NCAA Division I vault. Nathan Wilde threw 59.16m in the hammer throw and placed second. Justice Miller won the javelin throw for the Panthers with a heave of 63.05m.
MVC Cross-country Honorable Mention Emma Hoins started the day on Saturday with a first-place finish in the Women’s 1500m, running 4:35.61. The Panther women continued their dominance in the 110m hurdles, where Carlie Jo Fusco placed second in 14.81. Giada Grimes ran 12.31 for fourth in the 100m, and Anna Van Kooten took third in the 400m with a time of 59.44. Grimes ended the day for the UNI women with a 24.83 win in the 200m.
Ty Getz kicked things off for the men with a 4:06.57 1500m, placing 17th, while teammate Karson Kleeve ran 4:09.32 for 31st. Later, Kyle Trunnel ran 15.03 over the 110m hurdles to finish sixth. In the 100m, Titus Jackson, Luke Sayonkon, and Carter Meyers all finished within 0.2 seconds of each other. Jackson claimed 12th overall in 10.99, while Sayonkon and Meyres sprinted 11.10 and 11.19 for 14th and 16th places, respectively. Jayden Dickson etched a 51.64 400m while finishing 14th, and Kon Dut took 26th in 53.57
Getz doubled back to run the 800m, narrowly missing first place by less than a second. The sophomore took runner-up honors with a 1:57.27. Drew Drombosky ran a personal best time of 2:04.98 in the same event and placed 20th.
Zach Van Wychen was the lone Panther in the 400m hurdles and barely missed breaking the 60-second barrier. He finished 15th in 1:01.32. Jackson concluded the meet for Northern Iowa by placing third in the 200m with a time of 22.08.
The UNI men’s and women’s squads will compete next Friday, April 11, at the Jim Duncan Invitational in Des Moines. The Panthers look to use this race as a tune-up and confidence booster before returning to the Blue Oval later this month for the 2025 Drake Relays.
