April 19, 2008

McDonnell Invite Results | Kansas Relays Results | Hawkeye Invite Results

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A pair of University of Northern Iowa athletes posted provisional qualifying marks for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with performances in the women's heptathlon, while nine other Panther athletes punched tickets to NCAA regional competition in a total of six events Saturday at the John McDonnell Invitational.

 

Sophomore Dani Stipe claimed the title in the heptathlon thanks to a strong second day that saw her finish with a score of 5,235 points, while freshman teammate Olimpia Nowak took runner-up honors with 5,103 points. Both surpassed the mark of 5,050 points needed for provisional qualification to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

 

Stipe took the top spot thanks to wins Saturday in the long jump (18 feet, 8 inches) and javelin (123-1) portions of the competition, while she finished second to Nowak in the day's final event, the 800 meters. Junior Alyssa Fischer finished fourth overall in the heptathlon with a score of 4,548.

 

Junior Tyler Mulder and sophomore Julian Morris led the contingent of Panthers who posted NCAA regional qualifying marks, with Mulder claiming the title in the men's invitational 800 meters and Morris winning the men's high jump.

 

Mulder, who won the NCAA indoor title in the 800 meters in March, turned in a solid run of 1:48.85 in his first outdoor 800 competition of the season. Mulder's time gave him a victory over a strong field and surpassed the regional qualifying standard by more than 1 1/2 seconds.

 

Morris took the high jump competition with a clearance at 7 feet, 1/2 inch that also makes him the season leader in the event among Missouri Valley Conference competitors.

 

Teammate Ehi Oamen, who had previously posted a regional qualifying mark in the high jump, matched his season-best leap of 6-10 3/4 to take runner-up honors and give the duo of Oamen and Morris their second 1-2 finish in as many meets this season.

 

Also in the field events, redshirt freshman Phil Hanson punched his ticket to regional competition, as well, by taking third in the men's pole vault with a season-best clearance of 16 feet, 6 3/4 inches.

 

Senior Terrance Reid earned a spot in the regional meet with his effort in the men's invitational 400 meters, taking home fourth place in a strong field with at time of 46.70 seconds, while sophomore Dorian Ulrey claimed third in the men's invitational 1,500 meters with a regional-qualifying time of 3:43.74.

 

The Panthers' entry in the men's 4x400 relay also posted an NCAA regional qualifying time, taking second place with a clocking of 3:08.29. Sophomore Dennis Hammel, fresh of a strong run in the 400-meter hurdles, opened things for the Panthers with a split of 48.01 seconds. Sophomore Cory Goos followed with a 46.37-second lap and handed off to Mulder, who clocked his split in 47.07 before Reid anchored the Panthers home in 46.16.

 

On the women's side, senior Amy Bagge raced her way into regional competition by cutting nearly six seconds off her previous personal best in the 800 meters. Bagge finished seventh in the invitational section of the 800 with a time of 2:09.74.

 

Also for the Panthers, senior Crystal Hanson took second in the women's high jump, matching her best effort of the season and just missing NCAA regional qualification by clearing 5 feet, 7 inches.

 

Sophomore Emily Prinsen took eighth in the women's javelin, shattering her previous personal best by better than 16 feet with a throw of 129 feet, 2 inches.

 

On the track, a pair of Panthers posted strong showings in the women's 800 meters, with freshman Holli Hosch taking fourth in 2:13.34 and freshman Ellen Kindelsperger finishing right behind in fifth, with a clocking of 2:13.42.

 

The UNI men also were strong in the 800 meters, sweeping the second, third and fourth spots. Junior Jack Ogden led the way for the Panthers with a runner-up finish in 1:53.11, followed by Mike Craddick in third and Dale Maxedon in fourth. Craddick cut better than six seconds off his previous personal best with a time of 1:53.12, while Maxedon also posted a career-best run of 1:53.43.

 

Senior Andy Schon shaved nearly six seconds off his personal best in the men's 1,500-meter run on his way to an 11th-place finish in 3:59.70, while Hammel just missed a regional qualifying mark with his fourth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in 52.61.

 

Also for the UNI women, senior Kara Yahn was fourth in the 400-meter hurdles, turning in a time of 1:01.75, while senior Lauren Carruthers took seventh place in the 400 meters by clocking in at 55. Another senior, Meredith Kosmacek-Simon, was ninth in the 200 meters in 24.88.

 

Both the men's and women's entries for UNI took home fifth place finishes in the 4x100 relay. The Panthers also were sixth in the women's 4x400 relay.

 

Junior Mat Clark, who held the lead in the men's decathlon following the first five events, turned in a time of 15.82 in the 110-meter hurdles to begin the second day of competition. Clark dropped out of the competition, however, after failing to record a mark in the discus and pole vault.

 

 

JANSEN, WEEKS COMPETE IN DISCUS AT KANSAS RELAYS

At Lawrence, Kan., UNI senior Rachel Jansen took home an 11th-place finish in the women's discus Saturday at the Kansas Relays. Jansen, who has already qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional in the event, posted at throw of 142 feet, 6 inches.

 

In the men's discus, Panther freshman Allen Weeks finished 16th with a best effort of 151-5.

 

 

CLANCY LEADS WAY FOR PANTHERS AT HAWKEYE INVITATIONAL

At Iowa City, Iowa, senior Mike Clancy highlighted the day for the small group of UNI competitors who took part in the Hawkeye Invitational.

 

Clancy posted a fourth-place finish in the men's 3,000-meter run, finishing in a personal-best time of 8:49.58.

 

For the Panther women, freshman Regina Reinig took 10th in the women's 800 meters, clocking in at 2:21.35. Teammate Brittany Korrell was 12th in the 100-meter hurdles with at time of 16.53.

 

The Panthers now turn their attention to one of the season's most anticipated events, with the 99th annual Drake Relays set to begin Wednesday (April 23) at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

UNI claimed a school-record five championships at the 2007 Drake Relays.