 | ||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 
|
 
Panthers Play Role Of Host, Favorites For MVC Championships
Feb. 28, 2008
UNI Weekly Track & Field Release
THIS WEEK IN PANTHER TRACK & FIELD
March 1-2 State Farm MVC Indoor Championships UNI-Dome The OUT OF THE BLOCKS • The Panthers are favored to win both the men's and women's team titles at this weekend's State Farm MVC Indoor Championships. The UNI men were unanimously picked to win their ninth-consecutive championship, while the Panther women received seven of the eight possible first-place votes in the annual pre-championship coaches' poll. UNI's women seek their first team title since 2002. • If the Panther men can secure their ninth-straight MVC indoor championship, it would mark the longest streak of consecutive titles in league history. UNI currently is tied with Drake for the longest such streak, as the Bulldogs also laid claim to eight consecutive crowns from 1968 to 1975. • Individually, UNI senior Raven Cepeda also is poised to make history at this weekend's championships, as he seeks to become just the eighth athlete in MVC history to claim four conference titles in the same event. Cepeda has claimed the men's heptathlon crown in each of his first three indoor seasons and looks to become the league's first four-time champion since • The UNI men moved up one spot in this week's United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ratings and currently hold down a No. 8 national ranking. The Panthers have been rated in the USTFCCCA Top 25 for each of the last four weeks, with this week's ranking matching the highest in school history. UNI also was ranked No. 8 in this year's preseason ratings. • On the women's side, UNI senior Rachel Jansen seeks her third-consecutive MVC title in the shot put. If Jansen can secure the individual crown, she would be the first woman in league history to be a three-time winner in the event. • Other Panthers looking to defend their titles from 2007 are: Crystal Hanson (women's high jump), Jarrel Anderson (men's 60 hurdles), Terrance Reid (men's 400 meters) and Dorian Ulrey (men's 5,000 meters). The Panthers also will look to repeat in the men's distance medley and 4x400 relays. UNI has won the last two MVC titles in the DMR and has claimed four of the last five 4x400 crowns. • The Panthers also have claimed the last three men's pole vault titles, a run UNI's Mike Beese, Phil Hanson and Cepeda will look to continue. The trio own three of the top five marks in the league this season. • Sophomore Dorian Ulrey leads the MVC with his school-record time of 4:01.66 in the men's mile and will seek to become just the second UNI miler to claim a Valley title - and the first since Balazs Csillag in 2000. AND THEY'RE NOT DONE YET After qualifying a school-record nine events for the NCAA Indoor Championships a season ago, the Panthers have posted national meet qualifying performances in 11 events so far this season. Three of those performances have automatically qualified UNI athletes for the NCAA meet, which will be held March 14-15 in TWICE AS NICE For the second straight year, the Panthers boast a pair of NCAA qualifiers in the men's 800 meters. Sophomore Dorian Ulrey provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the event at last week's UNI-Dome Open, clocking in at 1:50.77. Ulrey, who also have provisionally qualified in the mile, joins junior Tyler Mulder as the Panthers' 800-meter contingent. Last season, Mulder took home All-America honors with a 10th-place finish in the 800, while then-senior Kyle Smith took third in the same race. MORE LOVE FOR THE PANTHERS UNI added another pair of weekly conference awards Wednesday, with sophomore Dorian Ulrey taking home State Farm MVC Men's Track Athlete of the Week honors and freshman Olimpia Nowak earning the nod as the State Farm MVC Women's Field Athlete of the Week. The Valley's weekly men's track award has now gone to a UNI athlete in each of the last five weeks, including three honors for junior Tyler Mulder. All told, the Panthers have racked up 10 MVC weekly honors this season. A MILE IN HIS SHOES Sophomore Dorian Ulrey flirted with the elusive four-minute mark in the Meyo Mile competition at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 16). Ulrey set a UNI school record with his run of 4:01.66, taking seventh place just over two seconds back of winner Jack Bolas in a highly-competitive field. Ulrey followed that performance with the second-fastest time in school history a week later at the Iowa State Classic (Feb. 23), turning in a 4:02.08. LEADING THE PACK Senior Traci Hawley vaulted to the top of the MVC best list in the women's 3,000 meters over the weekend, cutting 14 seconds off her previous personal best to clock in at 9:42.88 - the second-fastest time in school history. Hawley's run was good for seventh at the Iowa State Classic and is The Valley's fastest time of the year by 12 seconds. The effort also trimmed 28 seconds off the Panthers' previous season-best effort. Hawley also owns the MVC's best mark in the 5,000 meters, with her 17:18.49 nearly 40 seconds faster than the league's next-best time, and is ranked eighth in the mile. The Ames, Iowa, native finished as runner-up at the State Farm MVC Cross Country Championships in October. THREE'S COMPANY Senior Terrance Reid earned State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Track Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 12 following his outstanding performance at the Meyo Invitational. Reid gave UNI its third consecutive MVC men's track weekly honor, with his award coming on the heels of back-to-back honors for junior Tyler Mulder. Reid owns The Valley's top time in the 400 meters and is part of UNI's league-leading 4x400 relay squad. A five-time All-American, Reid has provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in both events. STRENGTH IN NUMBERS With points awarded to the top eight finishers in each event for the first time, this year's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships will place added importance on teams' depth. On the men's side of The Valley's performance list, UNI boasts the league's top three times in both the 400 meters and 800 meters, as well as the two best marks in the 60 hurdles. The Panthers also own three of the top five marks in the high jump, three of the top five in the pole vault and the top two marks in the heptathlon. The Panthers also lead The Valley in the 4x400 and distance medley relays. On the women's list, the Panthers own two of the top-five times in the 5,000, the top two marks in the high jump, two of the top-five marks in the shot put and two of the top-five marks in both the weight throw and shot put. Three Panthers also are among the top five in the pentathlon. MEANWHILE, IN LINCOLN... While the 4x400 relay crew of Cory Goos, Ryan Grenko, Tyler Mulder and Terrance Reid posted an NCAA Indoor Championships qualifying mark at the Meyo Invitational, another quartet quietly posted UNI's third-fastest relay time of the season at the adidas Classic in Lincoln, Neb. Kevin Roberts, Dennis Hammel, Pete Larson and Greg Offerman combined to complete their 4x400 in 3:16.06 -- the fastest time of the year by any group other than the All-America foursome of Goos, Grenko, Mulder and Reid. FOUR MORE FOR THE PANTHERS The UNI track and field program has signed four additional athletes to National Letters of Intent, head coach and director of running programs Chris Bucknam announced Tuesday, Feb. 12. The Panthers secured commitments from long sprinter Jordan Cornilsen (Miles, Iowa/Preston) and distance runners Jillian Lageschulte (Marshalltown, Iowa/Marshalltown), Danielle Nowasell (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) and Alex Mark (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls), giving UNI a total of 10 signees for the 2008-09 season so far. PANTHERS INK SIX ON FIRST DAY OF SIGNING PERIOD The UNI track and field program signed six athletes to National Letters of Intent, UNI Director of Running Programs Chris Bucknam announced Feb. 7. "We signed a national-caliber recruiting class today, and we're thrilled to bring so many athletes with top-level talent to campus," Bucknam said. "We have landed several of the nation's top-rated athletes in their individual events, athletes who will make an immediate impact on our team, as well as on the landscape of the Missouri Valley Conference and collegiate track and field." The Panthers inked Andrew Perkins ( DISTANCE DUO Much as they spent the fall chasing each other around the cross country course, junior Caedryn Schrunk and senior Traci Hawley were on each others' heels throughout the women's mile at the UNI Invitational. Schrunk won the event in a UNI season-best 5:05.76, followed by Hawley's 5:06.25. Hawley, who owns the Panthers' cross country records in the 4K, 5K and 6K, also is UNI's leader in the 3,000 meters this season with a time of 10:10.85 and owns the MVC's best mark in the 5,000 meters at 17:18.49. 4x400 DOMINANCE The UNI Invitational provided another opportunity for the Panthers' relay program to shine, as the men's and women's teams swept the 4x400 relay titles for the third time in as many weeks. The Panther men posted their best effort of the season in the 4x400, with the quartet of Terrance Reid, Ryan Grenko, Cory Goos and Tyler Mulder winning the event in 3:13.68. Mulder, coming off his win in the 600 meters earlier in the day, anchored the effort with a 47.90-second split. The Panthers' top entry in the women's race matched its best effort of the season with a winning time of 3:52.57. The team of Ellen Kindelsperger, Jamie Hutchinson, Amy Bagge and Lauren Carruthers also won three straight 4x400s through the UNI Invite. MULTI MAN Raven Cepeda's ability to excel in a number of areas has made him one of the greatest multi-event athletes in MVC history, and the senior is showing his flexibility again this season. Cepeda currently owns the second-fastest 60 hurdles time in the MVC at 8.06 seconds and also is tied for second in the pole vault, sharing the spot with teammate Mike Beese. Both have cleared 16-7 1/4 this season. NOT SO LONELY AT THE TOP Sophomore Ehi Oamen owns the conference lead in the high jump at 7-1, while sophomore Julian Morris sits second with a best clearance of 7-0 1/4. Freshman Luke Thompson owns the league's No. 4 mark at 6-9 3/4. The Panthers lead the way on the women's side, as well, as senior Crystal Hanson owns the conference's top mark at 5-8 and freshman Rachel VanderHolt is tied for second with a best clearance of 5-6. SHE'S GOING THE DISTANCE Senior Traci Hawley looked strong in her first effort of the season in the 3,000 meters, winning the event at the Wisconsin Elite Invitational (Jan. 26) with a time of 10:10.05 seconds. That mark was the top time by any MVC athlete in the event that weekend. Hawley, runner-up at the MVC Cross Country Championships in October, also holds the conference's fastest time in the women's 5,000 meters this season. BACK IN A BIG WAY Senior Jamie Hutchinson, who missed the entire 2007 outdoor season due to a knee injury, returned to the track with a win in the women's 1,000 meters at the Panther Open (Jan. 19), clocking in at 2:58.16. Hutchinson also was part of the Panthers' winning effort in the 4x400 relay, turning a 57.34-second split in the second leg of the race as UNI went on to win in 3:52.57. SOARING TO OLD HEIGHTS UNI senior Crystal Hanson began the 2008 season where she finished the previous campaign, atop The Valley's list of best marks in the high jump. Hanson, who swept the MVC indoor and outdoor high jump titles last season, took second in the event at the Panther Open (Jan. 19) with a 5-foot, 8-inch jump that ranks No. 1 among conference competitors this season. The performance matched her career-best indoor mark, which she set in claiming the conference meet a season ago. FRONT OF THE PACK UNI senior Meredith Kosmacek-Simon earned a pair of top-two finishes in the Panther Open (Jan. 19), taking a win in the 60-meter dash and a runner-up finish in the 200 meters. Simon turned in The Valley's best time of the weekend in the 200 with her 25.59-second finish. She now owns the third spot in the league with a season-best of 24.82. Her winning mark of 7.79 in the 60 was the league's second-best mark over the weekend is sits No. 7 on the season performance list. Simon, who clocked a split of 59.73, also ran the second leg of the UNI 4x400 relay squad that took third in that race behind another Panther squad and Wisconsin's top entry. STARTING STRONG UNI's Mike Craddick claimed the 800 meters in the Panther Open (Jan. 19) with a personal-best effort of 1:56.06. The sophomore shaved 1.8 seconds off his previous personal best to take the season-opening win over Iowa State's Michael Alexander and UNI All-American teammates Ryan Grenko and Cory Goos. Craddick posted the best 800 time of any Valley athlete over the weekend and, for the season, is one of four UNI athletes among the top 10 in the 800.
|
 |
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
 |
