May 11, 2006

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For the Week of May 8-14

This Week in Panther Track and Field
UNI travels to Wichita, Kan., for this weekend's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The three day meet, hosted by Wichita State University, starts on Friday (May 12) and runs through Sunday (May 14). The complete meet schedule can be found at either www.unipanthers.com or www.goshockers.com.

Kivioja Named MVC Field Athlete of the Week
University of Northern Iowa standout pole vaulter Jarno Kivioja (Porvoo, Finland) was been honored as one of this week's Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week.
     Kivioja won the Wisconsin Twilight pole vault competition on May 6, clearing and NCAA regional qualifying height of 17-0 ¾. For the season, Kivioja has the second-highest height in the MVC at 17-4 ½.

Panthers Picked Second, Fifth In MVC Outdoor Pre-Championship Poll
Defending men's outdoor track and field champion University of Northern Iowa was picked to finish second in the 2006 Missouri Valley Conference pre-championship coaches poll, released May 9 by the MVC office. UNI's women were picked to finish fifth, both of which will be hosted by Wichita State University this weekend (May 12-14).
     The Panthers men, who claimed their seventh straight MVC indoor championship at the UNI-Dome in February, received one first place vote and 41 points to finish behind Indiana State in voting by the league's head coaches. The Sycamores received five first-place votes and 47 total points. Southern Illinois received the other first place vote and 34 total points, finishing third in the voting.
  On the women's side, Wichita State was a unanimous pick to win, receiving all eight first place votes. Illinois State was second with 51 points, followed by Missouri State (49), Southern Illinois (40) and UNI (33).

MVC Outdoor Track and Field Men's Pre-Championship Coaches Poll
1. Indiana State (5) 47
2. UNI (1) 41
3. Southern Illinois (1) 34
4. Wichita State 24
    Illinois State 24
6. Missouri State 14
7. Drake 17

MVC Outdoor Track and Field Women's Pre-Championship Coaches Poll
1. Wichita State (8) 64
2. Illinois State 51
3. Missouri State 49
4. Southern Illinois 40
5. UNI 33
6. Indiana State 23
7. Drake 20
8. Bradley 8

Last Week for the Panthers
The Panther track and field team competed in the Wisconsin Twilight Invitational on Saturday, May 6th. The all day event produced many top finishes for both the men and the women.
     Dylan Davis (Adel, Iowa) ran to a first place victory in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.39. Senior Patrick Hunter (Racine, Wis.) took second in the 100-meter dash while Raven Cepeda (Beloit, Wis.) finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles and freshman Mat Clark (Ames, Iowa) finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles. In field events, Jarno Kivioja (Porvoo, Finland) took first in the men's pole vault with a height of 17-0 ¾. Cepeda finished fourth in the high jump and Yuriy Litvinski (Sliven, Bulgaria) took third in the men's long jump with a distance of 22-06 ¼.
     For the women, Lynnette Wilson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) finished second in the 400-meter dash with a personal best time of 56.27. Senior Angie German Manchester, Iowa ( took fourth in the 800-meter run and Cali Lyons (Dubuque, Iowa) finished third in the 100-meter hurdles. Blair Runde (Platteville, Wis.) took third in the women's long jump with a mark of 17-05 ½.

UNI Claims 2005 MVC Men's Outdoor Championship
The University of Northern Iowa claimed the men's team title, while Wichita State University won the women's team crown, at the 2005 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
     The Panther men had a huge Sunday. UNI was in third place entering the final day of competition, trailing second-day leader Wichita State by 25 points. But the Panthers outscored the Shockers 140 to 47 on Sunday to win going away, finishing with a 68 point edge over second place WSU - their largest outdoor margin of victory of the four MVC outdoor championships under head coach Chris Bucknam.
     UNI was led by senior Dirk Homewood (Cedar Falls, Iowa), who was named the meet's outstanding track athlete and was high men's point scorer. Homewood claimed two individual titles, in the 200 meters (20.88) and 400 meters (45.78). His 400 meter time set a new UNI and MVC outdoor championship record.
     Homewood was also a part of UNI's winning 4x100 relay team. Running the third leg, Homewood - along with Jamie Goodwin (McKeesport, Pa.), Cody Eichmeier (Ackley, Iowa), and anchor Patrick Hunter (Racine, Wis.) set a school as well as Missouri Valley Conference outdoor championships record with a time of 39.96. Their clocking was more than a full second ahead of runner-up Wichita State.
     The Panthers had outstanding performances all day long, also claiming men's championships in the 4x400 relay with the team of Ryan Kedley (Lowden, Iowa), Mark Harris (Toronto, Canada), Brent Dahlstrom (Cedar Falls, Iowa) and Terrance Reid (Davenport, Iowa) in a time of 3:10.92; Hunter in the 100 meters (10.43); and Andre Poljanec (Ljubljana, Slovenia) in the pole vault (17-10 ½). The Panthers went 1-2-3 in the pole vault, with Jarno Kivioja (Porvoo, Finland) placing second after jumping 17-2 ¾, and Raven Cepeda (Beloit, Wis.) third with a height of 16-6 ¾.
     UNI cleaned up in the 200 meters, taking four of the six scoring positions. Following Homewood were Eichmeier in second (21.27), Hunter in third (also officially 21.27) and Goodwin in fifth (21.53).
     Other top performances included Kyle Smith (Toronto, Canada) finishing second in the 800 meters in a time of 1:51.76, while teammate Adam Hinders (Waverly, Iowa) placed third in 1:52.76. Yuriy Litvinski (Sliven, Bulgaria) finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 49-10 3/4, while Jon Drury (Clarion, Iowa) placed third in the 400 hurdles (53.17) and fifth in the 110 hurdles (14.57). 
     The Panthers' women finished sixth overall. Individually, freshman Crystal Hanson (Roland, Iowa) placed third in the high jump with a mark of 5'7". In the 400 meters, Lauren Carruthers (Bettendorf, Iowa) was fourth in 54.76 and Lynnette Wilson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) sixth in 55.81. Kara Yahn (Clinton, Iowa) managed a fifth-place showing in the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:01.44, while Sarah Behrens (Marathon, Iowa) and Morgen Edwards (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the shot put.