June 5, 2006

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For the Week of June 6-11

This Week in Panther Track and Field UNI will send five competitors to the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held June 7-10 at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif. The Panthers will be represented by junior Yuriy Litvinski (Sliven, Bulgaria) in the triple jump; sophomore Andre Poljanec (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and junior Jarno Kivioja (Porvoo, Finland) in the pole vault; sophomore Rachel Jansen (Orange City, Iowa) in the shot put; and sophomore Raven Cepeda (Beloit, Wis.) in the decathlon. The complete meet schedule is online at www.hornetsports.com/ncaa/index_2006.asp. Results will be posted at the same link, as well as www.unipanthers.com, each day during the championship.

National Qualifiers Four of UNI's five competitors in the national championships received at-large bids into the field. Rachel Jansen was the team's sole automatic qualifier, after she finished third in the shot put with a school-record throw of 55'5 1/2" at the Midwest Regionals in Austin, Texas, May 26. Jansen has the 12th-best throw in the nation this year. Pole vaulters Andre Poljanec and Jarno Kivioja received at-large entry into the field based on their season-best performances of 17'8 1/2" and 17'5", respectively. Triple jumper Yuriy Litvinski got in on the basis of his season-best mark of 51'10", and Raven Cepeda's 7,371 points in the decathlon also earned him entry. Cepeda's total, which he recorded at the State Farm Outdoor MVC Championships, is tied for the 11th-best total in the NCAA this season.

Panthers Compete at NCAA Midwest Regionals UNI had several outstanding performances, including setting two school records and producing one automatic qualifier, at the NCAA Midwest Regionals in Austin, Texas, May 26-27. Sophomore Rachel Jansen (Orange City, Iowa) finished third in the shot with a school-record throw of 55'5 ½". With her third-place finish, Jansen also qualified for the NCAA championships, held June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif. In addition, In a hammer throw event loaded with talented athletes, Jansen broke her own school record with a toss of 184'6". That mark saw Jansen finish 13th overall, as 15 athletes topped 180 feet and seven threw better than 190. Junior Yuriy Litvinski (Sliven, Bulgaria) placed sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 51'1 ¾". In the pole vault, junior Jarno Kivioja (Porvoo, Finland) finished seventh with a season-best jump of 17'5". Sophomore Andre Poljanec (Ljubljana, Slovenia) finished 10th, clearing 17'1", and sophomore Raven Cepeda (Beloit, Wis.) tied for 17th with a personal best height of 16'7 ¼". Freshman Ryan Grenko (Iowa City, Iowa) ran a career-best 46.83 in the preliminaries of the 400 meters, and ending up finishing sixth in the finals. Freshman Marcin Kazubowski (Gdansk, Poland) finished 10th in the javelin with his best throw being 196'11. UNI's 4x400 relay team of Mark Harris (Toronto, Canada), Greg Offerman (Charles City, Iowa), Tyler Mulder (Orange City, Iowa) and Ryan Grenko (Iowa City, Iowa) finished eighth in a season-best time of 3:08.89. Other Panthers competitors included senior Morgen Edwards (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), who finished 18th in the shot put with a throw of 46'0 ½". Edwards also finished 22nd in the hammer with a throw of 158'8" and placed 16th in the discus with a toss of 155'7". Senior Kyle Smith (Toronto, Ontario) placed seventh in his heat of the 800 meter preliminaries in a time of 1:50.33, while freshman Offerman ran a time of 52.64 in his heat of the prelims of 400 meter hurdles.

2006 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team Twelve UNI track and field athletes were named to the 2006 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team. The criteria for the team requires a student-athlete to have placed in the top six at either the indoor or outdoor Valley championship and to maintain a GPA of 3.00 or higher. Freshman and first-year junior college transfer students are not eligible. The following Panthers are members of the 2006 team. Amy Bagge, So., 3.56, Business Administration, Distance Medley Relay Stacy Butt, So, 3.93, Accounting, 4x100 Morgen Edwards, Jr., 3.45, Communicative Disorders, Shot Put, Discus, Hammer Angie German, Sr., 3.50, Health Education, 4x400 Jamie Hutchinson, Jr., 3.44, General Studies, 800m, 4x400 Meredith Kosmacek, So., 3.33, Textiles and Apparel, 4x100 Yana Kruglikova, Jr., 3.63, Psychology, Pentathlon, Triple Jump Kara Yahn, Jr., 3.22, Health Promotion, 60m H, 4x400 Cody Eichmeier, Jr., 3.15, Physical Education, Long Jump, 200m Yuriy Litvinski, Jr., 3.09, Physical Education/Exercise Science, Triple Jump Andre Poljanec, So., 3.85, Mathematics, Pole Vault Kyle Smith, Sr., 3.21, Physical Education, 800m

Cepeda Named Outstanding Field Athlete After winning the decathlon at the 2006 MVC Outdoor Championships, sophomore Raven Cepeda (Beloit, Wis.) was named Outstanding Male Field Athlete. Cepeda scored a career-best 7,371 points, posting victories in the 100 hurdles, discus, pole vault and shot put. Cepeda came back and qualifed for the 100 hurdles the same day as wrapping up the decathlon and then placed sixth in the event the following day.

Outdoor Valley Championships - Wichita, Kan. - May 12-14 The University of Northern Iowa men's track and field team tied for third and its women's team finished fifth at the 2006 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference championships. UNI crowned two individual champions and captured one relay title, and had a total of 28 all-conference honors on the weekend. Athletes earn all-conference by placing in the top three of individual events. In the final event of the day, the Panthers men's 4x400 pushed the Panthers into a tie for third. The quartet of Mark Harris (Toronto, Canada), Tyler Mulder (Orange City, Iowa), Kyle Smith (Toronto, Canada) and Ryan Grenko (Iowa City, Iowa) won the event in 3:12.11. UNI's individual champions were pole vaulter Andre Poljanec (Ljubljana, Slovenia), who cleared 17'6 ½", and Raven Cepeda (Beloit, Wis.), winner of the decathlon. Rachel Jansen (Orange City, Iowa) had an outstanding weekend, breaking the UNI school record in the shot put with a mark of 53'0". That earned her a second place finish in the event and was her third all-conference honor of the meet, after she earlier finished third in the hammer throw with a school record throw of 182'4 1/4" and second in the discus.