MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Darius King and Alanna Nietert set a new personal bests in the weight throw to move into the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the MVC respectively and Anna Hoyman blew away her previous shot put best by over a meter to move into fifth in the MVC rankings Friday at the Cold Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota.
The Panthers did not bring any track athletes to the event. The UNI contingent only included throwers and a few pole vaulters. The group did not shy away.
UNI earned three top-three finished and a few Panthers climbed up a few spots on the MVC ranking just a week before the conference championship in the UNI-Dome.
Cierra Laux finished second in the pole vault with a jump of 3.53-meters, it was the highest finish for UNI, but the Panthers made the biggest noise in the throws where tough competition pulled the best out of the UNI athletes.
Hoyman finished fifth in the shot put with a throw of 14.77, but her toss was a major improvement on her previous best of 13.72-meters. It was the best toss by a Panther so far this season.
Not to be outdone, Nietert finished third and moved into second place in the MVC with a throw of 19.43-meters. It is the second time this season that she broke the 19-meter mark, but she passed her previous best by 13 inches.
King finished third in the shot put with a toss of 18.81-meters and fifth in the weight throw with a toss of 19.59-meters. His weight throw puts him in the top spot in the league, ahead of Southern Illinois’ Ricky Hurley. He is now ranked 58th in the NCAA in the event.
UNI now preps for the MVC Championship, which will take place Feb. 29- March 7 in the UNI-Dome.
