CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Northern Iowa track and field team opened up the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships with a strong showing in the heptathlon, decathlon and women's hammer throw Friday.

In the hammer throw, senior Rachel Jansen broke her own school record for the third consecutive meet with a toss of 203 feet, 4 inches. The throw was good enough for second place, trailing Southern Illinois' Brittany Riley, who won the event with a toss of 218-6.

Sophmore Courtney Landers took sixth for the Panthers with a personal-best toss of 169 feet.

In the women's heptathlon, the Panthers hold the top four spots after the first day. Sophomore Dani Stipe leads the Panthers after posting 3,212 points. Stipe is followed by Olimpia Nowak, Rachel VanderHolt and Alyssa Fischer.

Nowak claimed the top spot in the 100-meter hurdles, while VanderHolt captured the high jump and Stipe took the 200.

In the men's decathlon, Panther junior Mat Clark is leading after day one. Clark currently holds a 189-point edge over Wichita State's Krzystof Slupkowski. Panther senior and two-time defending MVC decathlon champion Raven Cepeda is in fourth place with a score of 3,853.

Action continues today. The women's and men's shot-put, and the 100 meters will highlight the day.