NEW ORLEANS --- UNI redshirt senior Carter Morton has been named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) National Male Athlete of the Week, as announced by the organization on Monday afternoon.

A Jefferson, Iowa native, Morton receives the honor after a breakout performance at the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational in Iowa City on Saturday, winning the heptathlon with a UNI and Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) record 6,054 points, becoming the first heptathlete in Panther and conference to surpass 6,000 points.

In his record breaking performance, Morton set new career-best marks in the shot put (43' 10 ½"), high jump (7' ¼"), 60-meter hurdles (8.19) and the 1,000 meters (2:45.76). 

Morton leads all of Division I with the highest heptathlon score and is the only heptathlete this year in the nation to surpass 6,000 points. His marks at the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational in the high jump and long jump also rank fifth and seventh respectively in Division I this season.

Morton was a First Team All-American during the 2024-25 indoor season, placing fifth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The most valuable athlete of last season's MVC Indoor Championships, he won the long jump, high jump and triple jump at the conference championships in Chicago, helping propel the Panther men to a team championship.

Morton and the Panthers return to the track on Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Minnesota Open in Minneapolis.

UNI track and field action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Track and Field), X (@UNITrackFieldXC) and on Instagram (@uni_tf_xc). Schedules and rosters, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.