Oct. 12, 2004

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After a three-week lay-off, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's cross country teams return to action at the Pre-National Invitational Saturday (Oct. 16) in Terre Haute, Ind. The field is expected to feature 87 teams for both the men and women, including some of the nation's top teams and a couple of league foes in Butler and Wright State.

Scouting The Field: Pre-National Invitational

For the women, 23 of the teams ranked in the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association (WICCCA) top 30 will be represented, while five of the seven other teams receiving votes will also be running. The men's competition is equally as challenging as 24 of the United States Cross Country Coaches Association's (USCCCA) top 30 teams are expected to compete, as well as 15-of-17 teams receiving votes.

With such large numbers competing, the meet is broken into `white' and `blue' races for both the men and women. The women lead things off with their blue race at 11 a.m., followed by the white race at 11:35. At 12:10 p.m., the men's blue race begins and is followed by the white race at 12:50. The fields for both races will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 13. Both races are NCAA Championship distances of 6,000m for the women and 10,000m for the men.

Ranked!

The Panther men continue to hold their own in the Great Lakes Region, holding the No. 14 ranking in the latest USCCCA regional poll, released on Monday. After being ranked No. 15 in the preseason poll, Milwaukee moved up to 14th in the second installment.

Last Time Out: Roy Griak Invitational
Women:,/b> Senior Anna Christian finished 69th to pace the Milwaukee women to a 28th-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational. She completed the course in 22:42. Continuing sensational freshman campaigns, Holly Nearmann and Angie Huebner were the second and third Panther runners to finish, respectively. Nearmann placed 128th in the 273-person race, while Huebner was 168th. The duo posted times of 23:34 and 24:14 on the day.

Men: Junior Nate Weiland was the top Panther finisher as the men's cross country team took 21st at the star-studded Roy Griak Invitational. The Waunakee, Wis., native completed the course in 80th place with a time of 25:57. Milwaukee's next three runners finished 16 seconds apart, as senior Bryan Hassemer finished 108th in 26:24 to lead the way. Freshman Nick Hawley and senior Micah Hanthorn were just three seconds apart, finishing 120th in 26:37 and 122nd in 26:40, respectively.

Parkside on the Horizon

Last week's Midwest Collegiate Open took place at the Parkside National Cross Country Course, the host venue for the 2005 league championships. The Panthers are hosting the meet for the first time since 1995, last hosting to the conference championships in Glendale, Wis.

Up Next

The Panthers have two weeks before hosting the Horizon League Championships on Oct. 30.