Printer-friendly format Email this article Head Coach Pete Corfeld

Panther Men To Welcome 11 Newcomers In Fall

Milwaukee adds wide range of newcoming athletes

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Aug. 27, 2008) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's track and field team has announced the signing of 11 incoming freshmen to National Letters of Intent.

Head coach Pete Corfeld made the announcement Thursday that Zach Sharkey-Ketner of Milwaukee, Wis., Garrett Vetesnik of Richland Center, Wis., Ben Crogan of Waterford, Wis., Drew Feuk of New Prague, Wis., Jake Spaciel of Waterford, Wis., Ryan Bader of Nekoosa, Wis., Dan Uphoff of New London, Wis., Ryan Baumgartner of Blaine, Minn., Jake Whitewater of La Crosse, Wis., Chris Schuenke of Reedsville, Wis., and Nick Dalske of Coon Rapids, Minn., will join the Panthers beginning with the 2008-09 school year.

Sharkey-Ketner is a Milwaukee product, coming out of Marshall High School. He is the two-time reigning state champion in the 300m hurdles. He had the state's best time in the event as both a junior and senior and is sixth in state history (37.85). He also competed at the state meet in the 200m three times and ran with the state runner-up 4x100m relay as a junior. His personal-best 200m time is 21.77.

"A two-time state champion, Zach has proven he can compete when the pressure is on at the big meets," Corfeld said. "He is yet another athlete in this recruiting class who has posted a top-10 all-time performance. He has great speed and, with his limited background in the hurdles, he should be able to see exponential improvements as he learns the finer points of the hurdle events."

Vetesnik has been a factor in the pole vault at the state meet in each of the last three years while competing for Richland Center High School. He won a state title in the event as a junior and tied as runner-up as a senior. His sophomore year, he placed fifth in the event. Vetesnik's personal-best jump of 15-7 is also ranked sixth in state history.

"Garrett is one of the top high school pole vaulters the state has seen. He comes to UWM with the sixth-best pole vault performance," Corfeld said. "As a state champion, he has shown the ability to compete in big meets when the pressure is on."

"Ben is a very impressive athlete," Corfeld said. "He has good speed and is very explosive. He will have to learn some new events this year for the decathlon. He does have great performances in two of the harder events, in the high jump and pole vault, which will help him to have early success as he learns the new events."

Another multi-event performer is Feuk out of New Prague High School. In the 110m hurdles as a senior, he ran the second-best time in the state (14.71) and won the state title in the event. He also competed at state in the 300m his final season and placed ninth in the 110m hurdles as a junior. His best time in the 300m hurdles is 40.12 and her cleared 14-0 in the pole vault in his prep career.

"Drew comes in as the Minnesota state champion in the hurdles," Corfeld said. "He has had the success in the 110m hurdles and pole vault in high school, two of the more technical events in the decathlon. He will have to learn some new events this year for the decathlon, but his talent, determination and mental toughness will help him have success."

Spaciel attended Waterford High School, where he was a three-time state qualifier. As a senior, he ran the eighth-fastest 400m time in the state (48.94) and placed sixth in the event at state. He also competed in the long jump at the same meet and with the 4x200m relay as a freshman.

"Jake will be adding the 800m as one of his events," Corfeld said. "He did cross country in high school as well, so with his proven leg speed and distance base, there should be something special there. He will bolster the middle distance tradition we've established here at UWM."

Bader is the lone thrower of the group and will join two redshirt freshman throwers on the Panthers roster. He placed sixth at the state meet in the discus throw in each of his final three years at Nekoosa High School. As a senior, he had the fourth-best discus throw in the state (179-5) and ranked 44th in state history. In the shot put, he best throw has been 52-6.

"To be one of the top 50 all-time is special," Corfeld said. "We have had a few on the list (Matt Jensen, Nick Wichert and Nick Gretz) and we expect Ryan to continue that tradition in the black and gold. He understands the basics of each event. This knowledge will allow him to make the transition to the heavier Division I weights."

Uphoff joins the program from New London High School, where he competed at the state cross country meet as a sophomore and was a two-time state qualifier in track. His senior year, he was ninth in the state in the 3200m with a time of 9:27.59 and posted a personal-best 1600m time of 4:27. That season, he took 17th in the 3200m after competing with the 4x800m relay as a freshman. In cross country, he took fifth at the Division 2 state meet as a senior.

"Dan is a true distance runner and he is willing to go the distance," Corfeld said. "He has unlimited possibilities when he gets the experience of training in a Division I program under his belt."

Baumgartner competed at the Minnesota State Cross Country meet his final two years at Blaine High School. He finished 24th at the state meet as a senior, covering the 5000m track in 16:02. He also placed sixth at the state track and field meet in the 3200m, finishing in 9:36.89. Meanwhile, his best time in the 1600m was 4:27.34.

"Ryan should see significant improvement with teammates to push him," Corfeld said. "He has improved each year and we expect him to shore up the distance program for sure."

Whitewater was a four-year state qualifier at Logan High School, competing primarily in the jumps. As a senior, he took fourth in the triple jump, sixth with the 4x200m relay and competed in the long jump. He also boasted a sixth-place finish in the triple jump as a junior and fifth-place showing in the long jump as a freshman. Whitewater also ran with the state runner-up 4x400m relay as a sophomore, the same year he qualified in the 100m. Whitewater finished his high school career with strong performances in the triple jump (46-9), long jump (22-2), 100m (10.94) and 200m (22.24).

"Jake is a talented multi-sport athlete coming out of high school," Corfeld said. "The success that he has had in the sprints will be a great asset to him in the jumps. He will make an immediate impact and help to continue the success of our jump and sprint events."

Schuenke comes to UWM after taking 23rd at the state cross country meet his senior year at Reedsville High School. It was the second state cross country meet appearance of his career after doing so his sophomore year. As a junior, he also competed at the state track meet, taking 15th in the 1600m. At sectionals as a senior, he ran 4:28 in the 1600m.

"Chris is a very tough individual," Corfeld said. "Giving 100 percent effort when he runs is his forte. He is a sleeper that will surprise a few people, but not us."

Dalske comes to Milwaukee out of Coon Rapids High School, where he was a state-qualifier in the hurdles. He posted the second-best time in the state in the 300m as a senior (38.33) and went in to take fifth at the state meet in the event. He was fourth in the event as a junior. In the 110m hurdles, he qualified as a senior and had a best time of 15.02.

"Nick will benefit from having teammates that can push him daily," Corfeld said. "He should see improvements as he learns the complexity of the hurdle events. Nick will add depth to our 400m runners and help to continue the succss the program has had in the 400m and 400m hurdle events."