Results

MADISON, Wis. (Jan. 16, 2010) - Freshman Flo Mafany made a strong collegiate debut, winning the 400m and taking second in the 60m hurdles, to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's track and field team to a third-place showing at the season-opening Badger Quad Saturday.

Behind Mafany's efforts, the Panthers finished with 106 points, trailing host Wisconsin and Marquette. The Badgers scored 194 points to win the meet and the Golden Eagles were second with 118. SIU Edwardsville was also at the meet, taking fourth with 72.

"We showed pretty good this week, with about 70 percent of the team competing," UWM head coach Pete Corfeld said. "We were a little rough around the edges, but we got some PR's in various areas and showed that there's promise, considering the time of year."

Mafany ran a time of 58.49 to win the 400m and post the ninth-best time in school history in the event. Her day was not done there, as she topped the preliminary field of the 60m hurdles and took second in the finals. Her finals time of 8.93 narrowly missed the school record in the event of 8.91. In the 400m, UWM took the top two places, as junior Angie Kaufmann was second in 58.70.

Another freshman made an immediate impact by cracking Milwaukee's top-10 chart, as Samia Taylor leapt 38-5 in the triple jump for fourth in the event and school history. Senior Beth Zimmerman, who sat out 2009 to focus on school, returned to action with a fifth-place showing and a leap of 37-6.

The Panthers received runner-up finishes in three other events on the day. Sophomore Courtney Fisher cleared 11-1 3/4 in the pole vault to take second based on jumps. Freshman Chantel McConville was third with a height of 10-8. Mafany, Kaufmann, junior Tanaiya Fisher and sophomore Shelby Schaal collaborated on a 4x400m relay time of 4:02.64, also taking second. Fisher added a third-place showing in the 800m with a time of 2:21.49 and sophomore Shannon Brown was sixth in 2:29.56.

In the long jump, senior Jenni Parish (nee Saarinen) led four Panthers in the top six, taking second with a jump of 18-1 3/4. Senior Kory Olson scored in fourth place with a distance of 17-8 3/4, while Zimmerman was fifth and Schaal sixth.

Sophomore Katie Duchow was UWM's final top-five finisher, doing so in the 60m (7.94), while McConville also scored in the high jump with a height of 5-2 1/2 tying her for sixth. Sophomore Ashlee Mongoven scored in the event in eighth, clearing 5-1.

"We look forward to getting the rest of the team out there next week for our dual meet with Marquette and defend our home turf," Corfeld said. "We have a lot of work to do, but you do every year. I'm optimistic that we can build on our performances this week."

Milwaukee returns to action next weekend in the first of two home meets during the indoor season. The Panthers host Marquette in a dual meet Saturday (Jan. 23) at the Klotsche Center. The meet gets underway at 10 a.m. with field events and the running events to follow.