Results

MADISON, Wis. (Jan. 31, 2009) - Junior Kelsey Conrad won the 400m and ran with the first-place 4x400m relay to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's track and field team in action at the Wisconsin Elite Invitational Saturday.

"Our team did pretty well today. It was definitely a step up from two weeks ago here in Madison," UWM head coach Pete Corfeld said. "Today was more indicative of what this team is about now that we are getting events filled in and getting people competing in every event. I was pleased with the results. I see a couple teams that will be competing for championships in the Horizon League which is exciting."

Conrad won the 400m with her time of 57.00. In the event, sophomore Angie Kaufmann took fourth in 59.12. Then, in the 4x400m, Conrad and Kaufmann were joined by freshmen Shelby Schaal and Erika Hanson. The quartet posted a time of 3:52.04 in winning the event.

The Panthers also got a host of top-five finishers, including junior Reigna Pierce in the long jump. Pierce was second in the event with a jump of 17-11 1/2, while freshman Ashlee Mongoven took fifth at 16-7. Junior Jamie Woods followed up her win in the shot put at the Badger Track Classic with a third-place showing Saturday, throwing 41-5.

Seniors Holly Nearman and Jenni Saarinen also had third-place showings with Nearman running 10:12.87 in the 3000m and Saarinen clearing 5-3 1/4 to tie for third in the high jump. In the 3000m, junior Abbie Zaspel crossed the line in 10:17.82.

Junior Stef Ross posted a fourth-place finish in the 60m, running 7.96, just ahead of freshman Katie Duchow in sixth in 8.06. Duchow and two more rookie runners added fifth-place finishes. Duchow's came in the 200m (26.24). Hanson finished fifth in the 600m in 1:37.40, which is tied for seventh in school history and freshman Calanetta Burrows was fifth in the 60m hurdles, finishing in 9.30.

Junior Emily Budde also had a strong showing, taking seventh in the pentathlon Friday. She scored a career-best 3,196 points, which put her third in school history. Her best event was the 60m hurdles, where she finished in a personal-best 9.15.

The Panthers return to action at the Mayo Invitational, next Saturday (Feb. 7) in South Bend, Ind.