May 8, 2003

Results

INDIANAPOLIS - Tenia Fisher, Kristy Naef and Lynda Thiel each set a league record on Thursday, the first day of competition at the Horizon League Championships, in Indianapolis. Fisher broke the league's 400m in grabbing the top seed for Friday's finals, while Naef set her mark in the 100m hurdles, also establishing herself as the runner to beat in the finals. Thiel grabbed the league's mark in the javelin, winning with a throw of 36.81m (120'10").

The women's team currently stands in first place after the first day of competition. Thiel and Stephanie Kenesie each picked up a win for the Panthers, with Thiel winning the javelin and Kenesie claiming victory in the long jump. Both earned themselves a trip to the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships later this month in Columbus, Ohio, with their conference victories. Thiel led Naef and Kenesie in scoring points in the javelin, as the pair tied for third place with a throw of 31.94m.

In the long jump, Kenesie led a Panther sweep of the top three places, jumping 5.74m. Finishing second was Kalin Konop with a best jump of 5.24m, while Thiel took third after jumping 5.20m. Michelle Fritsch added a fifth-place finish in the long jump, marking at 5.02m.

Abby Hurst added a fourth-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase, finishing in 11:06.21, with Anna Christian finishing fifth in the 10,000m run in 38:26.08.

Fisher set the league record in the 400m in the preliminaries, finishing in 56.73, breaking the old mark, set last year by Katie Seep at 57.04. Seep and Teresa Braunreiter also qualified for Friday's finals in the 400m.

In the 100m hurdles, Naef set the league mark at 14.45, leading six Milwaukee runners into the finals. Kenesie, Jill Naus, Katie Slamka, Michelle Fritsch and Jodi Hrdina all qualified for the finals as well. In the 100m, Nicole Frey set the standard at 12.37, with Naef and Sara Vanderloop finishing second and third. Iris Perez and Laura Diers also qualified in the 100m.

Frey, Vanderloop and Naef also qualified with the top three times in the 200m. Diers and Perez also qualifed in the 200m. Katie Anderson qualified for the finals of the 800m, while Katie Slamka led three Panthers into the finals of the 400m hurdles. Naus and Hrdina will join Slamka in Friday's finals.

The Panthers scored a total of 52 points on Thursday, placing them 22 points ahead of second-place Butler. Also to be contested Friday is the women's pole vault, which was postponed due to heavy rains.

Friday's events begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Michael A. Carroll Soccer and Track Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.