Feb. 11, 2004

MILWAUKEE -

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Iowa State Classic
When: Fri.-Sat., Feb. 13-14
Where: Aimes, Iowa
Start Time: 4:00 p.m./10:00 a.m.

Pepsi Challenge
When: Sat., Feb. 14
Where: Kenosha, Wis.
Start Time: 11:00 a.m.

On Tap
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men and women's track and field team will split up this weekend for two different competitions. One group will head to Aimes, Iowa for the Iowa State Cyclone Classic. The two-day event is set to kick off on Friday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. The event will close out on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m.

The second meet the Panthers will send athletes to is the Pepsi Challenge. Once again, UWM will head to the campus of Carthage College to compete in the event, set to be held on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m.

Learning Experiences (men's recap)
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's track team headed into the den of Northern Iowa for the Panther Classic on Saturday (2/7) afternoon and came out with some positive performances. Though no team scores were recorded in the meet, the men found ways to make the most of the long road trip.

Throughout the day the Panther men showed that they have a mid-distance and distance group that is going to give it their all throughout every meet. In the 600-meter run, Gabe Wagoner finished third (1:21.75), Jeremy Majors placed fourth (1:21.92) and Elliot Enright finished sixth (1:22.25). Nick Bruskewitz paced the way for the Panthers in the 800-meter run with a second-place finish (1:57.45). Freshman sensation Justin Gorman (2:29.81), Adam Swanson (2:31.69) and Andy Kivioja (2:33.07) ran tough in the 1,000-meter run by placing second, fourth and seventh. Rounding out the top distance performances, Nate Weiland (8:48.70), Ben Uphoff (8:50.28) and Bryan Hassemer (8:53.95) made sure the 3,000-meter run was covered by placing second, third and fourth.

Other notable performances on the day came from Nick Gretz, Nick Wichert, Nick Davis and Kyle Huebner. Gretz and Wichert placed fifth and sixth for UWM in the weight throw. Gretz would later add a fifth-place finish in the shot put. Nick Davis placed fifth in the high jump and Kyle Huebner finished right behind Davis in sixth-place. Huebner closed out his day by placing sixth in the pole vault.

Keeping The Pace (women's recap)
The UWM women followed the same type of plan that the men were following: have good individual showings. The women followed the plan fairly well and had numerous top-10 finishes throughout the day.

The Panther women were highlighted with performances by Kalin Konop, Alison Schnelle, Iris Perez and Katie Seep. Konop placed third for the Panthers in the triple jump (35-4.00), Schnelle recorded a third-place finish in the high jump (4-11.75) and Perez scored the highest placing in the running events with a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash (25.61). Katie Seep paced the way for UWM in the 800-meter run with a fourth-place finish (2:20.27).

Even though the Panther women did not have a bevy of top finishes, there were many solid efforts to note. Schnelle added a fifth-place finish in the triple jump behind Konop and Stephanie Ray added a sixth-place finish. Ray also finished sixth in the pole vault. On the running side of things, Timeka Walker (7.82) placed sixth in the 60-meter dash while Sara Vanderloop (8.00) and Perez (8.00) tied for eighth. Walker and VanderLoop also placed fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 200-meter dash. Teresa Braunreiter and Amber Perri added a fifth and sixth-place finish in the 400-meter run during the competition. In the distance events, Griffin McNulty and Katie Anderson placed fifth and sixth in the 1,000-meter run while Christine Wampach and Kourtney Nault finished fourth and sixth in the 3,000-meter run.

Panther Top Performers
This week's top track and field top performers are Nick Bruskewitz and Iris Perez.

Bruskewitz put a solid showing together in a meet that featured teams like Northern Iowa, Iowa State and Marquette. The Junior from Madison, claimed second (1:57.45) in the 800-meter run Saturday afternoon just barely missing out on beating the first-place time (1:57.21) by Northern Iowa's Tibor Vegh. The time set by Bruskewitz places him second on UWM's top times list and was his best time of the season.

Perez scored the highest finish for the Panther women during the Northern Iowa Classic by claiming second-place in the 200-meter dash (25.61). Perez also ran a season-best time in the 60-meter dash (8.00). The sophomore pushed herself into first-place on UWM's top times list with her 200-meter dash-time and is currently tied for second in the 60-meter dash.

The Totals So Far
As the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has opened up the 2004 indoor track and field season, the Horizon League has been making sure the individual efforts haven't gone unnoticed.

Since the Panther have opened their season, the program has already had four athletes of the week (two men and two women). The Panthers have had Eric Gresham, Katie Slamka, and most recently, Justin Gorman and Griffin McNulty receive the league's weekly award.

Distancing Themselves
The men's distance runners have been taking themselves away from the pack in the early portion of the season.

So far, the Panthers sit atop the Horizon League top times list in the 600-meter run (Gabe Wagoner - 1:21.75), the 1000-meter run (Justin Gorman - 2:29.81) and the 1500-meter run (Andy Kivioja - 4:07.30).

Besides having top times, the Panther men also hold second-place in the 600-meter run (Jeremy Majors - 1:21.92), the 800-meter run (Justin Gorman - 1:54.72), the 1000-meter run (Adam Swanson - 2:31.69) ad the 1500-meter run (Josh Nygren - 4:07.30).

In The Thick of Things
The women's sprinters are putting themselves right in the thick of things for the league's top times list.

Currently, Katie Slamka has the time to beat in the 55-meter hurdles (8.57) and is sitting in 2nd in the 400-meter run (59.40). Sophomore Timeka Walker ranks 2nd and 3rd in the 55-meter dash (7.22) and 60-meter dash (7.82). Jodi Hrdina ranks second in both the 55-meter hurldes (8.78) and the 60-meter hurdles (9.39).

Rebuilding The Engine Like New
After finishing fourth at last year's Horizon League Indoor Championships and dropping to fifth in the outdoor championships, the Panther men are readying themselves to rebuild the engine to run as if it's brand new. The Panthers had 13 freshman on last year's squad. 10 of them will be returning for 2003-04. Returning 10 freshmen into their second year has been a recipe many coaches use to build depth and to add the necessary experience in hopes that it will translate into early succes. The Panthers still have some key cogs that were a part of the last teams to win the league championship in Adam Hobbler, Eric Gresham and Nick Davis. All three were members of the last indoor and outdoor championships that the Panthers claimed in 2001. Brightness is on the horizon as the Panthers will return some solid sophomores. Gabe Wagoner, named indoor track athlete of the year, and Josh Nygren, who was a solid performer for the cross country program and paced himself all the way to the NCAA Regional Championship.

Defending The Title
The Panther women enter 2003-04 as the reigning indoor and outdoor champions for the Horizon League. The Panthers have entered each season that way since the 2000-01 season. The Panthers won the indoor championship last year on the Klotsche Center Track with 165 team points, third highest in league history. The squad also notched a victory in the outdoor championships. The next closest team to the Panthers had 81 points (Butler). Kristin Naef, Lynda Theil and Stephanie Kenesie were all major contributors to the championships, but have since moved on due to graduation. The Panthers will look to returners like Kalin Konop, Sara Vanderloop, Tenia Fisher and Katie Slamka to continue the dominance. Konop finished 2nd and 3rd in the long jump and triple jump in last year's outdoor championships. VanderLoop placed 4th in the 100 and 3rd in the 200. Fisher claimed the victory in the 400-meter dash and Slamka placed 3rd in the 100-meter hurdles and 2nd in the 400-meter hurdles.

The Numbers Game
On the men's side, the Panthers will have a total of 28 athletes. This year's men's roster is dominated by underclassemen. The freshman and sophomore class make up 20 of the competing 28 athletes for the men. The women's team follows the same type pattern. Currently, the roster has 31 athletes while 22 of them are freshman and sophomores.

Three-peat
The Panther women had goals to return to championship form that last season, and that's exactly what they did. The women's track and field team won the Horizon League Championship for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2003. The Panther's three-peated for the outdoor championship with a dominating team performance that was capped off by 252 points. Last season marked the return of the indoor championship and a successful defense of the outdoor.

Adding More Hardware
Panther head coach Pete Corfeld added more hardware to his coaching collection in 2003. Already named Coach of the Year an astounding 17 times, Corfeld increased that total to 19 by leading the Panther women to a title during the indoor and outdoor seasons. After leading the women to two more championships, Corfeld increased his championship total to 20 as a head coach.