MILWAUKEE, Wis. (May 22, 2007) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's track and field teams will look to extend their seasons this weekend as eight athletes and two relays will head to Columbia, Mo., for the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional.

The group, the largest UWM has ever sent to regionals, will compete Friday and Saturday for berths to the NCAA Championships next month in Sacramento, Calif.

Seniors Nick Gretz (shot put, discus), Trentin Edwards (200m, relays), Jeremy Majors (800m, 4x400m relay) and Nick Wichert (hammer throw) and junior Darren Cole (triple jump) will make the trek south representing the Milwaukee men. The team will also field 4x100m and 4x400m relays, bringing freshmen Tyler Bucholz and Isaiah Adams and junior Lynn Koepke to Missouri.

On the women's side, senior Timeka Walker (200m), junior Amber Curtis (discus) and sophomore Jenni Saarinen (long jump) will compete this weekend.

The top five finishers in each event will advance to the NCAA Championships, while all athletes that finish in the top 12 will be eligible for at-large berths. The Panthers have not had a competitor qualify for nationals since Cory Peterson (indoor 800m) in 1998. Peterson, a three-time indoor qualifier, Angie Molter, who qualified in the outdoor 10,000m in 1996, and Tim Kenney (indoor 800m, 1995) are the only athletes to qualify for the NCAA Championships in UWM's Division I history.

The men's hammer throw, men's discus and women's long jump are scheduled for Friday morning, with the hammer getting the meet underway at 11 a.m. The preliminaries of all the running events will begin at 3 p.m. with the 4x100m relay. The 4x400m relay is the only running event the Panthers will compete that does not have a preliminary. The event will be Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

Fans can watch the action live here, courtesy of University of Missouri. There will also be live results and links to each of the other regionals.

A look at the Panthers competing this weekend:
Darren Cole (triple jump) - Cole qualified for his first regional in winning his second outdoor triple jump championship. He leapt a personal-best 49-3 to squeak by the standard of 49-2 ½.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: 51-1 ½]

Amber Curtis (Discus) - Curtis has regional experience from her time at Nebraska and enters the weekend sixth in the region in the discus. She had her best throw of 164-6 at the Big Blue Classic. That throw was a school record, while she added the league record in the event to her resume when she won the league title two weeks ago.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: 165-0]

Trentin Edwards (200m, 4x100m, 4x400m) - Edwards met the regional standard during the prelims at the league championships, running a school and league-record 21.02. He went on to win both events for the third-straight year and was named the league's Outstanding Track Performer.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: 21.15]

Nick Gretz (shot put, discus) - The highest nationally-ranked of the group, Gretz heads into the weekend fourth in the region in the shot put and eighth in the discus. He set school records in both this season and eclipsed the NCAA Regional standard in both events multiple times. He won Horizon League championships in both events and won the shot put at the Drake Relays. It was there he achieved his best shot put distance of 60-7 ¾. Gretz threw 181-3 in the discus at the Big Blue Classic.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: shot put 58-3/discus 183-7]

Jeremy Majors (800m, 4x400m) - Majors is making his school-record third NCAA Regional appearance. He won the Horizon League 800m championship, but reached the regional time at the Drake Relays. He is currently 22nd in the region, but owns the school record in the event of 1:48.97.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: 21.15]

Jenni Saarinen (long jump) - The Outstanding Field Performer at the Horizon League championships, Saarinen is competing in the long jump. She qualified as a conference champ, one of three events she won at the league meet. Her best distance this season has been 18-5 ¼, but she is the school record holder in the event with a leap of 19-9 ½ last season.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: 20-8 ½]

Timeka Walker (200m) - Like Edwards, Walker had a blistering prelim of the 200m at the league meet. She also set school and league marks with her time of 23.94. The time came in just under the qualifier of 23.96. League champ in the 100m and 200m, she was named the league's Outstanding Track Performer and is running at her second regional.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: 23.60]

Nick Wichert (hammer throw) - Wichert became the first Panther to ever top the 190-foot mark in the hammer throw this season and has done so at six meets. He has also bettered the regional mark seven times, including at the league championships when he broke his own school and league records to win his second league title. That throw of 194-5 is 19th in the region.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: 202-9]

4x100m, 4x400m Relays - Both Panther relays are coming off league titles two weeks ago. The 4x100m group hit the qualifying standard of 42.66 on the nose at the league meet, while the 4x400m relay qualified for the meet as a conference champion. Freshmen Tyler Bucholz (1st) and Isaiah Adams (2nd) went one and two in the 400m at the league meet and run with both relays. Edwards will also run with both relays, while junior Lynn Koepke will fill out the 4x100m and Majors the 4x400m. The 4x400m ran a season-best time of 3:12.64 in winning the league crown and just missing the school record.
[Fifth place at the 2006 Mideast Regional: 4x100m 40.27/4x400m relay 3:05.54]

Schedule of Milwaukee Events
Friday, May 24
11:00 a.m. - Men's Hammer Throw (Wichert)
3:00 p.m. - Men's 4x100m Relay Preliminaries
3:30 p.m. - Men's Discus (Gretz)
4:45 p.m. - Women's Long Jump (Saarinen)
6:10 p.m. - Men's 800m Preliminaries (Majors)
7:50 p.m. - Men's 200m Preliminaries (Edwards)
8:10 p.m. - Women's 200m Preliminaries (Walker)

Saturday, May 25
2:00 p.m. - Men's Shot Put (Gretz)
3:30 p.m. - Women's Discs (Curtis)
4:00 p.m. - Men's Triple Jump (Cole)
4:00 p.m. - Men's 4x100m Relay Finals
5:25 p.m. - Men's 800m Finals
6:00 p.m. - Men's 200m Finals
6:05 p.m. - Women's 200m Finals
7:05 p.m. - Men's 4x400m Relay Finals