April 7, 2004

MILWAUKEE -

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On Tap: Lee Calhoun Invitational
When: Sat. April 10, 2004
Where: Macomb, Ill. (Western Illinois University)
Start Time: 10:00 a.m.

On Tap
Hoping to continue the trend of good outdoor performances, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee track and field program will head for the Lee Calhoun Invitational this weekend. The meet will be held on Saturday, April 10 in Macomb, Ill. This will be the third outdoor meet of the season for UWM.

The Panthers, who had a much larger list competitors last week at the Big Blue Invitational, will be set with another full compliment of athletes for the one day meet. Events for the Lee Calhoun Invitational will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. In last year's meet, the Panther men struggle by finishing sixth out of eight teams. The women faired much better by claiming third out of 11 teams. Both teams enter on a good note after the men finished third and the women placed fifth in the Big Blue Invitational (4/2-3).

Men Claim Third At Big Blue Invitational
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's track and field team finished third out of seven scoring teams at the Eastern Illinois Big Blue Invitational over the weekend. The Panther men scored 149.50 team points over the course of the two-day meet.

Leading the way for UWM with three top finishes were Nick Davis, Justin Gorman and the 3200-meter relay team. Davis, a senior from Racine claimed first-place in the high jump competition by clearing a height of 6' 6.75". Gorman, a freshman from Spring Green laid claim to first-place in the 800-meter run with his time of 1:54.45. Also claiming first was the men's 3200-meter relay team. The four-man team won the event with a time of 7:47.04.

Other notable performances came from Nick Wichert, Adam Swanson, Ryne Leuzinger, Bryan Hassemer and Kyle Huebner. Wichert added a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw while Swanson and Leuzinger also claimed fifth-place spots in the 800-meter run and the 10,000-meter run. Hassemer finished fifth in the 5,000-meter run while Huebner closed out the day by finishing sixth in the javelin.

Women Fifth At Big Blue Invitational
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's track and field team finished fifth out of eight scoring teams at the Eastern Illinois Big Blue Invitational over the weekend. The Panther women scored 98.50 team points over the course of the two-day meet.

Sophomore Katie Slamka led the way for the Panthers with strong performances in three events. Slamka claimed the only first-place finish for UWM by winning the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.45. The second-year Panther added a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, running the event in a time of 14.88. Slamka also added an eighth-place finish in the high jump.

The Panther women were also paced by the performances of five other sophomores, Tenia Fisher, Timeka Walker, Stephanie Ray, Iris Perez and Katie Anderson. Fisher claimed a third-place finish in the 400-meter run by completing the event in a time of 57.84. Walker finished fourth in the 100-meter dash, Ray scored fourth in the pole vault, Perez finished fourth in the 200-meter dash and Anderson added another fourth-place finish in the 1500-meter run.

Having His Best
Freshman Nick Gretz had his best competition as a member of the UWM men's track and field team while competing at the Big Blue Invitational in Charleston, Ill. Gretz made a mark in both the shot put and the discus throw during the competion by placing third in both. He had a toss of 49' 5.50" in the shot put and throw of 157' 6" in the discus. Gretz currently sits in first on the Horizon League's top times/performance list in the shot put and second in the discus.

Putting Himself Back In The Picture
Freshman mid-distance runner Justin Gorman had a fantastic indoor season and was primed to do the same for the outdoor season. Gorman competed in the 800 for the first time this season at the Big Blue Invitational (4/2-3) and raced his way to a first-place finish. In doing so, Gorman also achieved a personal-best time of 1:54.45 and vaulted himself to the second slot on the Horizon League's top times list. Gorman's time puts him barely in front of fellow Panther freshman Jeremy Majors (1:54.76).

Seeing The Head of The Line
Sophomore Iris Perez has turned herself into one of the league's top 200-meter dash runners throughout her young career at UWM. After running the 200 to a time of 14.88 in Charleston, Ill., Perez moved herself into second-place on the league's top times list. Perez currently sits behind Aaliyah Gillispie (14.53) from Youngstown State University.

Trio of Skills
Stephanie Ray is making sure she can make an impact in a meet in more than just one event. The sophomore from Racine has made her skills available to compete in the javelin, pole vault and triple jump. Not only has she been competing in the events, but she's been placing high in them and high in the league. Ray is currently sixth in league in the javelin, second in the pole vault and third in the triple jump.

Ready For Launch
Jerry Snyder has himself set to launch. The sophomore pole vaulter has been making dramatic improvements in his vaulting height in just two outdoor meets. In his first meet, the Purdue Invitational (3/27), Snyder cleared a height of 12' 11.5". Looking fo improvements, the Panther vaulter launched himself over a height of 14' 3.25" at the Big Blue Invitational.

Adding Awards
Sophomore Tenia Fisher should break out the boxes as she'll have to do some reshuffling of items on her trophy case. Fisher, who was named the Horizon League's Outdoor Track and Field Newcomer of the Year in 2003 added two more awards to her shelf. Fisher was named the Horizon League's Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet for the league's indoor championships and has also been named the Horizon League's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Fisher had an outstanding indoor season by running the 800-meter run in a time of 2:12.04 and claiming two first-place finishes at the indoor championships (3/26-27).

Going Over The Competition
For Eric Wheeler, the only competition he's had to really take on has been the hurdles in front of him. The Panther freshman has placed himself at the top of the Horizon League's list for best times after running a 7.83 in the 55-meter high hurdles at the UWM Tune Up Meet (2/21).

Slam(ka)-ming The Hurdles
Katie Slamka opened the outdoor season as the Panthers' favorite to lead the way in the hurdles. So far, the results are on par for the early part of the outdoor season. Competing in the 100-meter high hurdles and the 400-meter low hurdles, Slamka claimed second and fifth. Slamka's time of 1:03.18 is currently her career-best in the event. Her previous best time was 1:03.25. Slamka also set a new personal best time in the 100-meter hurdles at the Big Blue Invitational by placing second in the event with a time of 15.07.

Another Trophy On The Shelf
Panther head coach Pete Corfeld is one of the more quiet coaches in the sport of track and field. A knowledgable coach, Corfeld resigns to the fact that the athletes do the work. However, his work hasn't gone unnoticed either. Corfeld recently led the Panther men to the 2004 Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championship and was also named Coach of the Year. For the Panther head coach, the award was the 20th time he's won it and the championship was his 21st.

Taking It The Distance
Ben Uphoff apparently doesn't mind going the distance for things. The freshman distance runner did go the distance by claiming his first collegiate win for track and field. Competing in the 5,000-meter run at the Purdue Invitational (3/26-27), Uphoff won the race with a time of 15:28.27. The New London native finished just under 24 seconds in front of the second-place time (15:53.01).

Tag Team Effort
Don't tell Jeremy Majors, Gabe Wagoner, Adam Swanson or Elliot Enright that running the 800 can't be a tag-team effort. The four athletes did their best at the Purdue Invitational to make sure they were the one's to beat. When it was all said and done, Majors was in first-place, Wagoner was in second, and Swanson and Enright claimed fourth and fifth.

Doing The Math
Had the Purdue Invitational been scored for team points, the finishes by Majors, Wagoner, Swanson and Enright would have netted more total points than had just one of them finished in first-place.

Running Forever
Sometimes running 20 minutes can be a long time. Sometimes running 30 minutes feels like you've been running forever. Don't tell try that theory on junior distance runner Anna Christian. Christian competed in the 10,000-meter run on Saturday afternoon at the Purdue Invitational and found herself in a third-place finish. Christian completed the long task with a time of 37:27.57

Barriers and Water, Anybody?
Anybody up for barriers and water? When that question was posed, word is that Panther Junior Micah Hanthorn and Sophomore Josh Nygren ran to the front of the class. The two Panthers competed in the 3,000-meter steeple chase for the first time this outdoor season at the Purdue Invitational and came away with decent results. Nygren finished fourth with a time of 9:32.14 and Hanthorn finished eighth with a time of 9:58.94.

Distance Runners Move To A New Level
The Panther distance runners used the ISU Classic (2/13-14) to bring out their fastest times of the year and of their career. The 5,000-meter run played host to several new personal-best times for Panther runners. Bryan Hassemer led the field with the highest improvement by chopping off 36 seconds enroute to his best time (15:05.95). Josh Nygren ran to the next highest improvement by knocking off 23 seconds to achieve his best time (14:44.08).

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.