Panthers Head To Cross Country Championships
• Individual Performances in PDF Format MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Oct. 24, 2007) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Valparaiso, Ind., Saturday for the 2007 Horizon League Cross Country Championships. The Panthers are in search of their first league cross country titles since the men and women swept the 1993 Mid-Continent Conference meets. Milwaukee's women look in good shape for a breakthrough performance, returning a pair of runners with all-league first team experience. The squad has taken third place at each of the last four league meets and has improved its score at the last three. Last season, the Panthers scored 69 points, their best score since joining the Horizon League. They last won titles in 1992 and 1993, their only seasons as members of the Mid-Con. For the men, they would like to improve on their fourth-place finish in seven of the last eight seasons. While there has been slightly more parity in recent years, including a 31-point champion in 2005 as the highest-scoring champ since 2001 (34), Milwaukee will need consistency from top to bottom if it hopes to move up. Senior Holly Nearman leads the women after placing seventh last year, earning a spot on the league's first team. Senior Angie Huebner, who was one of two Panthers on the second team last season (12th place), earned a spot on the first team with a seventh-place showing of her own as a sophomore. UWM adds additional depth with junior Erin Magargee and sophomore Abby Zaspel. Magargee finished just outside of all-league range last season, taking 15th place. Meanwhile, sophomore Abby Zaspel has adapted well in her first season at UWM, being among the team's top four runners at each of her three meets.
On the men's side, senior Nick Hawley is a solid contender in the league this season. He has been the team's top finisher at the last seven meets he's competed and has posted times on par with some of the top runners in the league. Last season he took 10th and earned a spot on the all-league second team. Milwaukee is coming off its second-straight national-caliber competition, running at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational, Oct. 12, in Terre Haute, Ind. Nearman paced the women's side with a 77th-place finish, while the team took 31st. The men were 39th and led by Hawley's 191st-pace showing. The next action for the Panthers will be Nov. 10 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. |
