April 27, 2002

MILWAUKEE - Several Panthers had strong performances Saturday at the UIC Invitational. Though many of the top athletes from each competing team were at other meets across the country, some excellent competition was seen in the Windy City.

Several Panthers left Chicago with victories and season-best performances. Kyle Huebner won the long jump, finishing at 20'10", a half-inch ahead of Jelani Summers of Chicago State. Nick Davis won the javelin throw with an effort of 165'1", easily his best effort of the season, while Lynda Thiel took the women's title in the javelin with a throw of 107'8". Adam Hobler won the 400m dash in 49.90, while Dan O'Leary won the 110m hurdles in an uncontested 16.60. The men's team also added a victory in the 1600m relay, running in 3:30.8.

Jeremy Dunn added a victory in the men's 800m, as he led a trio of Panthers across the finish line. Dunn's time was 1:57.5, just two-tenths ahead of Micah Hanthorn's 1:57.7. Nick Pryor was third in 1:58.9, while Nick Bruskewitz finished seventh in the event in 2:01.9.

Other top finishers included Kalin Konop with a third-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 15'10" and Lynda Thiel with a second-place mark in the high jump, clearing 4'10". Konop added another third-place finish in the triple jump with a jump of 34'6 1/2". Steve Hermann finished fifth in the men's triple jump, clearing 36'4". Alex Mueller took a pair of second place finishes in the shot put and discus, throwing 129'3" in the discus and 31'3" in the shot. Kyle Huebner added a third-place finish in the 100m dash, finishing in 11.4, while Dan O'Leary finished second in the 400m hurdles in 58.4.

The longer distances also saw their share of strong performances. In the women's 800m, Natalie Miko took second with a time of 2:23.9, followed by Katie Olander in fourth in 2:27.8 and Allison Shattuck in fifth in 2:30.7. The women also were strong in the 1,500m, as Olander and Shattuck combined to finish third and fourth. Olander's time was 4:59, while Shattuck finished in 5:05. The men weren't to be outdone, as Steve Saul took second in the men's 1,500m in 4:02.3, while Bryan Hassemer was fourth in 4:04.2.

The Panthers will resume action next weekend at the Marquette Invitational, the final meet before the Horizon League Championships.