Sept. 10, 2001

MILWAUKEE (Sept. 10, 2001) - The UWM cross country teams head back to practice this week after they began the season Fri., Sept. 9, at the Valparaiso Invitational in Valparaiso, Ind.

The men's team finished third in the field of seven, while the women finished fourth out of eight teams. Individually, junior Abby Hurst (Little Chute, Wis./Little Chute) finished first in the women's race, while senior Cornelius Hill (Milwaukee, Wis./Bay View) took sixth place in the men's race.

The Panthers are off this week and return to action on Sat., Sept. 22, when they take part in Al's Memorial Run, a charity road race through downtown Milwaukee. The race also has a collegiate division, in which the Panther men claimed the title for a year ago. The women's team finished second as a team, finishing only behind the Panther men.

Hurst wins the opener

Junior Abby Hurst finished the meet third overall, but behind two unaffiliated runners. Her finish, in a time of 22:39, gave UWM the first team placing toward the overall score.

Hurst's time was also 25 seconds faster than her personal best at 6K from a year ago. She finished the Great Lakes NCAA Regional with a time of 22:54.0 last year.

"You expect that kind of improvement from people who are serious about what they're doing," head coach Pete Corfeld said. "It's not rare to chop off time like that if you train hard over summer, which obviously she did."

Hurst placed third at last year's MCC Meet as a sophomore, only five seconds behind the leader, Jessica Kuhr of Wright State.

Hill makes a strong debut

Cornelius Hill, a senior transfer from South Florida, finished sixth in the men's race after leading the first half of the race.

A two-time NCAA qualifier in cross country, Hill was competing in his first collegiate race in over a year.

"He's got a lot of work to do yet if he's going to qualify this year," Corfeld said. "He's got the talent and the ability to be more of a national force, rather than a regional force."

Newcomers make an impression

Freshman Steve Saul (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy) was the third Panther finisher in the men's race. Saul finished the course in 27:00 and had the 13th place overall.

Also turning in strong performances for the men were Micah Hanthorn (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg) and Bryan Hassemer (Mishicot, Wis./Mishicot). Hanthorn finished 30th, only two spots behind the Panthers' fifth counter, junior Andy Kivioja (Grafton, Wis./Grafton). Hassemer finished 31st with a time of 28:21.

In the women's race, Christine Wampach (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles) was the fifth counter, placing 29th. She was followed by another freshmen on the women's roster, Natalie Tofte, who placed 33rd overall.

Back to the training ground

Even with the strong individual finishes, Corfeld believes the Panthers need to get stronger as a team.

"This team has a lot of ability, but we need to run better as a pack," he said. "We need to be either running with or passing others, not running all alone. We've got to try to stay out of situations like that."

All About Al's

The Panthers will next run in Al's Memorial Run through downtown Milwaukee on Sat., Sept. 22. The run, which benefits Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, is in its 23rd year after being founded by the late Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire.

"A lot of people look at us and wonder what we're doing running a road course," Corfeld said. "It gives us a good, high quality workout, and it's for a good cause, too."

Corfeld added that many high school coaches don't allow their runners to participate in the run, so it's something that his runners look forward to.

"Because it's been around for so long, people in the area know about it," he said. "It gives us a good chance to get some recognition."

Next up

After taking part in Al's Memorial Run, the Panthers will have their first look at the course the Horizon League Championships will be held on at the Chicago Lakefront. The Lakefront Invitational, hosted by Horizon League member Loyola, will be held at Montrose Harbor in Chicago on Sat., Sept. 29, 2001.