Sept. 17, 2001

MILWAUKEE - The UWM men's and women's cross country teams return to action this week when they take part in Al's Memorial Run through downtown Milwaukee. The Panthers will compete in the academic division.

The Panther runners competed in last year's run with the men taking first place in the academic division and the women finishing second. Senior Pat Harrinton (West Allis, Wis./Central), the top returning Panther runner in last year's race, placed sixth with a time of 25:17. Junior Abby Hurst (Little Chute, Wis./Little Chute) was the top women's runner, placing 70th overall in a time of 29:12.

Al's Memorial Run was founded by the late Al McGuire in 1978 as a benefit run for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Last year, more than $530,000 was rasied for Children's Hospital.

Last Action

The Panthers ran Sept. 7 at the Valparaiso Invitational in Valparaiso, Ind. Junior Abby Hurst's first-place finish helped the women's team to a fourth-place team finish out of the eight competing schools. In the men's race, senior Cornelius Hill placed sixth as the men finished third out of seven teams.

UWM also got strong performances from a number of new faces. Freshman Steve Saul (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy) placed 13th overall, good for third on the team, in his first collegiate race. Fellow freshmen Micah Hanthorn (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg) and Bryan Hassemer (Mishicot, Wis./Mishicot) placed 30th and 31st, respectively.

On the women's side, Christine Wampach (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles) was the team's fifth counter, placing 29th. Another freshmen, Natalie Tofte (West Allis, Wis./Central), placed 33rd overall.

Accolades for Abby

Junior Abby Hurst was named Horizon League Athlete of the Week on Sept. 5 for her performance at the Valparaiso Invitational. Her winning time of 22:39 bettered her best time of a year ago at the same distance by 25 seconds.

Up Next

UWM returns to action next weekend at two different sites. The men travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., to run in the Central Collegiate Championships on Fri., Sept. 28. The women compete a day later on Sat., Sept. 29, at the Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, Ill. The meet, hosted by Horizon League member Loyola, will be run at Montrose Harbor, the same course that will be used for this season's Horizon League Championships on Oct. 27th.