Oct. 29, 2001

MILWAUKEE - The UWM cross country teams are looking to rebound at the Great Lakes Championships on Nov. 11 after the men finished fourth and the women sixth out of eight competing schools at the Horizon League Championships.

Both teams finished lower than expected this weekend at the Horizon League Championships, with bad luck ruining the Panther chances. Each team's top runner fell victim to race-day problems, which hurt the Panther teams.

For the men, senior Cornelius Hill (Milwaukee, Wis./Bay View) was leading the men's 8K race through the first half of the race. Confusion over the course rattled Hill and he fell to ninth place, where he finished the race.

In the women's race, junior Abby Hurst (Little Chute, Wis./Little Chute) was looking to improve on last year's third place showing at the league championships, but disaster struck early. Hurst got trapped behind a runner that fell at the start, and by the time Hurst got going with the race, she was already well behind the leaders. She ended up finishing 18th.

Looking Ahead: The Panthers will run their final race as a team on Sun., Nov. 11, at the Great Lakes Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The Great Lakes meet is the regional qualifying meet for the NCAA Championships.

Last year, the Panthers finished in 23rd place for the men and 24th place for the women. Senior Pat Harrington (West Allis, Wis./Central) was the top returning Panther, finishing in 130th place. Senior Tricia Pozel (Racine, Wis./Case) was the top female runner, finishing the race in 63rd place.

Talking Strategy: At the Horizon League Championships, the second through fifth women counters finished in a pack together from 31st to 34th place. That type of finish is generally good, but in a smaller meet like the Horizon League Championships, with fewer teams and fewer runners, being in a pack that far back can work against a team in the standings, as it did on Saturday.

With more teams and more runners participating at the Great Lakes Championships, the strategy the women's team used could be good to help propell the women's team into the top 15.

Peaking at the Right Time: Two members of the men's team ran their best races of 2001 at the Horizon League Championships. Freshman Steve Saul (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy) solidified his position as the team's number three runner by running 26:26. Junior Jeremy Dunn (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster) also put in his best time of the year by running the 8K course in 26:34.

Longer Races: The Great Lakes Championships will be a longer race than normal for both the men and the women. The men's race will be 10K, a change from the 8K the men usually run. The women's race will be 6K, rather than the more common 5K.

The women's team has already run one 6K race on the season. The opening meet of the year, the Valparaiso Invitiational on Sept. 7 was run at 6K for the women. Abby Hurst posted the best time, running 22:39, which was nearly 30 seconds faster than her previous best at 6K from last year.

The regional races are the same distances as what runners would see at the NCAA Championships.

Up Next: Several Panthers have a shot at making the NCAA Championships in cross country. Cornelius Hill and Abby Hurst have the potential to qualify, but must stay with the lead pack throughout the race. The top two teams and the top four runners not on those two teams will qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will be held on Mon., Nov. 20, at Furman, S.C.