Panthers Take Another Step Up At Great Lakes RegionalNov. 15, 2003
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men and women's cross country teams wrapped up their season Saturday afternoon at the Great Lakes Regional Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The men's team finished 16th out of 32 teams and the women's team finished 17th out of 30 teams. Pacing the way UWM in the men's race was Josh Nygren, finishing 66th with a top time of 32:03.7. Nygren improved upon his 89th place finish during last year's regional meet and also helped meet Panther coach Pete Corfeld's goal of having a runner finish in the in the 60's range. He was followed up by Nate Weiland in 88th place with a time of 32:39.4. Bryan Hassemer was the third finisher coming in 104th with a time of 33:00.5, while Andy Kivioja followed up with a time of 33:08.9. "Nygren (Josh), built on last year and is really turning into a leader for this program," Corfeld stated. "He and the other guys on this team have given us a small taste of the success we could have in the future." The women's team had three athletes finish in the top-100 with Anna Christian coming in highest at 72nd with a top time of 22:35.2. Coming through in second for the Panthers was Katie Anderson, finishing 82nd with a finishing time of 22:43.9. Finishing in 88th place was Kourtney Nault with a time of 22:56.2. Christine Wampach finished fourth on the team with a time of 23:08.5.
"Christian, Anderson and Nault represent a great young core for us," Corfeld added. "Our women's program is starting set themselves up for a really bright future."
The finishes this year expanded upon last year's 20th place finish by the women and a 21st place finish by the men leaving a great deal of optimism running through the program. "When you have a young team, there's always a thought that there could be a letdown coming right after your conference meet because of the level of competitiveness," Corfeld noted. "It was great to see that we avoided that, but that we really came out with some momentum and focused on getting better with each race. The men came through to finish higher than Youngstown State who beat them in conference and the women's team continued to display strong, consistent performances." The Panthers have completed their cross country season and will turn their attention towards the upcoming track and field season set to start in mid-January. |
