Milwaukee Looks To Rebound In 2008
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Aug. 27, 2008) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's cross country team kicks off the 2008 campaign this Friday, competing at the DePaul Invitational in Chicago, Ill. The Panthers return five letterwinners last season and will be looking to put their eighth-place finish at the league championships behind them. Last season, youth and inexperience hampered the team down the stretch. But, this season, all five returners are now juniors and have another year of experience. Four scorers are among those that will be looking to return Milwaukee to the top half of the Horizon League. Heading the list is Michael Sorenson, who was a consistent scorer all through last season. He finished among the top four at every meet he competed at but one. He used a strong finish to the cross country season, where he was second on the team at the NCAA Regional, to build strong indoor and outdoor track campaigns. He was the team's top runner in the 3000m indoors, as well as the 5000m and 10,000m outdoors. Sorenson hopes that momentum can once again carry over into a breakout cross country campaign. Ryan Mleziva appeared to be a strong candidate to lead the team in the future, but faded down the stretch after a strong start to the season. He was the team's second runner through each of the first three races he competed in. By the league meet, he was the fourth Panther finisher. He did rebound for a strong indoor track season, where he took fifth in the league in the 5000m, before redshirting the outdoor slate. Eric Pitt worked his way up the team standings as the season went on, eventually pacing the squad at the NCAA Regional. He was the team's seventh runner at its first full-length meet, before quickly moving into the top-three for the rest of the season. His goal will be continuing his steady presence and continuing to score among the top three throughout the season.
Matt Dreifke scored at every meet, but one in 2007. He did so twice in the fifth position and once as number four. At the UIC Home Opener he was second on the team and stepped up as the team's top finisher at the league championships. He focused primarily on the 800m through mile and the steeplechase during the track season, but that shouldn't hinder him as he looks to lock up his position in the top five. Jason Axt demonstrated that he could score for the Panthers, doing so at three of the five meets he competed. After running fifth at the shorter UIC Home Opener last season, he did not score at back-to-back meets, before scoring at the final two meets of the season. He will look to continue the improvement in 2008 and become a fixture among the scorers. Five newcomers will be added to the mix for this season in Thomas Wells, Dan Uphoff, Ryan Baumgartner, Chris Schuenke and Alex Francis. Wells is a sophomore at UWM, but will be competing for the first time with the cross country team. He hails from Browntown, Wis., and went to Monroe High School. Uphoff competed at the state cross country meet as a sophomore and was a two-time state qualifier in track for New London High School. His senior year, he was ninth in the state in the 3200m with a time of 9:27.59 and posted a personal-best 1600m time of 4:27. That season, he took 17th in the 3200m after competing with the 4x800m relay as a freshman. In cross country, he took fifth at the Division 2 state meet as a senior. Baumgartner competed at the state cross country meet his final two years at Blaine High School in Minnesota. He finished 24th at the state meet as a senior after a 57th-place showing his junior year. In track, he placed sixth in the 3200m as a senior. Schuenke comes to UWM after taking 23rd at the state division 1 cross country meet his senior year at Reedsburg High School. It was the second state cross country meet appearance of his career after doing so his sophomore year. As a junior, he also competed at the state track meet, taking 15th in the 1600m. Francis comes to Milwaukee from Kenosha Tremper. He ran with the cross country squad and competed at the state meet in track with the 4x800m relay. |
