Panther Teams Run Well At Central Collegiate MeetSept. 26, 2003 KALAMAZOO, MICH. - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee cross country coach Pete Corfeld has a plan for his men's and women's teams in 2003. That plan: improve each weekend while peaking at the Horizon League Championships in November. Well, if Friday's (Sept. 26) performances at the Central Collegiate Championships are any indication, the UWM harriers appear to be on their way. The UWM men's team finished second out of seven teams in the 78th annual running of the CCC, while the Panther women's team finished fifth in a competitive field on teams. "I definitely feel that there is something to work with this group of athletes," Corfeld said. "Both teams have really responded well to training and are improving each week. We haven't peaked yet which is good. We are making strides against perennial league powers that should help us come November." On the men's side, sophomore Josh Nygren and senior Andy Kiviola each ran personal bests, covering the eight-kilometer course in 25:30.51 and 25:56.60, respectively. Those numbers were good enough for fourth and eighth place finishes, which helped lead UWM to the second place showing. The Panthers scored 59 points on the meet, trailing only host and champion Western Michigan's 27 points. However, Milwaukee did beat all three Horizon League schools competing, as Wright State (74 points), Loyola 105 points), UIC (127 points) finished third through sixth respectively. Bowling Green State University finished seventh overall with 142 points. Nate Weiland finished third for UWM and 14th overall in 26:10.26 while Bryan Hassemer, Ben Uphoff, and Micah Hawthorn finished 16th-18th, crossing the line in a span of 5.2 seconds apart. "Our men ran a really good team race," noted Corfeld. "Josh and Andy really ran well up front and the rest of the guys followed suit. We ran a lot better as a group than we did last week and that's a positive sign." Sophomore Katie Anderson led all Milwaukee runners on the women's side, as the Eau Claire-native covered the 5K course in 18:35.00, good for 12th place overall. Junior Anna Christian crossed the line just two seconds after Anderson for 14th place while Christine Wampach ran an 18:45.00, which put her 17th overall and third on the squad. Once again the Panther women ran well as a team as just 43 seconds separated Anderson and No. 5 runner Alison Shattuck. "The women's field was very tough here so a fifth place finish is not bad," Corfeld added. "We finished really close to Loyola while beating both UIC and Wright State. We ran another good team race and that has something we have really worked on. Obviously it is paying off." Ball State claimed the women's crown with 40 points while Western Michigan finished second with 54 points. Bowling Green finished third with 88 points, followed by Loyola (93 points), UWM (101 points), UIC (114 points) and Wright State (208).
Both teams will head down to Chicago next Saturday for the annual Lakefront Invitational. The meet, which is hosted by Loyola, is set to begin at 11 a.m.
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