UWM Cross Country Heads To League Championships Saturday

Malachi Cate

Panthers looking to improve on third and fourth-place finishes

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Oct. 24, 2006) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee cross country teams return to action Saturday at the 2006 Horizon League Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. The first race kicks off at noon.

The Panthers head to Indy looking to improve on a pair of top-half finishes last season. The women, led by junior Angie Huebner, placed third in the league for the third-straight year. Huebner earned All-Horizon League First Team honors with a seventh-place finish. It was also the third-straight year a UWM runner landed on the league's first team.

Meanwhile, the men placed fourth in the field for the sixth time in seven years. Departed seniors Josh Nygren and Nate Weiland paced the squad with all-league performances. Nygren took sixth for a first-team selection, while Weiland was 11th and earned a spot on the second team.

Both teams are in search of their first league title since 1993. That year, Milwaukee swept the Mid-Continent Championships. It was a second-straight crown for the women and the only cross country title for the UWM men.

The Panthers are coming off a strong showing at the Falcon Invitational Oct. 14 in Bowling Green, Ohio. The men finished fourth in the 13-team field led by junior Nick Hawley in eighth place. On the women's side, UWM took fifth out of 19 teams. Sophomore Holly Nearman finished 11th and was the top Milwaukee finisher for the fourth-straight meet.

Following the Falcon Invite, Hawley was tabbed as the Horizon League Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Week. The award, which encompasses all sports sponsored by the league, honors student-athletes for their academic accomplishments as well as their athletic performances. Hawley is a kinesiology major and boasts a 3.554 grade point average.

Milwaukee will look to extend its season when it returns to action after the league championships at the Great Lakes Regional, Nov. 11, in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Panthers will vie for bids to the NCAA Championships Nov. 20 in Terre Haute, Ind.