Milwaukee Track In Action This Weekend At Drake Relays

Jamie Woods

Panthers will also have competitors across town at Marquette Invite

• Top Times and Individual Finishes in PDF Format

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (April 23, 2008) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's track and field team returns to action this week, heading to Iowa for the Drake Relays April 24-26 in Des Moines.

The Panthers will field competitors at the Relays, as well as the Janvrin Open at nearby Simpson College in Indianola. The rest of the team remains in Milwaukee this weekend for the Marquette Invitational Saturday.

UWM is coming off yet another strong outing, this time at the Dave Rankin Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind. Sophomore Erin Havener led the way by breaking the school pole vault record for the second time this season. She cleared 12-3 1/2 for second place in the event, just two weeks after previously setting the mark at 12-1 1/2.

Junior Beth Zimmerman added a win in the triple jump and the Panthers had a host of top-five finishers. Senior Angie Huebner in the 5000m and the 4x100m relay posted second-place finishes, while sophomore Jamie Woods took third in both the shot put and discus throw.

Milwaukee has had outstanding performances at each meet it has competed this season, as noted by the three league honorees the team has had. Junior Holly Nearman was named the Horizon League Athlete of the Week for March 31 and the league's scholar-athlete of the week April 7. Junior Jenni Saarinen was then named the league athlete of the week April 14.

Saarinen's performance came after another of the team's school-record performances that have come this outdoor season. She scored 5,021 points in the heptathlon at the Sea Ray Relays. That eclipsed the school mark of 4,993 she set in 2006.

Saarinen's score also leads the league and is one of seven events the Panthers' hold the top position. She also leads the circuit in the javelin (120-7) and the long jump (18-11 3/4). Meanwhile, Havener's school-record pole vault performance is tops in the league, as are sophomores Laura Ring in the 800m (2:13.42) and Kelsey Conrad in the 200m (24.75). Freshman Chelsea Von Ruden also leads in the high jump at 5-6.

The Horizon League championship portion of the schedule is already here, as Milwaukee will next be competing at the league's multi-event championships next weekend (May 2-3) in Indianapolis. The rest of the squad will be off to the Redbird Classic May 2. The league championship meet kicks off May 8 in Youngstown, Ohio.