Cross Country Teams Take Week Off After Solid Start

Alison Shattuck finished 34th overall at the Bradley Invitational Friday

Panthers will next compete in Detroit in two weeks

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Sept. 16, 2002

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's cross country teams both got off to solid starts Friday at the Bradley Invitational in Peoria, Ill. The men's team took fourth place of nine Division I schools, while the women's team finished fourth out of ten Division I schools. Sophomore Steve Saul was the high finisher for the men, taking 11th place overall, while Abby Hurst paced the women's team, finishing 18th overall.

Big Debut
A pair of freshmen were the second and third finishers on the men's side at Bradley, while the women's team saw a freshman finish in the second and fourth counter positions. Nate Weiland and Josh Nygren opened their collegiate careers with solid performances, Weiland taking 15th overall with a time of 25:41 and Nygren finishing 20th in 25:50. For the women, Katie Anderson made her first impression a strong one by finishing 28th in 18:48, while Michelle Blomquist was 50th with a time of 19:16. All four of the freshmen placed in the top 75 at last year's Wisconsin state cross country championships.

Abby Does It Again
For the seventh straight race dating back to last season, Abby Hurst was the top finisher on the women's side. Hurst was the top runner in each of the six races a year ago, claiming three top-10 finishes. Hurst's strong running continued at Bradley, finishing 18th overall. Hurst also claimed an 18th-place finish at last year's Horizon League Championships.

Breaking 100
The men's team had all five of its counting runners finish in the top 50 at Bradley Friday, with three of them (Steve Saul, Nate Weiland, Josh Nygren) in the top 20. The strength of those top-20 finishes helped the Panthers to finish with 89 points, the first time since finishing with 66 points at UW-Parkside on Oct. 13, 2001, that UWM finished with fewer than 100 points.

Up Next
The Panthers will head to Detroit, Mich., to compete in the Central Collegiate Championships on Sept. 27. The men ran at the meet a year ago, finishing fourth overall. The women did not compete at the championships, running instead at the Lakefront Invitational in Chicago.