Printer-friendly format Email this article Abby Hurst led the women's cross country team with a ninth-place finish at the Central Collegiate Championships Friday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Cross Country To Run With Nation's Best

Panthers hope for luck of the Irish this weekend at Notre Dame

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Sept. 30, 2002

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's cross country teams will venture to South Bend, Ind., on Friday to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational. The women's race is slated to begin at 2 p.m., while the men are scheduled to start at 2:45 p.m.

Leading the Way
Senior Abby Hurst and sophomore Steve Saul were expected to pace the Panthers in 2002, and they both continued their leading ways at the Central Collegiate Championships Friday afternoon in Detroit. Hurst finished ninth overall for her first top-10 finish of the season, while Saul took 18th place to lead the men's team. It marked the second time in two races on the season that each had led their team, as Saul finished 11th at the Bradley Invitaitonal on Sept. 13 to open the season. Hurst started the 2002 campaign by placing 18th at Bradley, again first on the team.

Irish Eyes Are Smiling
The Panthers competed a year ago at the Notre Dame Invitaitonal, one of the annual premier events in the Midwest. Many of the runners on both teams set season-best times at that event, including Andy Kivioja, Micah Hanthorn and Nick Bruskewitz on the men's side and Abby Hurst, Christine Wampach, Katie Olander and Alison Shattuck for the women. Hurst finished fifth in the Gold race last year. The event is typically divided into two divisions, with many of the nation's top runners running in the Blue race.

Twice as Nice
Both Hurst and Saul were honored by the Horizon League for their performances at the Bradley Invitational. Each received Horizon League Athlete of the Week honors for the week ending Sept. 15 after leading their respective teams to a fourth-place finish. For Hurst, it is the second time in her career that she has received the league award, having won it to open the season a year ago, while Saul was the first men's runner to win the award since Aaron Nodolf received the honor on Oct. 3, 2000.

Fast Freshmen
Both the men's and the women's teams continue to lean heavily on freshmen during the early part of the cross country season. Josh Nygren moved up a spot to the second counter position, finishing 25th at the Central Collegiates, while Weiland slipped to the fourth finisher. The roles were reversed two weeks ago at Bradley, when Weiland was the second UWM finisher and Nygren was third across the line. For the women, Katie Anderson turned in another stong performance, as she was the third UWM finisher, finishing 25th overall. Michelle Blomquist was the fourth finisher again, coming across the line in 34th place, while sophomore Anna Christian made her collegiate debut by counting as the fifth Panther runner, finishing 47th overall. All four of the freshmen (Nygren, Weiland, Anderson and Blomquist) placed in the top 75 at last year's Wisconsin state cross country championships.

Abby Does It Again
For the eighth-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. She collected her first top-10 showing of the year, and fourth of her career, Friday at the Central Collegiate Championships, finishing ninth. Hurst's strong running continued at Bradley, finishing 18th overall. Hurst also claimed an 18th-place finish at last year's Horizon League Championships.

Infirmary Report
Junior Andy Kivioja, who was the fourth finisher on the men's side at Bradley, strained a calf muscle midway through the race at the Central Collegiate Championships Friday and did not finish. Kivioja's staus for this week's event at Notre Dame is unknown.

Up Next
The Panthers will head back into Michigan to compete in the Western Michigan Invitational on Oct. 11. The men ran at Kalamazoo, Mich., last year, as the Broncos were the host school for the Central Collegiate Championships. The men's team finished fourth out of five teams, with a lineup that was without the year's top two runners, Cornelius Hill and Pat Harrington. The women didn't run at Western Michigan last year, instead running that weekend at the Lakefront Invitational in Chicago.