Women's Runners Look To Rebound In Western Michigan

Ali Shattuck was the top finisher for the Panthers at the Notre Dame Invitational Friday

Panthers hoping to regain early-season form

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Oct. 7, 2002

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee cross country teams will head to Western Michigan this weekend to compete in the Western Michigan Invitational Friday afternoon. The women's race will begin at 4 p.m., with the men starting an hour later.

Earlier In Michigan
UWM ran in the state of Michigan earlier this season at the Central Collegiate Championships on Sept. 27. That event, hosted by Eastern Michigan, saw the women's team finish fourth of 11 teams, while the men finished 7th of 11. Abby Hurst claimed her first top-10 finish of the season at the Central Collegiates, finishing ninth overall.

Leading the Way
Senior Abby Hurst and sophomore Steve Saul were expected to pace the Panthers in 2002, and, for the most part, they both have lived up to those expectations. Saul led the men's team to a sixth-place finish at Notre Dame Friday, finishing 10th overall. Hurst, meanwhile, struggled with the rainy conditions in Northern Indiana, and was the third finisher for the Panthers, the first time in nearly two years she was not the top runner. Saul is now a perfect 3-for-3 on leading the men's team in 2002, following his 11th-place finish at Bradley and an 18th-place mark at the Central Collegiate Championships on Sept. 27.

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.

Youth Movement
The men's team that finished sixth at Notre Dame on Friday was composed of three sophomores and two freshmen, perhaps the youngest team in the meet. The young group also managed to improve on last year's finish of seventh, even with last year's team including two of the school's more decorated distance runners in recent history, Cornelius Hill and Pat Harrington.

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 was again the second men's finisher at Notre Dame, finishing 21st overall. He was followed once again by Nate Weiland, who was back in the top three after finishing fourth at the Central Collgiate Championships. For the women, Katie Anderson picked up a team second-place finish, finishing 52nd overall, while Michelle Blomquist finished as the fourth Panther runner, coming in 81st-place. All four of the freshmen (Nygren, Weiland, Anderson and Blomquist) placed in the top 75 at last year's Wisconsin state cross country championships.

The Streak Ends
Abby Hurst had a streak of eight-straight races leading the Panther women snapped at the Notre Dame Invitational Friday. Hurst struggled with the elements and finished as the third runner on the team, coming in 67th place. Before Friday's disappointing finish. Hurst was the top runner in each of the six races a year ago, claiming three top-10 finishes, and led the Panthers in both of the first two events in 2002. She collected her first top-10 showing of the year, and fourth of her career, on Sept. 27 at the Central Collegiate Championships, finishing ninth.

Up Next
UWM will run with most of the nation's top runners at the Pre-National Meet at Indiana State on Oct. 19. The meet, which is usually held a month before the NCAA Championships on the same course, traditionally brings the top runners in the country to get a first-hand feel for the championship course. The Panthers did not run at the Pre-National meet last year when it was held in Greenville, S.C.