Printer-friendly format Email this article Senior Abby Hurst will try to regain her spot as the top finisher for the Panthers Saturday at the Pre-National Invitational

Panthers To Run With Nation's Best

UWM will preview NCAA Championship course Saturday in Indiana

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Oct. 14, 2002

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's cross country teams will join nearly 100 other schools from around the nation at the Pre-National meet at Indiana State on Saturday, a preview of the course that will host the NCAA Championships at the end of November. The Panthers will be joined by fellow Horizon League schools Butler, UIC, Loyola, Wright State and Youngstown State.

About the Field
The field at Indiana State includes 91 men's teams and 97 women's teams. The final entry list includes 20 of the top 30 teams in the country on the men's side, and 25 of the top 30 for the women. Of that number, six of the top 10 men's teams, including the top team in the country, Stanford, will compete, while eight of the top ten women's teams will compete, including the top six teams in the nation.

Riding the Bronco
The women's team ran at the Western Michigan Bronco Open Friday without many of its top runners, finishing third behind Western Michigan and Notre Dame's "B" team. Despite finishing a distant third, the Panthers were able to get several young runners some valuable experience.

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 on Oct. 4, 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. Neither Saul nor Hurst competed at the Bronco Open last weekend, with both runners resting for this weekend's event.

Running Short
The men's team ran a short 4K course last weekend at the Bronco Open, the first time in recent history the Panthers have run shorter than 8K in a meet. The 4K concept is one that is being used by various schools around the country in an effort to include more runners in the sport of cross country. Andy Kivioja was the top finisher for the Panthers, finishing in 12:57.

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 Oct. 4 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 Oct. 4. 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
The Panthers will have a week off before the Horizon League Championships, which will be held on Nov. 2 in Chicago. Both teams will be looking to improve on their finish of a year ago, when the men finished fourth and the women sixth.