Milwaukee Gearing Up For League Meet With UWM Panther Tune Up
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Feb. 21, 2008) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's track and field team returns home Friday to host its only home meet of the 2008 season. The Panthers will use the UWM Panther Tune Up as its final preparation for the league championships, which are just a week away. The UWM Panther Tune Up kicks off at 4 p.m. with field events. Track events are expected to get started at approximately 6:30 p.m. Milwaukee will welcome league rivals UIC, Loyola and Valparaiso for the meet, as well as Chicago State. UWM is coming off the Iowa State Classic last weekend in Ames, Iowa. Six Panthers posted times that are among the top-10 in school history, led by sophomore Laura Ring. Ring won the unseeded 800m event, crossing the line in 2:14.81. That time is third-best in school history. In the seeded 800m, senior Shannon Buttchen ran a time of 2:16.57, which is sixth all-time. In the 400m, sophomore Kelsey Conrad ran a time of 57.22, which is second all-time, 1.53 seconds off the school mark and 0.01 seconds ahead of what had been second. Freshman Angie Kaufmann, meanwhile, had the sixth-best time of 58.10. Junior Holly Nearman also ran the third-fastest 5000m time in school history (17:21.08) and junior Erin Magargee moved up to sixth all-time in the 3000m (10:06.83). Ring was honored by the Horizon League following her performance in Iowa. The award is the first of her career, but she is the third Panther woman to earn the honor this season. Junior Beth Zimmerman earned the award Jan. 14 and junior Jenni Saarinen did the same Jan. 28.
Milwaukee won 10 events in sweeping Loyola and UIC in double dual scoring at the UWM Panther Tune Up last season. Amber Curtis led the way, setting a school record in the weight throw, while Kicha Cary narrowly missed the school standard in the long jump. Milwaukee is preparing for the upcoming league championships March 1-2 in Kent, Ohio. The Panthers are have won back-to-back indoor titles are in good shape again this season. Saarinen leads the league in two events, pacing the circuit in the high jump and pentathlon. Five more UWM athletes are atop the league, including Ring (800m), junior Beth Zimmerman (triple jump), sophomores Kelsey Conrad (200m) and Erin Havener (pole vault), and in the 4x400m relay. |
