Panther Alums Set To Tackle The Boston Marathon
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (April 17, 2008) - Dot (Bunnell) McMahan and Nate Weiland, formerly of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's cross country and track and field programs will compete at the Boston Marathon this weekend in Massachusetts. McMahan, a member of the Hanson-Brooks racing team, will compete in the U.S. Marathon Olympic trial on Sunday, while Weiland will run in the 112th Annual Boston Marathon on Monday. "It's cool to see former athletes competing at such a high level and still representing our program proudly. I look forward to seeing the results," Milwaukee's head track and field and cross country coach Pete Corfeld said. "Another great thing is that our current athletes can see these two and that serves as great motivation for them to see what they can do even after they leave here." The women's marathon trial will feature 162 runners, with the top three earning spots on the 2008 Olympic team in Beijing. Last year, McMahan took 10th at the USA Women's Marathon Championship in 2:43:56. She is also coming off an eighth-place finish at the USA Half Marathon Championships (1:13:10) this past January in Houston, Texas. "Well of course I have a time goal, but I learned at Boston last year that a time does not define effort," McMahan said of her goals for the meet in a recent interview with RunMichigan.com. "I'd like to have a 100% heart and soul effort out there. In terms of team Hanson-Brooks, I want to see one of us make the team. I really believe all of this is possible." Weiland, an assistant with the Milwaukee track and field and cross country teams, has continued his running career since graduating from UWM. He was runner-up at the Al's Run (1:08.48) in Milwaukee last September before taking 23rd at the MetRX/USA Track & Field 10-mile championship (50:50) in October and seventh at the Philadelphia Half Marathon (1:08.48).
"I'm excited to be competing in Boston. It is one of the big marathons in the world and it is definitely going to be a quality field with a lot of big names," Weiland said. "My goals are to finish in the top 50 for sure and to move up into the top 25." McMahan ran both track and cross country at Milwaukee from 1995-99. She specialized in the 800m, ranking among the top 10 in the event both indoors and outdoors. Her name is also littered among the top 10's in multiple relay events. Weiland finished his career in 2006. He earned all-league second team honors in cross country during his final two seasons. As a senior, he took 38th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the third-best regional finish in team history, second only to UWM Hall of Famer Chad Zehms. On the track, the Waunakee, Wis., native is among the school's all-time leaders in the indoor 3000m and 5000m and the outdoor 10,000m. His 10k time of 30:57.60 is fourth in school history. |
