Jan. 17, 2004

Complete Results

KENOSHA - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Track and Field program opened up the 2004 season at Carthage College for the Division I Invitational Saturday afternoon. Both teams entered 2004 with high hopes and were looking for a solid performance in the indoor season's first competition. That goal was achieved as both the men and the women placed fourth in the eight-team competition. The women, the reigning Horizon League indoor and outdoor champions, finished with 87 points while the men, looking to regain their championship form from two seasons ago, recorded 70 team points on the day.

The women achieved seven top-3 finishes on the day with strong individual performances coming from Katie Slamka, Andrea Ziebell and Kalin Konop. Slamka, a sophomore from Racine, finished first in the 400-meter dash (59.40) and scored a second-place finish in the 55 high hurdles by improving on her preliminary time of 8.81 by running a time of 8.57 in the finals. The Panthers covered the 55 high hurdles for the finals by adding a third-place finish by sophomore Andrea Ziebell (8.91), a fourth-place finish by Senior Jill Naus (8.94) and a fifth-place finish by freshman Taryn Cozine (9.14). Senior Kalin Konop added a third-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 35'01.05.

The consistent performance by the women's team was rounded out by victories in the 4x200 and the 4x400 meter relays. The 4x200 meter relay team set a new meet record by running the event in a time of 1:43.81. The time bested the old meet record of 1:44.35, which was set last year by UWM. Besides placing first in both relays, the Panthers' second relay team for the 4x400 finished third.

The Panther men, with 20 underclassmen on this year's squad, had performances that would leave many of the younger athletes with a sense of optimism. Freshman Chris Cox and sophomore Sean Cludy teamed up to take first and second in the men's triple jump. Cox, a Madison native, jumped a distance of 47'01.75 and Cludy, from Stillwater, Minn., jumped a distance of 46'02.50. Eric Wheeler, a freshman from Monroe, won the preliminary round of the 55 high hurdles with a time of 8.09 and returned in the finals to place first with a time of 7.95. The men also received a fourth-place finish by Nicholas Gretz in the shot put.

Besides the individual results, the UWM men also had a strong showing in the 4x400 meter relay. The Panthers sent two relay teams through the lanes and raced to first and third-place finishes with times of 3:23.05 and 3:25.37.

Up next, the men and women's track and field teams will head to Chicago, Ill. on Saturday, Jan. 24 for the University of Chicago Invitational. The meet is set to begin at 11 a.m.