Men's Track & Field April 20, 2019

Panthers Once Again Shine Despite Poor Weather

Pole vault crew sets new heights at national meet

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Despite once again battling below-average temperatures and wet conditions, the Milwaukee track & field team continued to pour in season and personal bests Saturday at the national Kentucky Open.

The Panthers overcame those elements and turned in 31 new season or personal bests to go with a handful of top-10 performances in school history.

"Overall, I thought we took another step forward from last week," head coach Andrew Basler said. "Obviously, when we put Kentucky on our schedule, we were hoping to catch some better weather and I think we missed that by about a day each way. But, the whole team still competed really well considering it was about 40 degrees. We had a lot of positive things happen today.

"I told the team throughout the day that obviously you can't control the weather, but you can control how you respond to it and to take advantage of the opportunities that they're given, and I thought they did that again today.

"We're excited to head to Louisville next week, and the forecast right now is 70 and sunny so hopefully we can finally catch a good outdoor meet; especially with that coming on the heels of the outdoor championships on week later."

Milwaukee's pole vault crew stole the show Saturday, with four personal records and three top-10 performances coming from that group. Freshman Kate Watson started things off on the women's side with a big PR of 3.55m (11-7 ¾) – nearly a foot higher than her previous best. That mark now ranks her tied for eighth in MKE history.

On the men's side, senior Nate Scherer and freshman Myles Laurent both etched their name into the Panther record books, tying for 10^th all time after clearing the bar at 4.65m (15-3). That also slides the duo into a tie for second in the Horizon League ranks. Not far behind, sophomore Jack Johnson also turned in a new career best with a height of 4.50m (14-9), now seventh in the league ranks.

The day started with a pair of memorable performances by Oak Creek products Mikayla Fox and Shannon Dugan. The long-time teammates both turned in big PRs on the day in the 5k, with Fox leading the way and taking second on the day in 17:11. 21. That time now ranks her sixth all time in Panther history. Dugan was not far behind with a 30-second time drop of her own to cross the line in 17:37.89 – just shy of 10^th place in MKE history.

It was another big day for the steeplechase crew. Freshman Alayna Franson slid into fifth place in program history with a time of 11:33.34 – just ahead of sophomore teammate Becky Van Thiel at 11:35.84 for sixth all time. Meanwhile, senior Terry McMillan – who moved into second place in school history just last week – once again had a strong run before a hiccup on his final lap to take third overall in 9:10.99.

In high jump, Ashley Melvin continued her outstanding junior campaign by once again tying her PR at 1.65m (5-5) Saturday to take third out of 16 athletes. Annie Guerrero again also did well, taking fifth at 1.60m (5-3). Brady Irwin led a big charge on the men's side with a season-best leap of 1.98m (6-6) to take fourth out of 18 competitors. Sophomore Trevor Coenen was right behind in fifth with a big PR jump of 1.93m (6-4).

Kyra Arendt brought a big win for the Black & Gold. The sophomore topped the triple jump field for the fifth consecutive time dating back to the indoor season with a solid leap of 11.97m (39-3 ¼) on her very first approach easily top the field. Freshman Jada Schuh also did well, tying her PR at 10.29m (33-9 ¾) despite a very busy day.

Milwaukee's hurdle crew had a strong showing going up against the deep field Saturday. Freshman Enné Burton turned in a big personal best in the 400m hurdles, crossing the line in 1:06.32 for third overall on the day. On the men's side, Drew McCormick also shaved another full second off his PR with a final time of 55.39 for fourth overall.

Running up against some of the top hurdlers in the country in the 110m hurdles – including the national runner-up in the indoor sprint hurdles – Sam Conger led the way for MKE Saturday with time of 14.98 seconds for fifth. Bryce McMurtry was not far behind in 15.05 for sixth overall.

In sprints, Mercy Ndon had a big day. The junior first blazed her way to a season-best 100m-time of 12.27 seconds before crossing the line in 25.95 in the 200m – also a new season best and just a fraction of a second shy of her personal record.

Noah Conrad led the way in throws with a fourth-place finish in javelin at 54.77m (179-8). Peter Andrew also took fourth in shot put with a solid toss of 17.39m (57-0 ¾), while Jake Wendt was just shy of his PR in hammer at 50.15m (164-6) for sixth. On the women's side, Rachel Liegel had a strong season-best toss of 44.25m (145-2) in hammer throw.

Also noteworthy on the day, Parker Carlson turned in a big PR in the 400m in 51.61, while Michelle Meyer had a season-best 400m time of 59.22 on the women's side. Alex Hatlevig came in third in the men's 100m with a season-best time of 11.02 seconds, and Nicole Hohn added yet another PR on the day with a 1500m time of 4:47.41 – good for 13^th on the day out of nearly 50 runners.

It's a busy week for the Panthers next week, competing at a pair of meets, starting Wednesday with the Marquette Midweek Challenge down in the Valley. MKE will then head much further south to Louisville, Ky., for the annual Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invite on Friday and Saturday.

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