FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Favorites heading into the Horizon League Indoor Championships, Annie Guerrero and Meg Swietlik came through for the Milwaukee women's track and field team and earned first-place finishes. The Panthers hold the top spot with 52.83 total points.
 
"We got off to a really good start. It's hard to know what was to be expected just because what's on paper heading into the meet can be off with a year like this," head coach Andrew Basler commented. "We did not know what to expect, but I felt like events we were supposed to score high in, we did."
 
"It was a huge breakthrough for Annie in the high jump," Basler continued. "She's been a consistent top scorer for us. She took care of busines today. Took the appropriate adjustments and came up clutch on the third jump. I'm excited for her heading into outdoors. Nadia also jumped really well and made her first here bars."
 
Guerrero reached new heights on Friday, setting a new personal record with a 1.74-meter mark to top the field. Freshman Nadia Vo also placed for the Panthers, finishing third with a leap of 1.60 meters.
 
"Obviously, Meg coming off Athlete of the Year took care of business in the 5,000 meter," Basler said. "I thought Mikayla Fox and Emily Sass ran extremely well. I can't remember the last time we had three score in the 5k in indoor."
 
Swietlik, recently named Alfreeda Goff Indoor Athlete of the Year, finished the 5,000-meter race in 16:57.10, over 30 seconds faster than the next closest finisher. It marks the Panthers' first 5,000-meter title since Elise Sigg in 2011.
 
Mikayla Fox ran a strong race to place third in the distance race while Emily Sass set a new personal record with finish of 17:44.10, putting her seventh.
 
Natalie Block and Adaline Powell led the way for the Panthers pentathlon crew, both finishing the top 10 with personal bests. Block earned 3,143 points with a fourth-place finish while Powell grabbed eight place with 2,897 points.
 
Block's top event was the 60-meter hurdles where she totaled 765 points. The freshman also scored 684 points in the 800-meter race, which ranked third among competitors.
 
Powell finished fifth in the hurdles to gain 822 points for the Panthers, leading the way for her seventh-place finish.
 
In the weight throw, Lauren Lietzke led a trio of throwers who earned points for MKE. Lietzke finished in fifth with a 16.60-meter toss. On her heels was Maisie Gelhar and Samantha Satterfield, both of whom set new personal records.
 
Gelhar moved up to seventh in program history with a 15.72-meter throw while Satterfield's mark of 15.53 meters puts her ninth all-time.
 
The women's distance medley relay team of Alayna Franson, Maddie Martin, Hailey Migliano, and Brittany Helm finished sixth to earn three points for the Panthers.
 
"It was a definitely exciting first day. The Panthers had a lot of energy this first day," Basler said. "I told the team that I wanted to be the loudest in there. We have to make our own energy and I thought they took care of business today."
 
Milwaukee will return to Lutheran Health Fieldhouse for day two of the Horizon League Indoor Championships. Live coverage can be found on MKEPanthers.com.