MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee's track and field teams will compete at the 2022 Horizon League Indoor Championships this weekend in Youngstown, Ohio. The two-day meet begins on Saturday inside the Watson & Tressel Training Site hosted by Youngstown State.
Championship Central
Fans looking for more information about this year's championships, including meet schedule, order of events, and more, can visit the Championship Central link located on both track and field pages.
Competition begins Saturday at 8 a.m. CT with the pentathlon and the first four events of the heptathlon. Saturday's field events include the long jump, pole vault, and weight throw and running prelims begin at 1:30 p.m.
On Sunday, the remaining events for the heptathlon begin at 8 a.m. CT followed by triple jump and shot put at 10 a.m. Final running events begin at 12 p.m.
The entirety of the two-day meet will be streamed on ESPN+.
Scouting the Competition
The 2022 Horizon League Championships will see 11 teams compete including Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, IUPUI, Milwaukee, Northern Kentucky, Oakland, Purdue Fort Wayne, Robert Morris, UIC, Wright State, and Youngstown State.
Last season, Milwaukee earned a pair of runner-up finishes with the men tallying 180.5 points and the women 132.83 points. The Panthers have collected 32 indoor team titles in program history.
Youngstown State enters the championships having won six consecutive men's titles and five straight women's titles.
Collecting Weekly Awards
After sweeping the Horizon League Field weekly awards this week, Milwaukee is now up to ten total on the season.
Austin Wallace collected his third weekly award after breaking his own school record in the long jump at the St. Valentine's Invite. The redshirt junior posted a jump of 7.53m, increasing his conference-leading mark in the process. Wallace also won the award early this season after breaking his own record in the heptathlon at the John Gartland Invite with a score of 5557 points.
Lauren Lietzke was named Women's Field Athlete of the Week after establishing a new school record in the shot put at the St. Valentine's Invite last Friday. The senior tossed a record of 14.67m, finishing sixth and breaking the prior record set in 2016. The throw puts Lietzke atop the conference list in the event.
Sam Conger was named Men's Runner of the Week two weeks ago after running a lifetime best in the 60m hurdles at the Grand Valley State Big Meet. The senior broke the eight-second mark for the first time, placing sixth with a time of 7.94 seconds. Conger became just one of three Panthers in school history to record a time below eight seconds in the event and he currently holds the top time in the Horizon League.
Caleb Rogalski was named Men's Field Athlete of the Week a couple weeks ago after throwing a near lifetime best in the weight throw at the Hoosier Hills Invitational on Friday. The senior place sixth with a throw of 18.16m, which is currently the top mark in the conference.
Kate Watson and
Nadia Vo were each named Women's Field Athlete of the Week earlier this season. At the Red Hawk Invite, Watson won the pole vault with a jump of 3.75m to finish first and her jump of 3.87m from earlier this season ranks second in the conference. Vo posted a new personal record in the long jump at the Tierney Classic, finishing with the top distance in the conference at 5.85m.
Resetting the Record Books
Following the Hoosier Hills Invitational,
Natalie Block rewrote the 60m hurdles school record for the third time this season. The two-time Horizon League Athlete of the Week over the course of the indoor season finished first in the event with a time of 8.40 seconds. Block also set the school record in the pentathlon earlier this season at the John Gartland Invitational with a score of 3784 points.
Block finished just three-hundredths of a second shy of breaking the school record in the 200m at the Hoosier Hills Invite, racing to a time of 24.73 seconds for first place. The sophomore also owns the top 400m time in the Horizon League this season, posting a time of 55.86 seconds in her first career 400m.
Follow Panthers on Social Media
Fans can follow Milwaukee track and field and cross country on Twitter and Instagram (@MKE_TFXC) for information, updates, and results.
Additionally, follow MKE_Throws, MKE_HighJump, MKE_LongJump, and MKE_PoleVault on Instagram live throughout the meet for live video.
