ST. LOUIS – On Saturday night, the distance runners of the Milwaukee men's & women's track & field teams took part in the Washington University Distance Carnival hosted by the Bears at Bushyhead Track.
 
Seven Panthers took part in the distance-specific event as the group looked to set their early-season marks in the outdoor season opener.
 
Milwaukee had a pair of personal bests set, both coming in the 5,000m run as Meg Swietlik and Trevor Wenzel began their seasons with impressive showings to begin their spring seasons. Wenzel's mark was also a program record, eclipsing his own record from a season ago.
 
Women's Recap
Milwaukee had Swietlik entered in 5,000m run and set a new personal best by more than 10 seconds as she crossed the finish with a time of 17:14.27 with her previous career-best coming as a sophomore.
 
The lone multi-entry event for the Panthers was the 10,000m run with Anna Gallagher pacing the Milwaukee pair with a time of 37:42.86 in her first collegiate outdoor event. Madison Hughes was second for the Panthers with a time of 39:02.86.
 
Rounding out the women's entries was Alayna Franson in the 3,000m steeplechase as she clocked in at 11:26.53. The mark was just a few seconds shy of her previous career-high set back at the 2021 Horizon League Outdoor Championships.
 
Men's Recap
On the men's side, Wenzel was entered in the men's 5,000m run as he set a personal-best time while opening his spring season with a time of 14:22.16, nearly six full seconds better than his previous mark in the event at the Raleigh Relays last March.
 
Ian Nadolski finished with a 31:39.26 in the 10,000m run to start his outdoor season, as his career-best in the event took place at last year's Distance Carnival exactly one year prior.
 
Capping off the night for the Panthers was Aidan Sodemann in the 3,000m steeplechase, who opened his season with a time of 9:43.16 as he looks to build upon that time for the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where he set his career best in early May 2022.
 
Up Next
Milwaukee hopes to get the full team back in action after weather forced the cancellation of the Redbird Challenge this weekend. The team is scheduled for another two events this week beginning on Thursday at the Warrior Invite in nearby Wauwatosa at Historic Raabe Stadium hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College. The team will also compete in the Fighting Illini Challenge in Champaign, Illinois on Saturday, April 8.