CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – On Friday, the Milwaukee women's track & field team took part in the first day of the 2022 Gary Wieneke Memorial hosted by the University of Illinois on Demirjian Park.
 
The Panthers had one win on the day as Kortnie Volk won the long jump, and as a team had 18 finishes within the top-10.
 
"We stepped up in some really key areas that we were looking for," said head coach Andrew Basler on his team's overall performance.
 
Aside from Volk, Morgan Pilate, Nadia Vo, and Aubrie Gorski were all within the top-10 in the long jump, while Jada Schuh and Gorski secured top-10 spots in the javelin. In the hammer throw, Jamie Pankratz and Samantha Satterfield led the way for the Panthers.
 
Meanwhile on the track, Emily Burns, Madison Hughes, and Anna Gallagher had strong performances in the 5000m, while Alayna Franson took sixth and Sara Jochims finished eighth in the 3000m steeplechase.
 
In sprints, Brooke Crosby recorded two top-five finishes as she took third in the 400m hurdles, while also finishing fifth in the 100m hurdles. Cloey Fare was Milwaukee's leader in the 100m hurdles, with Enne Burton finishing 10th. Leah Handshoe also recorded a fifth-place finish in the 400m hurdles.
 
"Women's long jump went extremely well for us as Kortnie and Morgan had great days and had some lifetime bests," said Basler. "Nadia also had one of her best days jumping in a long time, the results may not be there but it's how it felt, and she felt really good today and that's going to be some good momentum for her moving forward."
 
Volk won the long jump with a 5.74m jump, while Pilate took third with a 5.63m jump. Vo finished with a 5.44 and Gorski tallied a career-long long jump distance of 5.32m.
 
"The same could be said for Adaline Powell," added Basler, "it's probably the best we've seen her jump all spring."
 
In throws, Schuh was sixth in javelin at 32.06 meters while Gorski was 10th with a PR throw of 19.87 meters.
 
In the throw cage, Pankratz had a season-best toss of 51.12 meters to take seventh in the hammer throw, with Satterfield in ninth with a new career-high of 50.93 meters. Lauren Lietzke had a 48.96 and Cynthia Hernandez connected on new top-mark with a 45.81-meter throw to round out the Panther quartet.  
 
"Hammer has consistently been showing up all year, Samantha and Cynthia had PRs for us, and Jamie and Lauren had season-bests," noted Basler. "So, they're showing a lot of consistency for us lately."
 
Track performances were led by Crosby with her two top-five finishes as she secured a personal-best time of 1:02.73 in the 400m hurdles, while also finishing with a 14.29 in the 100m hurdles. Fare also finished fourth in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.28 to edge Crosby in the slimmest of margins with two weeks before the Horizon League Championships.
 
"Our short hurdlers ran well for us with Cloey and Brooke," Basler added. "Brooke's been on a tear this outdoor season and she had a lifetime best in the 400m hurdles."
 
Burns led Milwaukee in the 5000m run with a 17:55.11, while Hughes was next with a personal-best time of 18:07.96. Gallagher added a career-best time of 18:19.54 as she rounded out the trio of Panthers entered in the event.
 
"All three of our entries in the women's 5000m really ran great races," said Basler. "And what Coach Reilly thought they were capable of."
 
In the 3000m steeplechase, Franson clocked in at 11:31.12 for a sixth-place finish, while Jochims crossed the line just over 10 seconds later at a career-best 11:41.92 for an eighth-place position.
 
Vanessa Laundrie led the Panthers in the 200m dash with a time of 26.39, while Isabel Roloff had a season-best time of 26.91. Cailin Kinas added Milwaukee's best time inf the 1500m run at 4:40.53, a new personal-best.
 
Saturday's action will continue at the University of Illinois with competition slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. Meanwhile in Wisconsin, the Panthers will also be competing locally at Raabe Stadium in Wauwatosa in the Marquette Invitational beginning at 9:30 a.m. with throws.