LOUISVILLE – Natalie Block broke the Milwaukee 400m hurdles record for the fourth time this season and hit the minimum qualifying mark for the US Olympic Trials as the Panthers competed today at the Clark Wood Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
Block broke the program record and won the event with a time of 57.68 seconds. This time is the fastest in the conference, the 30^th fastest time in the country, and hits the minimum qualifying mark for the Olympic Trials.
 
"After the team success at Whitewater yesterday, we did not take our foot off the gas on the first day of this meet," head coach Andrew Basler said. "The 400m hurdlers finished our day off with a bang."
 
Leah Handshoe joined Block in the 400m hurdles, finishing fifth in 1:01.51, the seventh fastest time in program history.
 
"Leah ran a PR of almost a second to win her heat, and Natalie continues to push her potential by dropped almost a second off the program record with her time," Basler continued.
 
Anelise Egge set a PR of 2:10.83 in the 800m, finishing third and running the fourth fastest time in program history.
 
"The entire 800m group ran amazing," Basler said. "There was a strong wind at their face on the home stretch, but that didn't deter them from putting out some personal and season bests."
 
Morgan Pilate took third place in the long jump, setting a PR of over half of a foot with a distance of 5.84m (19'2"). She finished just off of Milwaukee's top-ten list with the 12^th farthest mark in program history.
 
Golden Cotton took third in the 200m with a time of 21.15 seconds, and Dane Nelson finished third in the 400m hurdles at 53.96 seconds.
 
"In the 200's, Golden (Cotton) is rounding into form at just the right time," Basler commented. "He ran a great first curve and is feeling confident heading into conference. Zac Schmidt broke into the 21s with a really strong run in his heat, and Kynnedi Malone broke out of the 25s with her 24.96 mark in her race."
 
"We have a lot of momentum heading into tomorrow. I'm excited to see our group continue to push themselves to new standards."
 
Tomorrow's action at the Clark Wood Invitational marks the final regular season competition for Milwaukee before the conference championships next weekend. Events are scheduled to start at 9:00 AM with the women's javelin kicking things off.