Natalie Block is an eight-time Horizon League Champion, holds Milwaukee records in six different events, and among countless other awards, has been named the Alfreeda Goff Indoor Track & Field Women's Athlete of the Year for the past three seasons in a row. So, how did she get to where she is now?
 
Block started with a group called Girls on the Run, a local non-profit where teams would train for a 5K race while learning about objective setting, goals, and other small group activities.
 
By seventh grade, however, she no longer wanted to do the long distance running. "I said, 'okay, I'm done," Block remembered. "I started off with the 100 meter dash and the long jump, but switched out of the long jump to focus more on sprints."
 
A two-year track athlete at Oak Creek, Block made it to the 300m hurdles state championship as a junior, finishing tenth. Losing her senior season to the COVID-19 pandemic, her next opportunity to compete came as a freshman for the Panthers.
 
After two fourth place finishes as a freshman at the 2021 Horizon League Indoor Championships, Block had multiple break-out performances at the 2021 Outdoor Championships. She was named the 2021 Horizon League Outdoor Track Newcomer of the Year, along with earning 2021 Horizon League Track Outstanding Performer after winning both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles. She also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary meet in the 400m hurdles, finishing 31^st.
 
Prior to arriving at Milwaukee, Block hadn't competed in the 60m hurdles or the 100m hurdles, two of her current top events. "I think it was more to my advantage to start them now, with (head coach Andrew) Basler," she commented. "The knowledge he has and how he was able to coach me in those was so crucial."
 
"He knew what I needed... I was able to start with good hurdle technique and use those drills, techniques, and cues that he knows to build a solid foundation and get off on the right foot."
 
The 2022 indoor season saw Block improve even more, while also adding the 60m hurdles and pentathlon to her repertoire. At the first meet of the season, Block broke her first program record, running a time of 8.52 seconds and taking second place in the 60mH. Then, in the second meet of the year, Block set the program record in the pentathlon, winning the event with a score of 3763.
 
After lowering her 60mH record to 8.40 over the course of the season, Block went into the conference indoor championships as the 2022 Alfreeda Goff Indoor Track & Field Women's Athlete of the Year. At the championship meet, she won both the pentathlon and the 60mH, earning the award of Indoor Track Outstanding Performer.
 
Block says the records weren't on her agenda when she arrived at Milwaukee, but rather came as a bonus from chasing goals of her own.
 
"With my goals being so high in shooting to get to and compete at that elite level, I believe that the records just came with it. Where I want to go is so high that the records are more just perks that come along with the journey."
 
Dealing with lingering injuries, Block competed in just two meets early in the 2022 outdoor season. However, that did not stop her from breaking two more Milwaukee records, this time in the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles. On the same day, Block ran times of 13.66 in the 100mH and 59.94 in the 400mH, both of which still stand as program records today.
 
The 2023 indoor season saw Block break records yet again, as she lowered her 60mH mark to 8.33 and set new MKE records in the 300m and 400m with times of 38.67 and 55.30. Her second straight recognition as the Alfreeda Goff Indoor Track & Field Women's Athlete of the Year preceded the HL Indoor Championship meet where she claimed individual wins in the 60mH and the 400m.
 
Block was also recognized by the Milwaukee Athletic Department, earning the 2023 MKE Record Breaking Performance Award and the 2023 MKE Female Student Athlete of the Year Award.
 
Block continued her prominence on the track by breaking her own program records in three different events during the 2024 indoor season. She was able to lower her 60mH record on three occasions, along with the 300m and 400m records once each. After earning conference runner of the week honors four times, Block was named the Alfreeda Goff Indoor Track & Field Women's Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive time, becoming just the second athlete in Horizon League history to earn the award more than twice.
 
At the Horizon League Championship meet, Block won individual championships in the 60mH and the 400m, earning the award of Outstanding Women's Track Performer of the Meet and helping the Panthers to their tenth indoor championship in program history.
 
"We have a loaded team headed into the outdoor season, and everyone is super motivated," she said. "And Basler is definitely at the heart of it. I don't think I've seen a coach that wants it as bad as he does."
 
When asked what motivates her the most to keep improving, Block mentioned the desire to "be the best you."
 
"When you're chasing the best version of yourself, there's no limit," Block said. "If you're going to put a period after your name, then that's that, but I want a comma. I want to keep going."
 
Block and the Panthers were voted as the favorite to win the Horizon League in the Outdoor Track & Field Preseason poll and open their season March 28^th at the Raleigh Relays. In the same weekend, Milwaukee will also be competing at the WashU Distance Carnival and the Redbird Invite.