MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Indoor Track & Field teams will kick off their seasons in Chicago on Friday afternoon in DePaul's Blue Demon Holiday Invitational hosted at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center at Gately Park.
 
The meet will begin with the field events at 3 p.m., followed by the running events at 5 p.m.
 
Leading the way for the women is Natalie Block, back for one final season after capturing Second Team All-American honors in the 400-meter hurdles. Already one of the most accomplished athletes in program history, Block continued to elevate her legacy last year, qualifying for the NCAA West Regional in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles, sweeping both hurdle titles at the Horizon League Championships, and earning Horizon League Outdoor All-Academic recognition.
 
Returning alongside Block is Anna Szepieniec, who was last season's Horizon League Indoor Pentathlon champion. Szepieniec will look to build on an impressive sophomore campaign where she captured a Horizon League Championship in the Outdoor Heptathlon and was named the 2025 Horizon League Outdoor Championships Field Performer of the Meet.
 
Olivia VanZeeland also looks to make some noise in her senior season. At last year's Blue Demon Holiday Invitational, VanZeeland secured a first-place finish in the High Jump, clearing 1.69 meters. In her junior campaign, VanZeeland was at the top of the High Jump podium six times, and she will look to continue this exceptional play this season.
 
For the men, leading Milwaukee's returners is Anthony Buford, the reigning Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year. The sophomore long jumper is coming off a breakout season that included a league outdoor title and seven top-three finishes in the event.
 
Liam Richards returns as the defending Horizon League champion in both the heptathlon and decathlon. His 5,125-point heptathlon score stands as the fourth-highest in program history. Richards earned Athlete of the Week honors and secured a place on the league's Outdoor All-Academic Team after a stellar 2025 campaign.
 
Rounding out the group of key returners is Josh Cygan, who made an immediate impact as a freshman. He claimed the Horizon League Outdoor Discus Championship and collected two Athlete of the Week awards for the Panthers.