MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Milwaukee men's track & field team competed in the Minnesota Open hosted by the University of Minnesota on Saturday in its first meet of 2026.
 
"The first meet back from winter break always has a mixed bag of results," said head coach Andrew Basler. "I think most college track coaches would agree that there are challenges losing your team for 2-3 weeks for winter break after spending all fall preparing."
 
The Panthers recorded three podium sweeps on the day, all coming in running events. Four different members of the Black & Gold notched first-place performances as well.
 
In the field, Kyril Griffin provided Milwaukee with an immediate spark to open the day. The sophomore cleared 14.24 meters in the triple jump, earning a second-place finish at the meet hosted inside the Minnesota Fieldhouse. Griffin continued his strong performance in the long jump, where he secured third place with a mark of 6.84 meters. The effort made him the top Panther finisher in the event and marked a new career-best.
 
Ty Bauschelt added to his impressive freshman campaign, taking home third place finishes in the high jump (1.95m) and the 400-meter dash (50.78).
 
The success of the freshmen continued for the Black & Gold with Brendan Vlasak turning in a second-place outing in the 60-meter hurdles. Vlasak clocked a time of 8.47.
 
In the 1-mile race, Harper Fahey (4:23.95), Will Whiteis (4:25.02), and Sam Blascyk (4:42.81) swept the podium going 1,2, and 3. Also claiming the top three podium positions were Zac Schmidt (22.63), Matt Scardina (22.91), and Mason Weaver (23.05) in the 200-meter dash, as well as Alex Anewenter (8:55.67), Aidan Sosnowski (9:02.69), Will Perez (9:41.67) in the 3000-meter run.
 
In the 800-meter dash, Lucas Picco crossed the finish line first in 1:55.64, securing his second first-place finish of the indoor season.
 
"From an effort standpoint, I was happy with what I saw across all events. We look forward to a focused week of training as we prepare for the Tierney Classic on Sunday, January 18," Basler concluded.
 
UP NEXT

Milwaukee will take a week-long break from competition before returning to action at the annual Tierney Classic, hosted by the Panthers at the Klotsche Center. Events are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.