Iowa City, Iowa – The Milwaukee track & field teams competed in day one of the Larry Wieczorek Invitational inside the Hawkeye Indoor Track Facility Friday.
 
"We had a good amount of season bests today or close-to-season bests across the five events we competed in today," said head coach Andrew Basler. "I do think those competing today were still recovering from the short week after competing at home this past Sunday."
 
"Our women's long jumpers and high jumpers continued to show our depth with consistent performances today," added Basler.
 
The highlight of the day came in the long jump, where Anna Szepieniec took the crown with her 5.94-meter effort. Nevia Levenhagen finished runner-up, clearing 5.66 meters, and freshman Kara Meeteer turned in a seventh-place performance (5.43 meters).
 
The field event success continued for the Milwaukee women, as four Panthers placed inside the top 10 in the high jump. Olivia VanZeeland led the Black & Gold with a runner-up finish, clearing 1.71 meters, matching the event champion on height. Kallie Volk followed in fourth with a 1.66-meter jump, just 0.04 meters shy of tying her career best. Macy Woodward secured seventh place at 1.61 meters, while Alexandria Simmons rounded out the group with a ninth-place finish after clearing 1.56 meters.
 
In the running portion of the meet, Katie Burns and Victoria Evtimov took eighth and ninth in the premier finals of the 200-meter dash, turning in times of 25.27 and 25.45, respectively.
 
Taylor Thimmesch was the top Panther finisher in the college 200-meter dash finals with her 26.10 outing.
 
On the men's side, Anthony Buford posted a solid 6.79-meter effort in the long jump to earn an eighth-place finish in a highly competitive field. Kyril Griffin also turned in a strong performance, cracking the top 20 with a 17th-place jump of 6.35 meters.
 
In the high jump, freshman Ty Bauschelt tied his season-best outing with his 1.98-meter clearance. Tyler Dahlie finished thirteenth in the same event, soaring over 1.93 meters.
 
In the running events, Zac Schmidt took ninth out of 33 total runners, crossing the line in 22.60. Matt Scardina was not far behind, turning in a 12th-place effort and clocking a time of 22.77.
 
"I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings. Iowa has a great facility and there will be a lot of quality competition in each event," said Basler.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Panthers will compete in day two of the Larry Wieczorek Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday, Jan. 24. The first events will kick off at 1:00 p.m.