DURHAM, N.C. – The Milwaukee track & field team competed at the Duke Invitational held at Morris Williams Stadium Thursday.
 
Competing in the heptathlon for the first time this season were Panther standouts Anna Szepieniec and Kallie Volk.
 
"The season's first heptathlon is always unique because each athlete is going to have events that go well, and other events that fall a little short," said head coach Andrew Basler. "I feel that was the case for Anna and Kallie this weekend."
 
"On day one, Anna started off strong with the hurdles, and the finished strong with the 200-meter. Her high jump was a good step forward from last weekend at La Crosse. In shot put, she struggled to connect on some technique we have been working on. Kallie, on the other hand, started off strong with her first two events on day 1, the hurdles and high jump. Then, shot put and the 200 were a little off of what we were hoping for."
 
Szepieniec cracked the top-five in the event, racking up 5205 points which is just 21 points shy of her career high. She finished first in both the long jump where she cleared 6.07 meters, and the 100-meter hurdles where she ran a 13.86. Szepieniec also recorded top-10 performances in the 200-meter dash (fourth) and the 800-meter run (fifth).
 
"Day two started off well in the long jump," added Basler. "Anna had an outdoor PR to win that event. Kallie got a solid mark in on her second attempt. Javelin was a bit of a struggle for both of them as we have not had the opportunity to get outside and throw the spear during practice. In the 800-meter, Anna had a breakthrough performance and ran the race exactly how we talked about running it. Kallie was set up for the same plan, but got boxed in early in the race, which really affected her ability to be up with the front pack."
 
Registering 4827 points was Volk, who finished in the top-three in the high jump (1.66 meters). Her other top-10 marks included ending seventh in the long jump (5.50), eighth in the javelin (32.92) and tenth in the 800-meter run (2:28.20).
 
UP NEXT
 
The Panthers will compete in two meets Friday, with select athletes competing in the Duke Invitational, while others stay in Milwaukee, Wis., for the Marquette Invitational. The meet in Durham, N.C. is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 a.m. CT, while the Marquette meet will begin at 2:00 p.m. CT.