The Milwaukee Panthers men’s track and field team began competition at the Gibson Invitational on Apr. 16, with several athletes posting notable performances in the combined events.
The meet marks an important opportunity for student-athletes to showcase their abilities as part of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s athletic tradition. The Panthers participate in both indoor and outdoor meets throughout their season, according to the official website.
Anna Szepieniec, Kallie Volk, and Kara Meeteer represented Milwaukee in the heptathlon, while Liam Richards competed unattached in the decathlon. Head coach Andrew Basler said, “Day one of the combined events had a lot of positives. With Kara competing in her first heptathlon, and Kallie and Anna doubling back after their heptathlon last weekend, they all had highlight moments in the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash.” Szepieniec is currently second overall with 3135 points after earning a career-best time of 24.11 seconds in the 200-meter dash and performing well across multiple disciplines. Basler added, “Anna ran a season best time in the 100H and a new lifetime best of 24.11 in the 200m. Kallie also ran a season best in the 100H and a lifetime best in the 200m.” Volk sits eighth overall after clearing an impressive height of 1.55 meters in high jump.
Basler also highlighted Meeteer’s efforts: “Kara ran a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles and a college best in the 200-meter dash.” Competing for her first time as a Panther, Meeteer finished ninth among long jumpers on day one.
Richards leads after five events with top-five finishes across all disciplines so far. Basler said about his performance: “Competing unattached, redshirt junior Liam is having a weekend after day one of the decathlon. Liam had personal bests in three events, and with a solid day two, could be looking at a final score of 7,500-7,600 points.” Richards’ standout results included winning long jump (7.07 meters) and setting career marks elsewhere.
The Panthers are affiliated with NCAA Division I as members of the Horizon League according to their official website. The team supports student-athletes balancing academics alongside athletics according to its official site.
Looking ahead to Friday’s continuation at Indiana State’s Gibson Track & Field Complex, Basler concluded: “With the Phil Esten meet at UW-La Crosse getting moved up… our planned 10k runners will instead eye next weekend to run their 10k races.” The program continues its commitment from Milwaukee as part of UW-Milwaukee.
