The Milwaukee Panthers women’s track and field team competed at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Open in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Drake Alternative in Whitewater, Wisconsin, on April 25. Head coach Andrew Basler said the teams saw many season and personal best performances across various events.
These results are important as they come just two weeks before the Horizon League Championships. The Panthers compete in both indoor and outdoor competitions throughout their season, according to the official website.
Basler said, “We had a great day at the track with our Louisville and Whitewater groups. A lot of season and personal bests across all the events, which is exactly what you are looking for two weeks out from conference championship weekend.” In Louisville, Anna Szepieniec ran a career-best time of 13.67 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, placing fifth overall—a mark that ranks third in program history. Victoria Spagnola finished with a time of 14.38 seconds while Kallie Volk achieved a personal record of 14.65 seconds despite hitting some hurdles.
Other highlights included Isabel Roloff’s time of 12.08 seconds in the 100-meter dash—tied for tenth-best in program history—and Katie Burns’ tenth-place finish in the 400-meter run with a time of 55.59 seconds. In field events, Emma Johnson cleared an outdoor career-best height of 3.82 meters in pole vault Division B; this effort ties her for fifth place on Milwaukee’s all-time list.
At Whitewater’s Drake Alternative meet, Anna Gallagher won the women’s 5000-meter run with her season-best performance (18:28.41), while Eileen Tocco was runner-up (18:33.13). Rylan Oberg claimed first place in the steeplechase event with a time of 12:17.29.
The Milwaukee Panthers women’s track and field team is part of NCAA Division I athletics within the Horizon League as indicated by their official website according to their official website. The team also supports student-athletes balancing academic responsibilities alongside athletic commitments as noted on their official site.
Basler concluded by saying, “With one weekend of regular season left, we will be looking to fine tune some events leading up to the Horizon League Championships.” The next scheduled meets for Milwaukee are Illinois’ Gary Wieneke Memorial and Wisconsin’s Badger Challenge on May 1-2.
