Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee track and field team participated in the opening day of the Gibson Invitational held in Terre Haute, Indiana. The initial heptathlon and decathlon events took place, with athletes Anna Szepieniec and Liam Richards leading for the Panthers after the first day. Szepieniec is currently second through four heptathlon events, while Richards holds fourth place in a tightly contested decathlon after five events.

"Overall, I think we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish," stated head coach Andrew Basler. "We're trying to be more strategic with the amount of reps and volume since we're just two weeks out from conference. We don't want them to overdo it and not have a chance to recover."

Szepieniec has amassed 2926 points, trailing by only 72 points behind the leader, placing in the top seven in every event so far. Teammates Kallie Volk and Kortnie Volk are positioned fourth and fifth respectively after day one, with Kortnie securing Milwaukee's sole event win of the day in the heptathlon shot put with a throw measuring 11.52 meters (37'9.5").

Richards accumulated 3471 points across his five events, merely 89 points away from first place. He achieved top nine finishes in each event, notably securing second place in both the 100m dash and long jump competitions. Fellow Panther Tony Bretall is ninth with 3061 points.

"Heading into day two tomorrow, I think we're in a good spot," added Basler. "They'll be able to get into some different events and accomplish even more of what we're looking for."

The Panthers will resume their participation at the Gibson Invitational tomorrow morning when the men's decathlon 110m hurdles begins at 8:30 AM. Events are scheduled throughout the day, concluding with the men's 5000m race at 6:05 PM.