Milwaukee City Wire

Kortnie Volk emerged victorious in the heptathlon at the Gibson Invitational, climbing from fifth to first place on the second day of competition. Representing the Milwaukee track & field program, Volk concluded Thursday's events with 2740 points across four events. On Friday, she won the long jump with a distance of 5.61 meters and secured third place in the javelin throw with 28.62 meters. She then finished first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.19, bringing her total score to 4690 points, which ranks sixth on Milwaukee's all-time list.

Anna Szepieniec and Kallie Volk followed in second and third places with scores of 4661 and 4581, respectively, placing them seventh and eighth on the all-time list.

"Day two of the multis had a lot of positive results for the men and the women," said head coach Andrew Basler. "With the women, we had three freshmen do their first heptathlon, so any results we got were learning opportunities."

Basler noted that Szepieniec experienced some significant fouls during the long jump that could have increased her score close to 4900 points. He also praised Kortnie Volk for setting a lifetime best and gaining confidence ahead of upcoming conferences.

In men's events, Tony Bretall was the only Panther to complete every decathlon event, finishing sixth with 5963 points. Jack Misky and Liam Richards did not finish as they skipped the 1500-meter run.

"On the men's side, we didn't go all out this weekend due to conference being two weeks away," Basler explained. "We strategically got through portions of the decathlon to give the guys the feel of moving from event to event."

Cailin Kinas placed third in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:11.86, while Samantha Satterfield and Finnegan Shields both secured sixth place finishes in hammer throw events.

"In the hammer throw, I thought the marks were solid across the board," Basler commented. "I'm excited to see results from shot put and discus tomorrow."

The Gibson Invitational continues tomorrow at 10:30 AM alongside Milwaukee's Green & White Invite starting at 9 AM.