Milwaukee City Wire

Milwaukee Track & Field athletes showcased their skills at the Mastodon Invitational held at Purdue Fort Wayne. The women's team excelled in the pentathlon, securing the top two positions on the leaderboard.

Anna Szepieniec delivered a remarkable performance, winning three out of five events and finishing first with 3,746 points. This score is noted as the third-best in school history. Kallie Volk followed closely behind with 3,431 points to secure second place.

Head coach Andrew Basler commented on their performances: "Anna and Kallie competed very well in this early season pentathlon, a goal coming into today was a school record for Anna and a lifetime best for Kallie." He acknowledged that Szepieniec missed some critical points but praised her effort nonetheless. Volk's day had its ups and downs, yet she achieved a significant personal best.

Szepieniec began by winning the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.91 seconds. Volk excelled in the high jump by clearing 1.63 meters. In shot put, Szepieniec placed second while Volk came fourth. The long jump saw Szepieniec win again with a leap of 5.69 meters, followed by Volk's third-place finish at 5.29 meters. The pair concluded their day with another one-two finish in the 800m run.

In men's heptathlon action, Liam Richards led after four events with an overall score of 2,924 points. Richards impressed throughout Friday's events, including a notable performance in high jump where he cleared 12.34 meters.

Coach Basler expressed satisfaction with Richards' results: "I was happy with the way things in day one of the heptathlon went; Liam had an amazing day especially in the high jump."

Freshman Nick O'Halloran also competed commendably in his first collegiate multi-event competition, holding third place heading into Saturday's concluding events.

The men's heptathlon will resume Saturday morning starting at 9:00 a.m., featuring remaining contests such as pole vault and ending with the 1000m run at approximately 11:30 a.m.