Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee track and field teams are set to participate in two significant meets this weekend. The events include the Duke Invitational, spanning from Thursday to Saturday, and the Marquette Invitational on Friday.

The Duke Invitational begins Thursday with the men's decathlon, starting with five events at 10:00 a.m. (CT), while the women's heptathlon commences four events at 1:15 p.m. (CT). The decathlon will continue into Friday morning, with the heptathlon's concluding events later that day. Field events are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. (CT) on Friday, preceding track events set for the afternoon. The gathering will conclude on Saturday, featuring final field events in the morning and track competitions at 11:00 a.m. (CT), hosted by Duke University's Morris Williams Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Marquette Invitational in Milwaukee opens Friday with field events at 1:00 p.m., followed by running events at 5:00 p.m. This one-day meet will be held at the Shimek Memorial Track & Field Facilities.

In their last outing, the Panther women secured second place at the Ashton May Invite, hosted by UW-La Crosse, where nine teams competed. Notable performances included Katie Burns, who claimed victory in both the 100m and 200m dashes, and Victoria Evtimov, who placed third in both events. In the high jump, Kallie Volk won by clearing 1.69m, and Alexandria Simmons achieved third place with a mark of 1.64m. Anna Szepieniec triumphed in the long jump, leaping 5.85m and finishing second in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.24. Morgan Pilate excelled in the triple jump with a mark of 11.86m, ranking third in the Horizon League this season, while Hailey Soriaga moved up to eighth place on Milwaukee's all-time rankings in the pole vault by clearing 3.66m.

For the men, Bryant McLaughlin delivered a standout high jump performance, clearing 2.09m and climbing to seventh on the school's all-time leaderboard, a height that also leads the Horizon League this season. Divine Aniamaka secured a win for Milwaukee in the triple jump, achieving a distance of 15.58m. The Panthers saw another top finish in the pole vault by Evan Bartelsen, who cleared 4.76m. Anthony Buford reached a new personal best in the long jump with 7.51m, securing second place, a mark ranking second in the Horizon League thus far. On the track, Will Whiteis and Bryce Tome led the 5000m run, with Whiteis winning in 14:54.17 and Tome following with a 14:58.25.

Next, the Panthers will tackle a busy schedule, including Indiana State's Gibson Invite from April 17-19 at the Gibson Track & Field Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. They will also compete at Wisconsin Lutheran's Green & White Invite at Raabe Stadium in Wauwautosa, Wisconsin, and UW-La Crosse's Phil Esten Challenge at Veterans Memorial Field in La Crosse, Wisconsin.