Sparked by the success of junior Timeka Walker and senior Tenia Fisher, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s track team was excited about its early season performance in the non-scoring Northern Iowa Classic in Cedar Falls Friday. The men also participated and won five events.

For the women, Walker won the 60 meter and Fisher won the 800 m. Fisher’s time in the 800 m was 2 minutes 16.28 seconds. Her teammate, Griffin McNulty, finished fourth in the event with a time of 2:20.92. In the 60 m, Walker was able to finish the sprint with a time of 7.77.

The women also succeeded in the field portions of the meet. Freshman Beth Zimmerman took a third-place finish in the triple jump and a fifth place finish in the long jump. Her leap of 37 feet 3 ¾ inches in the triple jump was the fourth-best jump in school history.

Also succeeding in the field portions of the meet were the women pole-vaulters. After Joy VanLaanen cleared the height of 10-11 ¾, two of her teammates, Stephanie Ray and Jes Weyandt tied for fifth place by clearing the height of 10-6.

The men’s track and field team also succeeded in the non-scoring meet. Winning a total of five events helped give the men plenty of confidence going into the season.

In long-distance running, UWM showed it has a very fast and talented member of the team. Junior Justin Gorman was first to cross the line in the one-mile run with an impressive time of 4:14.51. The time was fifth best in school history.

Adam Scheils, a freshman who ran the 60 m hurdle, secured a fourth-place finish in the event and the second-fastest time in school history, 8.38, just .16 seconds short of the fastest time in school history.

Three other Panthers earned top-three finishes in their events. Senior Josh Nygren was second in the 3,000 m with a time of 8:43.15. In the 200 m, Trentin Edwards finished third in the event with a time of 22.60. Finally, in the 800 m, Jeremy Majors finished third with a time of 1:57.25.

Both the men and women return to Iowa for their next meet at the Iowa State Cyclone Classic in Ames on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10 and 11.

> Comments