After winning both the men’s and women’s Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 26, both University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee track and field teams have picked up right where they left off, as the teams begin their outdoor seasons.

The women have been led by junior Taryn Corzine. In the season opener at the Southern Illinois Invitational, Corzine paced the Panthers by finishing second in the 400-meter hurdles. Her personal best time of 1 minute 3.73 seconds was good enough for eighth best in school history.

Corzine was joined by senior Andrea Ziebell, who finished ninth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.09.

Also placing in the top 10 for the Panthers were Stephanie Ray in the pole vault, clearing 10 feet 6 inches, while her teammate Jes Weyandt finished 10th, clearing 10 feet.

UWM finished 10th overall at the invitational with 10.5 points.

Corzine paced the Panthers again this past weekend as the team competed in the non-scoring Poehlein Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind. The junior finished third in the 400-meter hurdles, lowering her personal best time from a week ago to 1:03.65.

Junior Amy Sunby finished seventh in the event, while Ziebell finished eighth.

Weyandt had an outstanding day clearing 11-5 3/4, good enough for fifth and putting her tied for third all-time in Milwaukee school history.

The Panthers had three in the top nine in the 400-meter run, as UWM finished fifth, seventh and ninth.

While most of the team was in West Lafayette, the Panthers sent a select squad of athletes to the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. The weekend was highlighted by two school records set by seniors Tenia Fisher and Josh Nygren.

Fisher broke a 19-year-old record in the 800-meter run, finishing with a time of 2:08.97, smashing the previous mark of 2:10.01 set back in 1987. The time not only placed her seventh in the event, but it also qualified her for the NCAA regional meet.

Earlier in the week, Fisher was named the Horizon League Indoor Athlete of the Year, an award she has received three of her four years here at UWM.

Nygren, set his school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. His time of 9:07.44 broke a 16-year-old record formerly held by Jim Koneazny. Nygren missed the NCAA regional qualifying time by .44 seconds.

Fisher was joined by teammates Katie Anderson and Angie Huebner in Palo Alto. Anderson competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase finishing with a personal best time of 11:18.73, while Huebner also finished with a personal best time of 37:10.51 in the 10,000-meter race.

Justin Gorman, Jeremy Majors and Gabe Wagoner all competed in the 800-meter run, with Wagoner leading the Panthers with an 18th-place finish.

The men’s strong showing at the Stanford Invitational only adds to their success in the outdoor season so far. The Panthers, who also competed at the Poehlein Invitational as well as the Southern Illinois Invitational, have been led by Dan Schultz and Jeremiah Snyder. The two senior pole vaulters tied for first at the Southern Illinois Invitational clearing 15-0.

Snyder also tied for fourth at the Poehlein Invitational, when he cleared 15-7. Schultz tied for ninth with freshman Sean Jaehnig, both clearing 14-7 1/4.

UWM has also received strong showings from sophomore Darren Cole and freshman Adam Schleis. Cole won the triple-jump at the Poehlein Invitational jumping 47-9 1/4, while Schleis finished second in the long-jump with a jump of 44-4 1/4.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will return to action Saturday, April 8, as they host the UWM/Wisconsin Lutheran Classic. The meet is the only home meet for the Panthers and will be held in Wauwautosa.

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