The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s cross country team took second at its first invitational at Valparaiso, Ind., on Sept. 8.

Freshman Malachi Cate took first place with a time of 19:24 followed by teammates junior Nick Hawley, 12th, freshman Mike Sorenson, 14th, and senior Justin Gorman, 19th.

Last year, UWM lost two all-league performers in Josh Nygren and Nate Weiland, and had just one returning senior, Justin Gorman, so the men’s UWM cross country team was looking to lean on the incoming freshmen to build up a solid team with Gorman leading the way.

“Even though we have over ten new men and women runners, I believe that our team will stay consistent (from last year’s result),” said coach Pete Corfeld. “The core group is very talented and motivated. Early season results are nice, but our season should ultimately be judged on the HL championship, regional competition and, if things go extremely well, NCAAs. All the other meets are training for the afore mentioned meets.”

Hawley is the team’s No. 1 returning scorer, while Cate and Sorenson timed in the top 20 during the Valparaiso invitational. The team finished with a total of 66 points.

“For the month of September, at any given meet, we will probably be holding out a top runner,” Corfeld said.

The women’s team took fifth at the invite with Junior Holly Neauman leading in 13th place, timed at 15:17. Senior Kourtney Nault finished in 19th at 15:34 and Erin Magargee finished in 21st with a time of 15:47.

With a strong upperclassmen team, and returning junior Angie Huebner, who was an all-league first team member, the team looks ready to compete.

“Number one runner Angie Huebner didn't run at Valpo, so she could get more base training in before her first competition at Loyola Lakefront on Sept. 30,” Corfeld said. He said the must-see meets are Butler and Loyola for both men and women, and they will look to perform well against Marquette.

“They are putting in high mileage right now, called aerobic base training. Their mileage will gradually go down, add shorter speed workouts (anaerobic training) and hopefully peak during the exciting meets,” Corfeld said.

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