At the end of the first day of the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Men’s and Women’s team look to be on their way to a repeat as champions.

On the men’s side junior Adam Schlies added his third long jump title to his resume with a winning jump of 21-10 ¼ . Fellow teammate Quinn Mongoven finished second just behind Schlies with a jump of 21-9. Panthers Darren Cole and Josh Zill also finished in the points with Cole taking fourth and Zill in sixth.

Junior Sean Jaehnig was the runner up in the vault, clearing a height of 15-1, while junior Adam Podd finished fourth with a height of 13-7 ¼.

Other Panthers that scored in the points on the first day were; Larry Enhorn who finished fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 54-4 and Ryan Mleziva ran a 15:38.35 which was good enough for a fifth place finish in the 5000m. The Panthers distance medley team that includes; Eric Pitt, Matt Dreifke, Mike Sorenson and Andrew Manual also finished in the points taking fourth with a time of 10:35.67.

After a day of mainly prelims, UWM qualified 12 runners and sprinters to the finals on Sunday. The Panthers are currently holding on to first place as a team with a score of 39, just edging out UIC at 31 and Youngstown State at 30.

The women’s team is also currently holding onto first place with 69 points, just barely holding of Youngstown State at 62.

Sophmore Erin Havener continues to shine at conference notching her third straight pole vault championship, clearing a height of 11-11 ¾. Havener broke her own record from last year of 11-9 ¾ with that height. Junior Jesse Weyandt finished second in the event clearing a height of 11-5 ¾.

Junior Holly Nearman finally captured a first place finish in the 500m after finishing as the runner-up in last years indoor and outdoor championships, her time was 17:24.46.

Like the men’s team the women also dominated the long jump with four Panthers finishing in the points. Beth Zimmerman led the way finishing second, while junior Jenni Saarinen took third, Reigna Pierce fifth and Emily Budde sixth.

The Pentathlon was also good to the women’s team, as Kory Olson finished second, just ahead of Budde who place third and freshman Stacey Trzcinske in fifth.

The women’s distance medley team also finished in the money, posting a second place finish with a time of 12:20.15, that team consisted of sisters Erin and Danielle Magargee, sophomore Laura Ring and freshman Tanaiya Fisher.

Nine Panthers qualified for finals in sprinters Saturday. Kelsey Conrad qualified in the 200m and the 400m, where she will match up with fellow teammates Zimmerman in the 200m and Angie Kaufman in the 400m.

Senoir Shannon Buttchen also will be running on Sunday after qualifying in the 800m just ahead of teammate Ring. Budde and Olson also qualified in the 60m hurdles and freshman Marquisha Bradley will also be in the 60m final.

The League Championship will wrap up Sunday.

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