May 1, 2000

MILWAUKEE - Freshman Abby Hurst (Little Chute, Wis./Little Chute HS) has become the first Panther in UW-Milwaukee history to qualify in multiple events for the USATF Junior Nationals. The meet will be held on Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24 at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.

Hurst qualified in the 10,000-meter run this past weekend at the Drake Relays, where she competed against four NCAA Provisional qualifiers, running a time of 37:17.72. The qualification time for Junior Nationals is 40:00.14.

The 10,000 meters isn't the only event that Hurst has qualified for. She will be competing in the mile, 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs.

She set the mile and the 3,000-meter run marks at the Big Blue Classic meet on April 8. She finished the 1,500 meters in 4:54.6 and she crossed the line in the 3,000 meters in a time of 10:14.84. The 5,000-meter qualification time was set the following week at the Lee Calhoun Memorial Invitational in Macomb, Ill., where Hurst won the event in convincing fashion, finishing with a time of 17:59.75.

Hurst will be part of the crew looking for the MCC Outdoor Championship on May 11 in Indianapolis. The women's squad has one meet before conference, the Wisconsin Twilight on Saturday, May 6, in Madison.