Nick Wichert

Panther Men Head To Illinois For Central Collegiate Championships

April 19, 2005

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The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's track and field team's whirlwind outdoor season continues this weekend, when the Panthers travel to Champaign, Ill., for the Central Collegiate Championships April 23. The meet, hosted by the University of Illinois, will feature teams from throughout the region, including Marquette, Loyola, DePaul and Notre Dame.

Last Time Out
Freshman Jay Schweitzer won the 400m and a pair of Panthers finished among the top three of the pole vault to lead the Panthers to a fifth-place finish at the Pacesetter Invitational last weekend in Terre Haute, Ind. UWM finished the two-day event with 66 points, while host Indiana State walked away with top honors with 242.

Representing Milwaukee at the Sea Ray Relays, the Panther 4x800m relay continued to make a name for itself nationally. Last week, the quartet placed fourth in the event at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. Running among the top relay corps in the nation, the team broke its own school record for the second-straight week. All four runners also posted solid times in individual events.

Like Clockwork
Head coach Pete Corfeld took the 4x800m relay to the Sea Ray Relays to put it up against some of the top teams in the nation. The quartet of juniors Gabe Wagoner, Elliot Enright, sophomores Jeremy Majors and Justin Gorman posted a fourth-place finish and broke the school record in the event for the second-straight week. Last weekend's time of 7:26.81 bested the previous mark by 2.33 seconds, and moved the team up to approximately eighth in the nation, as the season progresses through the relay meets that feature the event. UWM's time would have placed the team 14th in the nation according to a list of the top 4x800m relays in 2004.

Hammer Throwing Prowess
Junior Nick Wichert has quietly been enjoying a tremendous season and will look to keep it going at the Central Collegiate Championships on Saturday. Entering the season, the Milwaukee native held the school record in the event with a throw of 171-9. This season, he has surpassed that mark at each of his last three meets, including the current record of 182-8 at the Purdue Invitational. The throw also qualified him for the NCAA Regionals and broke the former mark by almost 11 feet.

Up Next
The Panthers are in action next at the Drake Relays April 28-30 in Des Moines, Iowa. It is the sixth-straight weekend of action for Milwaukee in its non-stop outdoor season.