FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Milwaukee women's track and field vaulters and relay team highlighted the final day of competition as the Panthers earned second place at the Horizon League Indoor Championships. Milwaukee totaled 132.83 points in its runner-up finish.
The second-place finish is the first for Milwaukee since 2017 when the Panthers totaled 140 points at the indoor championships. Across the four days, the Milwaukee women reached the podium 10 times with four individual titles this year.
Youngstown State earned its fifth consecutive team title with 186.16 points.
"As far as today's events, pole vault went really well," head coach
Andrew Basler commented. "Those were some big points for us and I'm really proud of our vaulters."
"Overall, obviously, our goal is to get this program to winning championships," Basler continued. "We fell short of that goal, but I feel like we are making really big strides. Last year, we had four indoor champions and we doubled it this year. I'm happy to hear about our athletes talk about the momentum we have. They want to make necessary changes with how they attack decisions and practice, and they want to be in a position to bring a title back home to Milwaukee."
Natalie Block set a new personal record in the 200-meter dash, finishing in fourth with a time of 25.47. The Freshman earned four points for the Panthers in the event.
"I thought Natalie as a freshman in her first 200-meter finals ran a great race," Basler said. "Just missed podium but she had a great meet."
In the pole vault,
Jayde Wollenberg reached the podium with a 3.73-meter mark, finishing third.
Kate Watson finished fifth with a mark of 3.43 meters.
"In the 4x400, we showed a lot of grit and performed well to get on the podium," Basler stated. "Definitely a strong finish for us today."
That relay team of
Michelle Meyer,
Aubrey Anderson,
Maddie Martin, and
Courtney Hoppe put together a season-best performance as they placed second in 3:59.75.
A trio of Milwaukee distance runners competed in the 3,000-meter race led by
Emily Burns, who captured five points with a fourth-place finish in 10:15.86.
Emily Sass grabbed seventh while
Brittany Helm set a new personal-best with a time of 10:45.37.
The Panthers will now shift their focus to the outdoor season. The schedule has not yet been revealed but will be available on
MKEPanthers.com soon.
