MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women’s track & field team competed in the 13th annual Tierney Classic in the Klotsche Center Saturday.
“The Tierney Classic is one of our favorite competitions of the year. Our team gets to perform in front of family, friends, and alumni. It’s a special day honoring the commitment and sacrifice of our seniors and interacting with our great alumni base,” said head coach Andrew Basler.
“From a results standpoint, we had some breakthrough performances that really stole the show. Our women’s long jumpers had a great day in the pit, led by junior Anna Szepieniec. Szepieniec had four jumps over the previous school record, saving her best jump for last. Redshirt freshman Nevia Levenhagen eclipsed the 19-foot barrier with her personal-record jump. In the pole vault, Emma Johnson had a great meet, jumping over 12-feet,” added Basler.
Szepieniec started the day off strong, securing a first-place finish in the long jump and setting a new program record in the event. Her 6.30m jump smashed the previous program record set by Samia Taylor in 2013 (6.06m). Her effort currently ranks 17th-best in the NCAA.
The Panther success in the long jump did not stop there, with Levenhagen taking second (5.84m), and Kara Meeteer rounding out the top three (5.71m).
Olivia VanZeeland continued her impressive senior campaign with another victory in the high jump, clearing 1.68m. Kallie Volk and Macy Woodward were right behind her, both jumping 1.63m.
Victoria Spagnola turned in a personal best performance to win the 60-meter hurdles, edging out teammate Szepieniec for the top spot.
Isabel Roloff and Katie Burns secured first and second place in the 60-meter finals, clocking times of 7.76 and 7.82, respectively.
Freshman Meeteer was the sole Panther to compete in the six-athlete 400-meter heat, but that did not stop her from crossing the finish line first with her 1:02.36 effort.
Another Black & Gold sweep came in the 800-meter dash with senior Rachel Helm taking the crown (2:20.66). Lauren Ripley (2:21.59) and Janiyah Taylor (2:21.60) rounded out the sweep for Milwaukee.
Johnson shined in the pole vault, clearing 3.75m which was good for eighth best in Panther history.
The 4x400m relay team of Burns, Leah Handshoe, Taylor Thimmesch, and Victoria Evtimov bested the three opposing Marquette squads to win the event. The group recorded a time of 3:52.42 which was over 19 seconds faster than the next finisher.
“Overall, a lot of progress was made today. We will be traveling a smaller group this upcoming weekend to a great opportunity at the University of Iowa. Lastly, I want to personally thank our athletic department staff, university recreation staff, my assistant coaches, and our team for their help in putting together a great event for our program,” concluded Basler.
UP NEXT
The team will look ahead to the Fighting Illini Challenge in Urbana-Champaign, Ill., Jan 22-23 as well as the Larry Wieczorek Invitational Jan 23-24 in Iowa City, Iowa.
