UWM's Gretz heads to California for NCAA Championships
June 6, 2007
Milwaukee, Wis. - UW-Milwaukee senior Nick Gretz will be in action this week at the 2007 NCAA Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Gretz will compete in the discus throw beginning with the preliminaries on Wednesday, June 6, at 9 p.m. Milwaukee time. He will be the 11th thrower in the first flight. Finals for the event are on Friday at 7:15 p.m. On Friday, the meet will be televised live on CSTV.
He is the first Panther to qualify for the national meet since Angie Molter ran in the women's 10,000m at the 1998 outdoor meet. He is vying for the program's first All-American since Cory Peterson (indoor 800m) in 1996 and 1997.
Gretz finished fifth in the discus at the NCAA Regional May 25 in Columbia, Mo., to earn an automatic berth into the meet. He has been nationally ranked in the event throughout the season and sits 37th in the nation with his best throw of 181-3 April 7 at the Big Blue Classic. That throw is a school record.
This 2007 outdoor season has been a standout campaign for the Two Rivers, Wis., native. In addition to his discus exploits, he is also 20th in the nation in the shot put. He won league titles and broke both school records in both events, and was named Horizon League Athlete of the Week four times.
Quick Notes About Panthers At The National Championships- Peterson, Molter and Tim Kenney are the only Panthers to compete at the NCAA Championships since the program went Division I in 1990-91, while Molter is the only to do so outdoors. Peterson and Kenney both qualified indoors in the 800m.
- The last time the Milwaukee men had an All-American in the discus was 1987 when Tony Russo earned his second-straight honor in the event at the NAIA National Championships.
- Russo stands as the only thrower All-American in UWM's history.
- The Panther men boast two national championships at the NAIA level. Ken Lobins won the indoor 800m in 1984 and Anthony Suttle won the outdoor 800m in 1989.
- Milwaukee has scored five points all time at the NCAA Division I Championships. Peterson tallied three indoors in 1997 and the team notched two outdoors in 1931.
