WHITEWATER, WISCONSIN (January 21, 2022) — Tori Verbeck, a native of Geneseo, Illinois, and graduate of Geneseo High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's track and field team during the 2022 season, which begins this Saturday.
Verbeck, a junior at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in physical education.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's and women's track and field teams are set to begin the 2022 season, which kicks off this Saturday with the annual Karl Schlender Invitational at Kachel Fieldhouse.
The Warhawk women placed eighth at the 2021 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships. Last year's indoor season was shortened to five meets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
UW-Whitewater's 2022 indoor season begins with a pair of home events. The team hosts the Karl Schlender Invitational this Saturday starting at 11AM as well as the two-day "Squig" Converse Invitational on January 28-29 at Kachel Fieldhouse.
Following UW-Stevens Point's Big Dawg Invite on February 5, the Warhawks host the Midwest Elite Invitational on Feb. 12. The regular season concludes February 18 at North Central's F Lee Slick Invitational.
The WIAC Indoor Championship is slated for February 25-26 in Platteville. UW-W will compete in last chance meets on March 4-5 prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will take place March 11-12 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
UW-Whitewater will compete at five outdoor meets, including three at home and two at UW-Platteville. Following the outdoor season-opening Pioneer Opener on April 2, the Warhawks will host the Rex Foster Twilight meet on April 8. Other scheduled meets include the UW-Platteville Invitational on April 15, the Warhawk Invite on April 22-23 and UW-W's annual Drake Alternative Meet on April 29.
The WIAC Outdoor Championships are set for May 6-7 in La Crosse. Following last-chance meets on May 13 and May 19, the NCAA Outdoor Championships will take place May 26-28 in Geneva, Ohio.
The Warhawks are slated to return all but three of their top finishers from the 2021 WIAC Outdoor Championship and several of their top performers from the 2021 indoor season.
Gracie Holland (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) tied for thirteenth in the pole-vault at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The WIAC outdoor pole-vault runner-up, Holland enters the 2022 campaign with a personal record of 12-02.75 (3.73 meters) in the event and recorded a team-best 18-03.25 (5.57 meters) in the long-jump to earn All-WIAC honors last winter.
Abigail Missiaen (Muskego, Wisconsin/Muskego) was also an all-conference performer last spring. Competing in events exclusive to the outdoor season, she finished second in the javelin-throw to go along with a fourth-place finish in the heptathlon. Missiaen posted a career-best 3,047 in the pentathlon and was the team's top performer in the 60-meter hurdles during the 2021 indoor season.
Kylie Jacobs (Watertown, Wisconsin/Watertown) and Katie McNamara (Geneva, Illinois/Geneva) registered the top times in sprint events. Jacobs collected a 27.31 in the 200-meter dash, while McNamara led the Warhawks with a 1:00.75 in the 400-meter dash. Jacobs paced UW-W in both events during the outdoor season.
Paige Fassbender (Slinger, Wisconsin/Slinger) and Ari De La Cerda (Milwaukee, Wisconsin/Pewaukee) led UW-Whitewater in the 800-meter run and the 1-mile run, respectively, in 2021. Fassbender took nearly six seconds off her personal record in the 800 during the outdoor season with a 2:16.98. De La Cerda tallied a team-best 5:28.15 in the mile run and led the team during the outdoor season in three separate distance events.
Jacobs, McNamara, Fassbender, and Sarah Niehueser (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin/Winnebago Lutheran Academy) combined for the top indoor time in the 4x400-meter relay, while Niehueser, De La Cerda, and Alex Handchetz (Lake in the Hills, Illinois/Huntley) were part of the team's top distance medley relay.
Kenni Czarnecki (Muskego, Wisconsin/Muskego) led the Warhawks in both the shot-put and weight-throw during the 2021 indoor campaign. She also paced UW-W in the shot-put, discus-throw, and hammer-throw in last spring's outdoor season.
Jill Cavanaugh (Port Washington, Wisconsin/Port Washington) and Hope Mylin (Algonquin, Illinois/Harvest Christian Academy) led UW-Whitewater at the 2021 conference meet in outdoor-only events. Cavanaugh raced to a fourteenth-place finish in the 10,000-meter run, and Mylin placed 21st in the 100-meter hurdles.
UW-Whitewater's 2022 captains include Fassbender, Jacobs, and Mylin.
For more than 150 years, UW-Whitewater has provided students with the education and training to begin their careers with a solid foundation behind them. The UW-Whitewater is committed to the development of the individual, the growth of personal and professional integrity, and respect for diversity and global perspectives. These are met by providing academic and co-curricular programs that emphasize the pursuit of knowledge and understanding and a commitment to service within a safe and secure environment.
