Weiland, 78 others beat UWM Chancellor Lovell in Panther Prowl
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Chancellor Mike Lovell graciously handed out t-shirts and handshakes to the 79 runners who beat him Sunday morning in the seventh annual Panther Prowl.
One of the school's own, assistant track coach Nate Weiland, paced the field with a 15:06 that put him 24 seconds ahead of Scott Mueller, an alum of the cross-town rival. Dan Held, of Pewaukee, was third in 16 minutes.
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Chancellor Lovell, in yellow, congratulates the top men finishers, including coach Nate Weiland.
Photo by Tom Held
Lauren Benson, of Shorewood, led the women's group in 19:25, followed by Kristina Heinz, 40, of Franklin and Jackie Giacalone, 28, of Hartland. They finished in 19:43 and 19:53, respectively, to add their names to the list of runners who will wear t-shirts announcing, "I beat the chancellor."
More than a respectable runner, Lovell ran the 5K in 20 minutes, 43 seconds, and noted mid-way that he was still "beat up" from the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon just a week earlier. The chancellor, 45, finished the marathon in 3:07:58.
Lovell's race the Chancellor contest in the Prowl was a kick-off to a week of activities, leading to his inauguration on Oct. 14. The race drew more than 1,000 runners and walkers and served to fulfill a piece of Lovell's mission, to draw more people from the community to the campus.
It was an easy sell on a warm, sunny day, perfect for a run along the campus and under the colorful canopy in nearby Lake Park. Lovell said the turnout on Sunday was a record for the event, which generates money for student scholarships.