Brittany Sykes
  • business/economics
  • Class of 2021
  • Fort Atkinson, WI

Fort Atkinson Native Sykes Earns Spot on 2017 UW-Whitewater Women's Indoor Track and Field Roster

2017 Jan 13

Brittany Sykes, a native of Fort Atkinson, WI, and graduate of Fort Atkinson High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's indoor track and field team during the 2017 season.

Sykes, a sophomore at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in business/economics.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's track and field team looks to continue a rich tradition of success and compete for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship during the 2017 season, which begins this Saturday with the Karl Schlender Invitational at Kachel Fieldhouse in the Williams Center.

The Warhawks, who placed seventh at last season's WIAC Indoor Championships and fourth at the conference outdoor meet, return three NCAA Championship qualifiers from last season, including senior throwers Genny Rose Stringer (Assumption, Ill./Assumption) and Amanda Strupp (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) and senior sprinter Meredith Porter (Hales Corners, Wis./Whitnall).

Stringer, a two-time All-American in the discus throw, placed sixth in the shot put and eighth in the weight throw at last year's WIAC Indoor Championships.

Strupp garnered All-America accolades in the weight throw in 2016 and added All-America honors in the discus during the outdoor season. She was also the league's runner-up in the weight throw.

Stringer and Strupp will serve as team captains alongside senior Ariel Altergott (Genoa City, Wis./Badger) and junior Chelsie Bence (Oconomowoc, Wis./Oconomowoc).

Porter, a three-time All-WIAC honoree, qualified for the national outdoor meet and finished second in the WIAC in the 400-meter hurdles. She is a part of UW-Whitewater's school record holding 4x400-meter indoor relay.

Other returners with past all-conference accolades include seniors Megan Linse (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson), Leah Richter (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac), juniors Morgan McCuen (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) and Erica Sternard.

Richter is a two-time All-WIAC runner in the 4x400-meter relay and is a part of the school record in the event. Last season, she reached the podium three times with a sixth-place finish in the indoor pole vault, an eighth-place finish in the indoor 400-meter dash and a sixth-place finish in the outdoor 400.

McCuen is a five-time WIAC placer in relay events, including an honorable mention All-WIAC finish of third place in the indoor 4x400-meter relay last season.

Sternard is a four-time conference placer in the high jump, including an honorable mention all-league finish of third at the 2015 WIAC Indoor Championships, and Linse is the current school record holder in the 60-meter hurdles, an event she earned honorable mention All-WIAC recognition in during the 2014 season.

Bence, seniors Brooke Linse (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson), Haley Precia (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls), junior Monica Sweet (Franklin, Wis./Franklin), sophomores Tiffany Bianco (Brookfield, Wis./East) and Celeste Madda (Crystal Lake, Ill./Central) return to help lead the Warhawks in track events.

Bence and Madda were part of the team's fourth-place 4x100-meter relay team at the 2016 WIAC Outdoor Championships. Madda added a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash and a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash to her impressive championship debut.

Sweet and Bianco were part of the team's fifth-place finish in the distance medley relay at last season's conference indoor meet. Sweet is now a two-time placer in the DMR, and Bianco was part of the Warhawks' fourth-place 4x400-meter relay team at the WIAC Outdoor Championships.

Precia finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles at the WIAC outdoor meet in 2016 and is a former placer in the 4x100-meter relay. Linse competed in hurdles, sprints and the long jump last season after placing fourth in the pentathlon at the 2015 WIAC Indoor Championships.

Senior Kaylee Raucci (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) and sophomore Brittany Sykes (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) join Stringer and Strupp among UW-Whitewater's leaders in field events.

Raucci, who has also been a part of two conference placing relay teams, is a two-time top-eight conference finisher in the triple jump.

Sykes capped a strong throwing season in 2016 with a fifth place in the javelin and an eighth place in the discus.

The Warhawks will host two meets in January, including this Saturday's Karl Schlender Invitational and the Warhawk Classic Invitational on Jan. 28. The team will compete in four other meets before the WIAC Indoor Championships, which are scheduled for Feb. 24-25 at UW-Stout.

The NCAA Indoor Championships are slated for March 10-11 at North Central College in Naperville, Ill.

UW-Whitewater will host two more meets during the outdoor season - the Rex Foster Invitational on April 7 and the UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet on April 29.

The WIAC Outdoor Championships will take place May 5-6 at UW-Platteville, and the NCAA Outdoor Championships are scheduled for May 25-27 at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.