UMAC Men's Indoor champion Wisconsin-Superior sweeps track and field awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2017 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship saw a new champion crowned for the first time in meet history as the University of Wisconsin-Superior ran away with the meet winning by a margin of 117.5 points with a total score of 237.5 points. For the team's impressive win, the Yellowjackets led the all-conference awards and took all three of the top honors, announced Tuesday.
In just their second season in the UMAC, the Yellowjackets have emerged as a powerhouse in men's track and field under the leadership of Glen Drexler who was named the UMAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year by his peers. Two Wisconsin-Superior competitors took the top athlete honors as well, with Alexander Fathie being named Track Athlete of the Meet while C.J. Pillath was named the Field Athlete of the Meet.
Under Drexler's leadership, the Yellowjackets collected five individual events wins and two relay victories. There were 12 different Yellowjackets who earned all-conference recognition which is given to individuals who place first or second in an event or a member of a first-place relay team. Wisconsin-Superior also had repeat champions in the shot put with Thomas Udenberg as well as the 4 x 200-meter relay.
The Yellowjackets' top performer on the track was Fathie who set a new meet record in winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.01. The senior also anchored both winning sprint relays for the Yellowjackets to bring his title total to three for the meet. On top of his event wins, Fathie also earned all-conference recognition for placing second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.11 that was just four-one-hundredths off the winning time. He was also fourth in the 60-meter dash.
In the field events, Pillath was dominant as he has been all indoor season. The sophomore won the weight throw with a toss of 16.32 meters (53-6.5) for his first indoor event title on Friday. He then followed that up with a second-place finish in the shot put Saturday with a mark of 14.92 meters (49-0.25). He scored a total of 18 points toward the Yellowjackets team total.
Fathie and Pillath were among seven male athletes who were conference champions in multiple events. Alex Dzikonksi of Wisconsin-Superior was a member of both champion relays and took the top mark in the long jump, while teammate Matt Swanson added wins for the Yellowjackets in the 800-meter run and the 4 x 400-meter relay. Justin Terry of runner-up University of Minnesota Morris defended both of his titles in the 60-meter and 200-meter dash events, while teammate Chalmer Combellick returned to conference glory winning the mile run and anchoring the Distance Medley Relay-winning squad for the Cougars. Senior star for the College of St. Scholastica in Jacob Gallagher nabbed the top two distance events in the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs.
The all-conference list also includes Jordan Koski (Wisconsin-Superior) and Stefan Prince (Bethany Lutheran) who were both all-conference finishers in two events.
Minnesota Morris won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – Alexander Fathie, Sr., Wisconsin-Superior
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – C.J. Pillath, So., Wisconsin-Superior
Coach of the Year Award – Glen Drexler, Wisconsin-Superior
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Ryan Anderson |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Bellevue, Idaho |
| Nicolas Bruss |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Lafayette, Minn./Sibley East |
| Matt Carlson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Duluth, Minn./Hermantown |
| Frank Cerar |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville |
| Justin Chute |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Grand Forks, N.D./Grand Forks Central |
| Chalmer Combellick |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Chokio, Minn./Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley |
| Alex Dzikonksi |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
South Range, Wis./Superior |
| Alexander Fathie |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Rochester, Minn./John Marshall |
| Thomas Fleming |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Big Lake, Minn./Big Lake |
| Jacob Gallagher |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Lisbon, N.D./Lisbon |
| Matt Grady |
Crown |
Fy. |
Fayetteville, Ga./Trinity Christian |
| Kevin Harris |
Bethany Luthearn |
Jr. |
El Paso, Texas/Santa Teresa |
| Henry Haberman |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Proctor, Minn./Proctor |
| Wyatt Helgeson |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Jordan Koski |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
| Cole Kvistero |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley |
| Noah Larson |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Appleton, Wis./Kimberly |
| Patrick Murphy |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake |
| Mike Okeson |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Sanders, Ky./Owatonna |
| Joseph Olinger |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes |
| C.J. Pillath |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Noah Potratz |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Ripon, Wis./Ripon |
| Stefan Prince |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake |
| Tyler Sassenberg |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Winthrop, Minn./Gibbon-Fairfax Winthrop |
| Matt Swanson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Justin Terry |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Ripley, Miss./Ripley |
| Thomas Udenberg |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Evan Walpole |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
UMAC Individual Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Ryan Anderson |
Distance Medley Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Bellevue, Idaho |
| Nicolas Bruss |
Triple Jump |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Lafayette, Minn./Sibley East |
| Matt Carlson |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Duluth, Minn./Hermantown |
| Chalmer Combellick |
Mile Run, Distance Medley Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Chokio, Minn./Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley |
| Alex Dzikonksi |
Long Jump, 4 x 200-meter Relay,
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
South Range, Wis./Superior |
| Alexander Fathie |
400-meter Dash, 4 x 200-meter Relay,
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Rochester, Minn./John Marshall |
| Jacob Gallagher |
3,000-meter Run, 5,000-meter Run |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Lisbon, N.D./Lisbon |
| Wyatt Helgeson |
Pole Vault |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Cole Kvistero |
60-meter Hurdles |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley |
| Noah Larson |
High Jump |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Appleton, Wis./Kimberly |
| Mike Okeson |
Distance Medley Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Sanders, Ky./Owatonna |
| Joseph Olinger |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes |
| C.J. Pillath |
Weight Throw |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Noah Potratz |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Ripon, Wis./Ripon |
| Tyler Sassenberg |
Distance Medley Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Winthrop, Minn./Gibbon-Fairfax Winthrop |
| Matt Swanson |
800-meter Run, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Justin Terry |
60-meter Dash, 200-meter Dash |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Ripley, Miss./Ripley |
| Thomas Udenberg |
Shot Put |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Minnesota Morris
Bethany Lutheran – Noah Larson, So., Appleton, Wis./Kimberly
Crown – Josh Coleman, Jr., Kiel, Wis./Kiel
Minnesota-Morris – Rob Thurston, Sr., St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park
North Central – Grahm Johnson, Fy., Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing
Northwestern – Elijah Hodgell, So., Lake City, Minn./Lincoln Secondary
St. Scholastica – Frank Cerar, So., Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Wisconsin-Superior – Noah Potratz, Jr., Ripon, Wis./Ripon