St. Scholastica captures eighth-consecutive Jerome Kruse All-Sport Trophy
ST. PAUL, Minn.---After winning five of the final six Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) spring championships, the College of St. Scholastica earned its eighth-consecutive Jerome Kruse All-Sport Trophy award with 123 points, the conference office announced Thursday.
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With just a 9.5-point lead over the University of Northwestern following fall and winter sports completion, the Saints continued to exert their dominance in spring sports with five critical championships that helped them take the all-sport competition by 24 points over Northwestern in second with 99 points. The Saints won titles in baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis and women's outdoor track and field. They also placed third in men's outdoor track and field to add 36.5 points to their 86.5 points prior to the spring.
The Saints now own over 20 regular season titles in each baseball and softball and remain the lone team to ever win a men's tennis regular season championship. After missing out on an outdoor title last season in women's track and field, the Saints won healthily for their 12th title in the sport. The women's tennis win was shared with Northwestern and was the second in a row for St. Scholastica. As a department, St. Scholastica won nine UMAC regular season championships.
The Eagles matched their total 99 points from last season thanks to several strong spring performances. Northwestern's softball squad tied for second and advanced to the tournament title game, while women's tennis shared the conference title. The Eagle men's tennis team also earned a second-place finish to help the Eagles with a solid second-place finish in the Kruse standings.
The University of Minnesota Morris held just a 5.5-point lead over the University of Wisconsin-Superior after the fall and just 2.5 points following the winter. With just a narrow margin for error, the Cougars picked up another third-place finish with 92 points edging out the Yellowjackets by just one-half point at 91.5 points. The Cougars relied on a surging baseball team that tied for second place in the regular season and a runner up finish at the men's track and field outdoor meet.
The Yellowjackets nearly overtook the Cougars thanks to a repeat title in men's outdoor track and field and postseason finishes for baseball and softball. However, without tennis programs this season, the Yellowjackets missed out on points that could have helped them into third place.
Bethany Lutheran College held steady in fifth place and further distanced from sixth-place Martin Luther College. The Vikings saw baseball re-emerge as a postseason program with a second-place finish, while the women's outdoor track and field team made a huge leap to second at the conference meet. Softball also made a postseason appearance to add to the Vikings' 79 points. The Knights placed third in women's tennis to help finish with 56.5 points.
Northland College placed ninth with 43.5 points and Crown was just behind with 40 points thanks to a second-place finish in softball. North Central University rounded out the standings with 25.5 points.
Since the award's inception in 1996-97, St. Scholastica has won the Kruse Award a UMAC-best 13 times. The award, which is named after Mr. Jerome Kruse, a longtime athletic director at the former Northwestern College (Wis.) and Martin Luther College, travels to the full-member institution with the most points accumulated by the place finishes of the college's athletic teams in the final standings of 18 conference sponsored sports.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. St. Scholastica - 123 points
2. Northwestern - 99 points
3. Minnesota Morris - 92 points
4. Wisconsin-Superior - 91.5 points
5. Bethany Lutheran - 79 points
6. Martin Luther - 56.5 points
7. Northland - 43.5 points
8. Crown - 40 points
9. North Central - 25.5 points
KRUSE AWARD POINTS (2016-2017)
UMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
| School |
MCC |
WCC |
FB |
MSC |
WSC |
VB |
MGF |
WGF |
MBB |
WBB |
MITF |
WITF |
BS |
SB |
MTN |
WTN |
MOTF |
WOTF |
Total |
| Bethany Lutheran |
3 |
7 |
- |
1 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
7.5 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
7.5 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
79 |
| Crown |
1 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1.5 |
1 |
5 |
- |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
7.5 |
- |
- |
1 |
2 |
40 |
| Martin Luther |
8 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
- |
- |
2 |
3.5 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
56.5 |
| Minnesota Morris |
7 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
3 |
7.5 |
2 |
1 |
1.5 |
7 |
5 |
92 |
| North Central |
2 |
1 |
- |
4 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
- |
2 |
2 |
1 |
- |
1 |
1 |
- |
1.5 |
2 |
1 |
25.5 |
| Northland |
4 |
2 |
- |
2 |
9 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
- |
- |
5 |
3.5 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
43.5 |
| Northwestern |
5 |
5 |
5 |
7 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
4 |
9 |
7 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
7.5 |
4 |
5.5 |
4 |
3 |
99 |
| St. Scholastica |
6 |
9 |
4 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
8 |
7 |
7.5 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
5.5 |
6 |
8 |
123 |
| Wisconsin-Superior |
9 |
6 |
- |
8 |
1.5 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
4 |
9 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
- |
- |
8 |
6 |
91.5 |