Yellowjacket coach, athlete duo highlights 2017 Outdoor Men's Track and Field awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2017 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship went similarly to the indoor conference meet as the University of Wisconsin-Superior ran away with the team title with a spectacular 133-point victory Saturday. With that finish, the Yellowjackets highlighted the all-conference and post-meet awards announced Wednesday.
Just like the indoor meet, the two Wisconsin-Superior representatives in the major award categories were the same as Glen Drexler was named the UMAC Coach of the Year and Alexander Fathie was once again the Track Athlete of the Meet. Rookie Grahm Johnson of North Central University used two event wins to claim the Field Athlete of the Meet Award.
For the second-straight season, Wisconsin-Superior captured the UMAC outdoor team championship after totaling 248 points. This was the Yellowjackets' most sizeable margin of victory yet. With the win, the Yellowjackets swept the team titles in track and field this season and have won three-consecutive conference meets.
Drexler's Yellowjackets won a total of five individual events and two of the three relays. Additionally, the Yellowjackets had a top-three finisher in all but one of the nine individual track events and six-of-eight field events. Drexler has now won three-straight Coach of the Year honors in the four meets since Wisconsin-Superior joined the UMAC.
After a stellar indoor season, sprint star Fathie helped the Yellowjackets to yet another title winning two individual events on the track. The senior again swept the top spot in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dash events. He won the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.61 on the opening day of competition before taking the 400-meter title with a time of 50.71 that was just one-tenth of a second faster than the runner up. Additionally, Fathie clocked 11.47 for third in the prelims of the 100-meter dash before placing sixth in the finals.
Fathie was also a critical member of the Yellowjacket relay squads. He served as the anchor of the first-place 4 x 400-meter relay with a time of 3:27.45 and also anchored the 4 x 100-meter relay that clocked a second-place finishing time of 44.14.
Newcomer Johnson was one of the biggest surprises of the meet as he tallied all 20 of North Central's points in the meet with two first-place performances in throwing events. The rookie was definitely the favorite heading into the discus event, but his final outcome was even better than anticipated. Johnson broke the UMAC record by over 2.5 meters with a toss of 48.82 meters (160-2). His mark currently ranks 18th in all of Division III.
Immediately following his win in the discus, Johnson went on to capture a win for the Rams in the shot put. He unseated reigning champion Thomas Udenberg when he tossed 15.34 meters (50-4) – a margin of victory of less than five inches. That mark is currently 49th in all of Division III.
Fathie and Johnson were two of six athletes who posted multiple individual event wins. Rand Bieri of Wisconsin-Superior also had a hand in three wins with a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles and a spot on both UWS relay winning teams, while Alex Dzikonski won the long jump and was a part of the 4 x 400-meter win as well. Bethany Lutheran College's Noah Larson won both the high jump and triple jump events and University of Northwestern rookie Evan Pruitt was first in the 100-meter dash and the Eagles' 4 x 100-meter relay.
All-conference honors were also awarded to athletes who collected a first- or second-place finish in any individual event and to individual members of a first-place relay team. Every school had at least one individual earn all-conference accolades with Wisconsin-Superior leading the pack at 10, while Northwestern had six after winning a relay. The College of St. Scholastica was next with five award winners and the University of Minnesota Morris and Bethany Lutheran each had three. Martin Luther College earned two All-UMAC accolades and North Central and Crown College rounded out the list with one each.
Each year the UMAC recognizes the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represented sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Bethany Lutheran was voted the winner of the team honor. Each team also had one representative on the individual sportsmanship award list.
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – Alexander Fathie, Sr., Wisconsin-Superior
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – Grahm Johnson, Fy., North Central
Coach of the Year Award – Glen Drexler, Wisconsin-Superior
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Rand Bieri |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Ben Bitter |
Martin Luther |
Fy. |
Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran |
| Kevin Blanksma |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Belgrade, Mont./Manhattan Christian |
| Nicolas Bruss |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Lafayette, Minn./Sibley East |
| Davon Bryant |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Minneapolis, Minn./Eden Prairie |
| Frank Cerar |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville |
| Chalmer Combellick |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Chokio, Minn./Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley |
| Alex Dzikonski |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
South Range, Wis./Superior |
| Alexander Fathie |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Rochester, Minn./John Marshall |
| Mack Ferguson |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Mendota Heights, Minn./Henry Sibley |
| Jacob Gallagher |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Lisbon, N.D./Lisbon |
| Matt Grady |
Crown |
Fy. |
Fayetteville, Ga./Trinity Christian |
| Wyatt Helgeson |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Internationall Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Elijah Hodgell |
Northwestern |
So. |
Lake City, Minn./Lincoln Secondary |
| Grahm Johnson |
North Central |
Fy. |
Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing |
| Cole Kvistero |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley |
| Jordan Koski |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
| Noah Larson |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Appleton, Wis./Kimberly |
| Martin Loescher |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
Jackson, Wis./Kettle Morraine Lutheran |
| Wil Maki |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing |
| LeRoy Malone |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville |
| Adam Molohon |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Oakdale, Minn./St. Paul North |
| Patrick Murphy |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake |
| Christian 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 |
| Evan Pruitt |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian |
| Isaac Staat |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Albert Lea, Minn./Homeschool |
| Matt Swanson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| 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 |
| Nicolas Bruss |
110-meter Hurdles |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Lafayette, Minn./Sibley East |
| Rand Bieri |
400-meter Hurdles, 4 x 400-meter Relay,
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So.. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Ben Bitter |
3,000-meter Steeplechase |
Martin Luther |
Fy. |
Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran |
| Chalmer Combellick |
1,500-meter Run |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Chokio, Minn./Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley |
| Alex Dzikonski |
Long Jump, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
South Range, Wis./Superior |
| Alexander Fathie |
200-meter Dash, 400-meter Dash,
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Rochester, Minn./John Marshall |
| Jacob Gallagher |
5,000-meter Run |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Lisbon, S.D./Lisbon |
| Wyatt Helgeson |
Pole Vault |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Internationall Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Elijah Hodgell |
4 x 100-meter Relay |
Northwestern |
So. |
Lake City, Minn./Lincoln Secondary |
| Grahm Johnson |
Shot Put, Discus Throw |
North Central |
Fy. |
Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing |
| Noah Larson |
High Jump, Triple Jump |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Appleton, Wis./Kimberly |
| Wil Maki |
800-meter Run |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing |
| LeRoy Malone |
4 x 100-meter Relay |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville |
| Adam Moholon |
4 x 100-meter Relay |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Oakdale, Minn./St. Paul North |
| C.J. Pillath |
Hammer Throw |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Noah Potratz |
Javelin Throw |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Ripon, Wis./Ripon |
| Evan Pruitt |
100-meter Dash, 4 x 100-meter Relay |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian |
| Isaac Staat |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Albert Lea, Minn./Homeschool |
| Matt Swanson |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Thomas Udenberg |
Shot Put |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Evan Walpole |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Bethany Lutheran
Bethany Lutheran – Noah Larson, So. Appleton, Wis./Kimberly
Crown – Jalen Phoenix, Sr., Cincinatti, Ohio/Landmark Christian
Martin Luther – John Fleischmann, Jr., Austin, Minn./Hayfield
Minnesota-Morris – Eddie Cease, Fy., Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids
North Central – Grahm Johnson, Fy., Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing
Northwestern – Elijah Hodgell, So., Lake City, Minn./Lincoln Secondary
St. Scholastica – Davon Bryant, Fy., Minneapolis, Minn./Eden Prairie
Wisconsin-Superior – Joe Olinger, Jr., Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes