UMAC announces 2018 men's indoor track and field awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2018 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship saw host University of Wisconsin-Superior run away with a second-straight conference title collecting 230 points – 82 points more than runner up College of St. Scholastica. With the win, the Yellowjackets led the all-conference awards and Glen Drexler repeated as Coach of the Year to highlight the post-meet awards announced Tuesday.
Drexler may have led his Yellowjackets to another dominating team win, but the top individual athlete honors went to rookie performers from other teams – Justin Pearson of the University of Minnesota Morris was named the Men's Indoor Track athlete of the Meet and Aaron Pulkrabek of St. Scholastica was selected by the coaches as the Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet.
Under Drexler's leadership, the Yellowjackets collected seven event titles to lead all teams – the next highest total was four for each Minnesota Morris and St. Scholastica. There were 12 individuals from the Wisconsin-Superior squad who earned All-UMAC honors by finishing either first or second in an individual event or were part of a first-place relay squad. Drexler has now guided the Yellowjackets to consecutive team wins in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field since winning the 2016 Outdoor championship.
Of the Cougars' four event wins, rookie sprinter Pearson contributed two as he won both the 60-meter dash and the 400-meter dash events. Pearson was just off the meet record in the 60-meter dash with a winning time of 7.05 that currently ranks 13th in the Central Region. He also won the 400-meter race by just 0.13 seconds with a top time of 51.32.
In addition to winning two events, Pearson picked up another all-conference nod in the 200-meter dash with a second-place finish. The first-year contributed a total of 35.5 points to the Cougars' total team score – he was part of the team's third-place 4 x 400-meter relay and finished third in the triple jump.
In the field events, Pulkrabek was solid in the vertical jumps despite competing with an injury. Heading into the event, the Saints' rookie led the long jump and won as expected. On his final jump, Pulkrabek sealed his title with a mark of 6.29 meters (20-6.25). However, Pulkrabek's championship was never in question as his first jump of 6.25 meters (20-7.75) would have been good enough to win him the event as well.
Following his performance Friday, Pulkrabek looked as if he might take the triple jump title Saturday. He cleared a jump of 11.92 meters (39-1.25) in his third jump of prelims, but ended up passing on his three final jumps due to a leg injury that forced him to later scratch from the 200-meter dash. Pulkrabek's mark stood strong, though, and was good enough for him to finish second and earn another all-conference accolade.
The Cougars' Pearson was one of six individuals to win multiple event titles along with teammate Cole Kvistero and four members of the Yellowjackets including Rand Bieri – who was the lone individual to win three events at the meet – Alex Dzikonski, Cole Gelhar and Evan Walpole.
Pulkrabek headlines a group of seven individuals who earned All-UMAC honors in at least two events. The remaining list includes Isaac Boedigheimer (St. Scholastica), Frank Cerar (St. Scholastica), Kevin Harris (Bethany Lutheran College), Jordan Koski (Wisconsin-Superior), Trent Merkins (Minnesota Morris) and Stefan Prince (Bethany Lutheran).
Bethany Lutheran 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 – Justin Pearson, Fy., Minnesota Morris
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – Aaron Pulkrabek, Fy., St. Scholastica
Coach of the Year Award – Glen Drexler, Wisconsin-Superior
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Rand Bieri |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Isaac Boedigheimer |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Edward Carlson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul |
| Matt Carlson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Duluth, Minn./Hermantown |
| Frank Cerar |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville |
| Alex Dzikonski |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
South Range, Wis./Superior |
| Easton Foss |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Pine City, Minn./Pine City |
| Cole Gelhar |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
McGregor, Minn./McGregor |
| Kevin Harris |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
El Paso, Texas/Santa Teresa |
| Henry Haberman |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Proctor, Minn./Proctor |
| Wyatt Helgeson |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Grahm Johnson |
North Central |
So. |
Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing |
| Jordan Koski |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
| Cole Kvistero |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley |
| Trent Merkins |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Cottonwood, Minn./Lakeview |
| Joe Olinger |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes |
| Justin Pearson |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| Jack Peru |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Phoenix, Ariz./Trevor G. Browne |
| Noah Potratz |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Ripon, Wis./Ripon |
| Aaron Pulkrabek |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Pine City, Minn./Pine City |
| Stefan Prince |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake |
| Evan Walpole |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Jake Weston |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Virginia, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Fauston Wirtz |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Esko, Minn./Esko |
UMAC Individual Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Isaac Boedigheimer |
5,000-meter Run |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Randi Bieri |
800-meter Run, 4 x 400-meter Relay,
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Edward Carlson |
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul |
| Matt Carlson |
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Duluth, Minn./Hermantown |
| Frank Cerar |
High Jump |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville |
| Alex Dzikonski |
4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
South Range, Wis./Superior |
| Cole Gelhar |
4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
McGregor, Minn./McGregor |
| Kevin Harris |
200-meter Dash |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
El Paso, Texas/Santa Teresa |
| Wyatt Helgeson |
Pole Vault |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Grahm Johnson |
Shot Put |
North Central |
So. |
Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing |
| Jordan Koski |
3,000-meter Run |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
| Cole Kvistero |
60-meter Hurdles, Triple Jump |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley |
| Joe Olinger |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes |
| Justin Pearson |
60-meter Dash, 400-meter Dash |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| Noah Potratz |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Ripon, Wis./Ripon |
| Aaron Pulkrabek |
Long Jump |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Pine City, Minn./Pine City |
| Evan Walpole |
Mile Run, Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Jake Weston |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Virginia, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Fauston Wirtz |
Weight Throw |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Esko, Minn./Esko |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Bethany Lutheran
Bethany Lutheran – Kevin Harris, Sr., El Paso, Texas/Santa Teresa
Crown – Michael Elmhorst, Sr., Paynesville, Minn./Community Christian
Minnesota-Morris – Aboubakar Doumbouya, So., St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury
North Central – Grahm Johnson, So., Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing
Northwestern – Kyle Meinke, Fy., Victoria, Minn./Southwest Christian
St. Scholastica – Frank Cerar, Jr., Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Wisconsin-Superior – Joe Olinger, Sr., Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes