Saints capture ninth-straight Kruse All-Sport Award
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The College of St. Scholastica won 10 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season conference championships in 2017-18 to earn its ninth-consecutive Jerome Kruse All-Sport Trophy, the conference office announced Thursday.
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The Saints collected five of a possible six UMAC titles in the spring season to double their previous total from the fall and winter seasons and collect an impressive 132 points in the final standings – a total that is 22.5 points ahead of runner-up University of Wisconsin-Superior in second place with 109.5. The Saints won outright titles in softball, men's tennis, women's tennis and women's outdoor track and field and shared the regular season title in baseball. They also added a solid third place finish in men's outdoor track and field to bring St. Scholastica's spring point total to 47.5 points out of a possible 50 points for the season.
Wisconsin-Superior earned its highest finish in the Kruse standings since joining the league in 2015-16. The Yellowjackets won the men's outdoor track and field championship and nabbed second in both softball and women's outdoor track and field. This year, the Yellowjakcets' jump was courtesy of the addition of men's and women's tennis which added 12 additional points after both squads placed third. Baseball also finished fifth to help the Yellowjackets field four tournament teams in all available opportunities.
The University of Northwestern jumped ahead of the University of Minnesota Morris finishing with 99.5 points after two runner-up finishes in men's and women's tennis. The Eagles were 5.5 points ahead of the Cougars who dropped slightly as both baseball and softball just missed the postseason. Northwestern finished all four teams in the playoffs with baseball and softball each finishing third. Minnesota Morris had a runner-up finish in men's outdoor track and field to add to the institution's 94 points.
Bethany Lutheran College remained fifth with 81.5 points thanks to finishing tied for first in baseball and seeing both softball and men's tennis earn spots in the UMAC postseason. Martin Luther College took sixth and trailed Bethany Lutheran by double-digits with 65 points. The Knights' top performance was a postseason finish in women's tennis.
Crown College made a jump from winter to spring moving up to seventh after softball finished in a tie for fourth place. The Storm collected 42.5 points on the year, while Northland College was eighth with 32.5 points and North Central University was ninth with 30.5 points.
Since the award's inception in 1996-97, St. Scholastica has won the Kruse Award a UMAC-best 14 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 - 132 points
2. Wisconsin-Superior - 109.5 points
3. Northwestern - 99.5 points
4. Minnesota Morris - 94 points
5. Bethany Lutheran - 81.5 points
6. Martin Luther - 65 points
7. Crown - 42.5 points
8. Northland - 32.5 points
9. North Central - 30.5 points
KRUSE AWARD POINTS (2017-2018)
UMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
| School |
MCC |
WCC |
FB |
MSC |
WSC |
VB |
MGF |
WGF |
MBB |
WBB |
MITF |
WITF |
BSB |
SB |
MTN |
WTN |
MOTF |
WOTF |
Total |
| Bethany Lutheran |
4 |
5 |
- |
1 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
9 |
7.5 |
4 |
3 |
8.5 |
5.5 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
81.5 |
| Crown |
1 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
- |
5.5 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2.5 |
5.5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
42.5 |
| Martin Luther |
7 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
6.5 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2.5 |
- |
- |
1 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
65 |
| North Central |
3 |
1 |
- |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2.5 |
2 |
- |
2.5 |
1.5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
30.5 |
| Northland |
2 |
2 |
- |
2 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
- |
- |
6 |
1.5 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
32.5 |
| Minnesota Morris |
5 |
8 |
2 |
6 |
6.5 |
8 |
1 |
7 |
5.5 |
7.5 |
5 |
4 |
5.5 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
6 |
94 |
| Northwestern |
- |
3 |
4 |
7 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
6 |
7 |
5.5 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
99.5 |
| St. Scholastica |
6 |
9 |
5 |
9 |
8 |
5 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
5.5 |
6 |
6 |
8.5 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
8 |
132 |
| Wisconsin-Superior |
8 |
7 |
- |
8 |
3 |
7 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
9 |
7 |
5 |
5.5 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
109.5 |