Yellowjacket pair headlines UMAC men's outdoor track and field honors
ST. PAUL, Minn.---For the third-straight season, the University of Wisconsin-Superior dominated the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 2018 boasting a remarkable 134-point victory over the runner-up. Following their impressive showing, the Yellowjackets claimed two of the top post-meet honors, announced Wednesday.
Junior thrower C.J. Pillath tallied three top-three finishes to claim the Male Field Athlete of the Meet honor representing the Yellowjackets, while Glen Drexler picked up his third Coach of the Year honor in as many seasons. On the track, rookie runner Justin Pearson of the University of Minnesota Morris anchored his team to a second-place finish and won the Male Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the same honor at the indoor championship in March.
Pillath helped lead an always-strong showing from the 'Jackets in the throwing events with all-conference finishes in two of three events. The junior captured the hammer throw title Friday with a toss of 48.76 meters (160-0) to defend his title in the event. He was also just one-tenth of a meter off his winning mark from last spring.
In Saturday's events, Pillath added to the Yellowjackets' monstrous lead with a second-place showing the shot put and a third-place performance in the discus throw. He tossed 14.70 meters (48-2.75) in the shot put and followed up with a throw of 41.48 meters (136-1) in the discus. Pillath accounted for 24 total points of the Yellowjackets' 289 points.
For Drexler, his Yellowjackets have now won three-consecutive outdoor titles in the schools first three years a a conference member. The win Saturday also completes the second academic year in which the Yellowjackets have taken first in all three related championships (cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field). In all, the Jackets' won seven total events – including five on Friday – and had 13 all-conference finishers.
As dominant as the 'Jackets were as a team, there was no single athlete more outstanding than Pearson who collected a total of 35 points in track events alone to anchor the Cougars' to a 155-point team performance. He won all three individual sprint events and was a member of two Cougar winning relays. In just one year, Pearson has been recognized with the top individual track honor between the indoor and outdoor championships.
On Friday, Pearson's spectacular meet started with a prelim time of 10.65 in the 100-meter dash that currently ranks 18th in Division III. Later in the day, Pearson captured his first victory with a time of 22.44 in the 200-meter dash. Saturday, Pearson went on to win the 100-meter dash in 10.87 and set a meet record in with a 400-meter dash winning time of 43.13.
In relay events, Pearson's Saturday got started with a win for the Cougars in the 4 x 100-meter relay. The first-year ran the second leg of the race that saw the Cougars cross the line in 43.13. He then led off the final event of the day in the 4 x 400-meter relay in which the Cougars clocked a winning time of 3:28.56.
The Cougars' Pearson was one of six individuals to win multiple event titles along with teammates Aboubakar Doumbouya, Cole Kvistero and Shamund Gordon, as well as Grahm Johnson (North Central University) and Jordan Koski (Wisconsin-Superior).
Pillath headlines a group of seven individuals who earned all-conference honors – which are given to an individual who places first or second in an indvidual event and all members of a winning relay team – in at least two events. The remaining list includes Ben Bitter (Martin Luther College), Isaac Boedigheimer (St. Scholastica), Frank Cerar (St. Scholastica), Dylan Groshens (Wisconsin-Superior), Henry Habermann (Wisconsin-Superior) and Joshuah Kren (Martin Luther).
Northwesternwon 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 – C.J. Pillath, Jr., Wisconsin-Superior
Coach of the Year Award – Glen Drexler, Wisconsin-Superior
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Ryan Anderson |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Bellevue, Idaho/Wood River |
| Rand Bieri |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Ben Bitter |
Martin Luther |
So. |
Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran |
| Isaac Boedigheimer |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Eddie Carlson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul |
| Frank Cerar |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville |
| Chris Compton |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park |
| Alex Dzikonski |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
South Range, Wis./Superior |
| Aboubakar Doumbouya |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury |
| Shamund Gordon |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King |
| Dylan Groshens |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Rush City, Minn./Pine City |
| Henry Habermann |
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 |
| Joshuah Kren |
Martin Luther |
Fy. |
Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran |
| Cole Kvistero |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley |
| Kyle Meinke |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Victoria, Minn./Southwest Christian |
| Derrick Moe |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Joe Olinger |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes |
| Justin Pearson |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| C.J. Pillath |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Noah Potratz |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Ripon, Wis./Ripon |
| Stefan Prince |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake |
| Evan Pruitt |
Northwestern |
So. |
Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian |
| Andrew Stanek |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata |
| Ryan Steger |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Eagan, Minn./Eagan |
| Evan Walpole |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Jake Weston |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Virginia, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Josh Weston |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Virginia, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
UMAC Individual Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Ryan Anderson |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Bellevue, Idaho/Wood River |
| Randi Bieri |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Ben Bitter |
1,500-meter Run |
Martin Luther |
So. |
Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran |
| Eddie Carlson |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul |
| Frank Cerar |
Pole Vault |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville |
| Aboubakar Doumbouya |
4 x 100-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury |
| Shamun Gordon |
Triple Jump |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King |
| Henry Habermann |
High Jump |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Proctor, Minn./Proctor |
| Grahm Johnson |
Shot Put, Discus Throw |
North Central |
So. |
Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing |
| Jordan Koski |
3,000-meter Steeplechase, 5,000-meter Run |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
| Cole Kvistero |
110-meter Hurdles, 4 x 100-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley |
| Derrick Moe |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Justin Pearson |
100-meter Dash, 200-meter Dash, 400-meter Dash, 4 x 100-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| C.J. Pillath |
Hammer Throw |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Noah Potratz |
Javelin |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Ripon, Wis./Ripon |
| Stefan Prince |
800-meter Run |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake |
| Evan Pruitt |
Long Jump |
Northwestern |
So. |
Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian |
| Andrew Stanek |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata |
| Evan Walpole |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Josh Weston |
400-meter Hurdles |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Virginia, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran – David Luehring, Sr., Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran
Crown – Michael Elmhorst, Sr., Paynesville, Minn./Community Christian
Martin Luther– John Fleischman, Sr./Austin, Minn./Hayfield
Minnesota-Morris – Eddie Cease, So., Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids
North Central – Grahm Johnson, So., Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing
Northwestern – Kyle Meinke, Fy., Victoria, Minn./Southwest Christian
St. Scholastica – Wyatt Helgeson, So., International Falls, Minn./Falls
Wisconsin-Superior – Noah Potratz, Sr., Ripon, Wis./Ripon