10-Year Celebration: UMAC Men's Cross Country All-Decade honors
ST. PAUL, Minn.---As part of its 2018-19 "10-Year Celebration," the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) named five individual athletes to the UMAC Men's Cross Country All-Decade Team and selected a Coach of the Decade and Team of the Decade, the conference announced Thursday.
The five individuals named to the All-Decade Team include Charles Corbett (University of Wisconsin-Superior, 2015*), Chris Lawson (St. Scholastica, 2012-2015), Nathan Loersch (Martin Luther College, 2008-2010*), Nick Mangan (St. Scholastica, 2009-2010) and Adam Zais (Northland College, 2011-2012). The UMAC also recognized former College of St. Scholastica head coach Steve Pfingsten as the Coach of the Decade and the 2013 St. Schoalstica squad as the Men's Cross Country Team of the Decade.
All-Decade Team
Charles Corbett, University of Wisconsin-Superior (2015)*
Corbett won the UMAC Championship as senior in Wisconsin-Superior's first season as a UMAC member. He cruised to victory in 25:54 and helped the Yellowjackets finish second. He placed second at the NCAA Central Region meet to earn All-Region honors before finishing 23rd at the NCAA Championship to earn All-America honors. Corbett placed in the top two individually at each meet in 2015 prior to the NCAA Championship.
Chris Lawson, College of St. Scholastica (2012-2015)
Lawson was a four-time All-UMAC finisher for St. Scholastica and helped the Saints to four UMAC team titles during his career. As a sophomore, Lawson won the UMAC individual title with a time of 26:37 in New Brighton, Minnesota. He earned back-to-back All-Region finishes in 2014 and 2015 and became the first male Saint runner to qualify for the NCAA Championships in 2014. He owns the fastest 8,000-meter time in Saints history.
Nathan Loersch, Martin Luther College (2008-2010)*
Loersch was a three-time All-UMAC finisher for Martin Luther and helped the Knights win the UMAC championship title in 2008 in Morris, Minnesota. That season, Loersch also captured the individual title with a time of 27:13.4 that was seven seconds faster than the next finisher. His time is also the fastest in the UMAC 10-year era on the Pomme de Terre course. Loersch was the runner-up in 2009.
Nick Mangan, College of St. Scholastica (2009-2010)
In just two seasons of cross country, Mangan earned All-UMAC finishes and captured a individual conference title in 2010 with a time of 27:02 in Ashland, Wisconsin. He helped the Saints to two team UMAC championship victories and was the program's first All-Region honoree with a 13th-place finish at the Central Region meet in 2010. He owns the second-fastest 8,000-meter time in program history.
Adam Zais, Northland College (2011-2012)
Zais is the only UMAC runner to have won multiple UMAC titles during the 10-year NCAA membership era. He captured victory in 2011 with a time of 26:07.6 in Mankato, Minnesota, before repeating as conference champion in 2012 clocking 26:22.3 in New Ulm, Minnesota. In 2012, Zais raced to a All-Region Second Team finish. He also won the 2011 and 2012 individual titles at the Wisconsin Private College Championship.
Coach of The Decade
Steve Pfingsten, College of St. Scholastica
Pfingsten served as the Saints' men's cross country coach from 1997-2015 and earned seven UMAC Coach of the Year honors during that time. He guided the Saints to seven-straight UMAC team titles from 2009-2015 and coached Lawson and Mangan to All-Region honors and UMAC individual titles. The 2013 squad led by Pfingsten recorded the lowest team score in the 10-year NCAA Division III era (28 points).
Team of The Decade
College of St. Scholastica, 2013
St. Scholastica recorded the lowest point total in the NCAA Division III era (28) to capture the 2013 UMAC Championship. The Saints had four individuals place in the top seven to earn All-UMAC First Team accolades. During the season, the Saints capture two team meet victories and went on to record a program-best 13th-place finish at the NCAA Central Region meet. The team members were Michael Bruner, John Donlan, Justin Duda, John-Mark Dundas, Kelin Dunfee, Tim Dunstan, Andrew Fosse, Jacob Gallagher, Charlie Habermann, Chris Lawson, Jimmy Lovrien, Luke McKenzie, Victor Pilon, Brian Riley, Ryan Soule, Jake Spartz, Neil Thomforde, Sam Toso, Josh Trosen, Jake Verduzco, Tanner Verduzco and Adam Wallenta. Head coach was Steve Pfingsten.
*Only seasons a student-athlete competed during the 10-Year timeframe (2008-2018) in the UMAC are listed.
Throughout 2018-19, the UMAC will recognize individual athletes and one coach for each conference sport on All-Decade Teams and name one team as Team of the Decade. Individuals and teams were nominated by UMAC full and associate member institutions and the teams were selected by a committee of administrators and coaches from the UMAC. The All-Decade recognition is part of the UMAC "10-Year Celebration" commemorating the first 10 years of NCAA Division III membership for the UMAC.
All-Decade Team Archives
"10-Year Celebration" Page