UMAC announces 2019 Men's Indoor Track and Field awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Following the 2019 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship, several familiar faces highlighted the list of top post-meet award winners while three-time champion University of Wisconsin-Superior headlined the all-conference list with 10 performers recognized, the conference announced Wednesday.
Glen Drexler was selected by his peers as the UMAC Indoor Coach of the Year following yet another team title, while C.J. Pillath of the Yellowjackets collected his second Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet award of his career. Justin Pearson of the University of Minnesota Morris was a repeat selection for the Track Athlete of the Meet, while Frank Cerar of the College of St. Scholastica was named the first-ever Indoor Top Scoring Athlete of the Meet and Keegan Rich of Bethany Lutheran college was picked as the first UMAC Indoor Rookie of the Year.
Under Drexler's leadership, the Yellowjackets compiled 221 total points and won by a margin of 61 over St. Scholastica. Though his team won just a total of four events, the Yellowjackets' depth helped secure the program's third title in the four years since joining the league after the saw at least three individuals in a total of 11 individual events. Three individuals won multiple event titles including Pillath as well as Cody Fernandez and Jake Weston who were members of the Yellowjackets' two winning relay teams.
The Yellowjackets' top performer Pillath was a standout in the throws winning both the weight throw and shot put to compile a leading 20 points in field events. The senior started out with a monster victory in the weight throw Friday with a toss of 18.17 meters (59-7.5) that currently ranks 20th in Division III – the top 20 marks qualify for the NCAA Championships which will be announced Sunday. The following day, Pillath set a new meet record to win the shot put with a throw of 15.96 meters (52-4.5) that currently ranks 21st in Division III.
Pillath's dominance in the field was matched on the track by Pearson of Minnesota Morris who tallied the most points in track events with 31 points and three individual event wins sweeping the sprints. On Friday, Pearson set a new meet record in the prelims of the 60-meter dash clocking 6.99 before winning the event Saturday with a time of 7.03 in the final. He also won the 400-meter dash on the first day with a time of 51.12. Saturday, he finished with a time of 22.62 to set another meet record, this time in the 200-meter dash to help him repeat as champion in both the 60-meter and 400-meter events.
The Saints made moves to challenge the Yellowjackets late ont he second day thanks to outstanding performances from Cerar who tallied 39 points to finish at the top-scoring male at the Championship. The senior multi-event specialist had three All-UMAC performances and won two events Satuday. Cerar collected the top finish in the 60-meter hurdles (8.90) before winning the pole vault with a clearance of 4.15 meters (13-7.25). He was also second in the triple jump with a mark of 12.26 meters (40-2.75) and grabbed fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively, in the long and high jump events. Cerar also competed on the Saints' second-place 4 x 400-meter relay squad.
Rich takes home the first-ever UMAC Rookie of the Year honor following a two All-UMAC finishes including a win in the triple jump with a mark of 12.68 meters (41-7.25). The first-year Viking was also second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.05 and finished with 24 of the team's total 60 points on the weekend. He also scored points in the long jump finishing sixth and was part of both third-place 4 x 200-meter and 4 x 400-meter Bethany Lutheran relay squads.
The all-conference list includes individuals who placed first or second in an event and individuals of first-place relay squads. The were 10 individuals who earned at least two All-UMAC finishes including Ryan Anderson (Minnesota Morris), Isaac Boedigheimer (St. Scholastica), Cerar, Fernandez, Easton Foss (St. Scholastica), Pearson, Pillath, Evan Pruitt (University of Northwestern), Rich and Weston.
Minnesota Morris 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.
Top Scoring Athlete of the Meet Award – Frank Cerar, Sr, St. Scholastica
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – Justin Pearson, So., Minnesota Morris
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – C.J. Pillath, Sr., Wisconsin-Superior
Rookie of the Year Award – Keegan Rich, Bethany Lutheran
Coach of the Year Award – Glen Drexler, Wisconsin-Superior
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Ryan Anderson |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Bellevue, Idaho/Wood River |
| Sam Anderson |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Andover, Minn./Andover |
| Isaiah Arntson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Proctor, Minn./Esko |
| Donovan Blatz |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View |
| Isaac Boedigheimer |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Matt Carlson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Duluth, Minn./Hermantown |
| Frank Cerar |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville |
| Andre Couture |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Culver, Minn./Cloquet |
| Cody Fernandez |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Duluth, Minn./Proctor |
| Easton Foss |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Pine City, Minn./Pine City |
| David Jones |
Crown |
So. |
Omaha, Neb./Iowa Western CC |
| Jonny Kasper |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Pierz, Minn./Pierz |
| Malcolm Lumsden |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Kingston, Jamaica/Kingston College |
| Trent Merkins |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Cottonwood, Minn./Lakeview |
| Cam Pearson |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
| Justin Pearson |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| C.J. Pillath |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Stefan Prince |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake |
| Evan Pruitt |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian |
| Keegan Rich |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
Mount Pleasant, Iowa/Homeschool |
| Lennon Shimon |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea |
| Jake Weston |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Eveleth, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Fauston Wirtz |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Esko, Minn./Esko |
| Scott Young |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines |
UMAC Individual Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Ryan Anderson |
Mile Run |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Bellevue, Idaho/Wood River |
| Sam Anderson |
Distance Medley Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Andover, Minn./Andover |
| Isaiah Arntson |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Proctor, Minn./Esko |
| Donovan Blatz |
Long Jump |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View |
| Isaac Boedigheimer |
Distance Medley Relay |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Matt Carlson |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Duluth, Minn./Hermantown |
| Frank Cerar |
60-meter Hurdles, Pole Vault |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville |
| Andre Couture |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Culver, Minn./Cloquet |
| Cody Fernandez |
4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Duluth, Minn./Proctor |
| Easton Foss |
200-meter Dash |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Pine City, Minn./Pine City |
| David Jones |
High Jump |
Crown |
So. |
Omaha, Neb./Iowa Western CC |
| Cam Pearson |
Distance Medley Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
| Justin Pearson |
60-meter Dash, 200-meter Dash,
400-meter Dash |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| C.J. Pillath |
Shot Put, Weight Throw |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Stefan Prince |
800-meter Run |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake |
| Keegan Rich |
Triple Jump |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
Mount Pleasant, Iowa/Homeschool |
| Lennon Shimon |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea |
| Jake Weston |
4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Eveleth, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Minnesota Morris
Bethany Lutheran – Stefan Prince, Sr., Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake
Crown – Hunter Bridge, Fy., Phillips, Wis./Life Christian Academy
Minnesota-Morris – Trent Merkins, Jr., Cottonwood, Minn./Lakeview
North Central – Grahm Johnson, So., Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing
Northwestern – Kyle Meinke, So., Victoria, Minn./Southwest Christian
St. Scholastica – Frank Cerar, Sr., Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Wisconsin-Superior – Eddie Carlson, Jr., South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul