Champion Saints headline UMAC Women's Indoor awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.--- With the conclusion of the 2019 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championship seeing the College of St. Scholastica win a 10th-straight title, it is no surprise that the victor headlined the post-meet awards with eight All-UMAC performers and three of the top five awards, the UMAC announced Wednesday.
St. Scholastica's Anika Kling finished as the conference's first-ever recipient of the Top Scoring Athlete of the Meet award after collecting a total of 40 points for the Saints, while Natalie St. Marie was named the Co-Field Athlete of the Meet and Todd Bouchie was once again selected as the Women's Indoor Coach of the Year. Maria Mazo of the University of Wisconsin-Superior was the other recipient of Co-Field Athlete of the Meet. The University of Minnesota Morris has two of the top honorees as Emily Ciesynski was voted by the coaches as the Track Athlete of the Meet and Jenna Benson took home the first-ever Indoor Rookie of the Year award.
St. Scholastica has now won all 10 UMAC Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships with the last three behind Bouchie's leadership. His squad tied with Wisconsin-Superior for eight total all-conference performers and had three women win at least two events. As a team, Bouchie's Saints won nine events and tallied 219.5 points that was 58 points better than runner up Wisconsin-Superior.
Kling anchored the Saints' victory claiming three individual event wins and collecting four all-conference accolades. The junior started off her meet with a record-setting performance in the 60-meter dash (7.94) before winning the event Saturday with a time of 8.00. She also collected a win in the 200-meter dash (26.34) and the long jump. Her final All-UMAC performance came in the 400-meter dash (1:01.04) before capping off her meet running the anchor leg of the Saints' runner-up 4 x 400-meter relay to bring her total score to 40 points on the weekend.
Not to be outdone, St. Marie shone brightly in the throws event taking home a win in the weight throw and placing third in the shot put. The junior recorded a toss of 15.91 meters (52-2.5) to win her second-straight weight throw event. Additionally, her mark is now 38th in Division III this season. On day two, she threw 11.89 meters (39-0.25) to finish top-three in the shot put.
Mazo helped contribute to a stellar second place team performance for the Yellowjackets with two all-conference outings in the horizontal jumps. The junior placed second in both the long and triple jump and was also tied for fourth in the high jump which gave her the highest total points in the field events (20.5). She was less than six inches off the winning marks in both events.
On the track, Minnesota Morris sprinters Ciesynski and Benson helped lead their squad to a third-place team finish. Ciesysnki was the top scoring athlete in track events with 30.5 points after picking up two All-UMAC finishes. The senior won the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.12 on day one before clocking 26.98 for second in the 200-meter dash on day two. She also was third in the 60-meter hurdles, fourth in the 60-meter dash, and part of the third-place 4.400-meter relay for the Cougars.
Benson made a stellar rookie debut at the conference meet with a second-place All-UMAC finish in the 60-meter dash clocking 8.29 in the finals. She was also third in the long jump with a mark of 4.75 meters (15-7). She earned 14 total points for Minnesota Morris.
The all-conference list includes individuals who placed first or second in an event and individuals of first-place relay squads. Ciesynski, Kling and Mazo were among 10 women who earned All-UMAC honors in two or more events. The other seven individuals include Lexi Erickson (St. Scholastica), Aria Plewa (St. Scholastica), Kelli Praska (Wisconsin-Superior), Valerie Rowe (Wisconsin-Superior), Mikaela Shepard (Wisconsin-Superior), LeAnn Torgerson (Wisconsin-Superior) and Maria West (St. Scholastica).
Wisconsin-Superior 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 – Anika Kling, Jr., St. Scholastica
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – Emily Ciesynski, Sr., Minnesota Morris
Co-Field Athlete of the Meet Award – Maria Mazo, Sr., Wisconsin-Superior
Co-Field Athlete of the Meet Award – Natalie St. Marie, Jr., St. Scholastica
Rookie of the Year Award – Jenna Benson, Fy., Minnesota Morris
Coach of the Year Award – Todd Bouchie, St. Scholastica
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Jenna Benson |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Annadale, Minn./Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted |
| Jessica Bliese |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Osakis, Minn./Osakis |
| Liana Blomgren |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Mountain Lake, Minn./Mountain Lake |
| Emily Ciesynski |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Blaine, Minn./Blaine |
| Brennyn DePaulis |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Sandstone, Minn./East Central |
| Lexi Erickson |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Carson Haase |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Brandon, S.D./Brandon Valley |
| Haruka Hamanaka |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Izumisano, Japan/Kishiwada |
| Mya Hill |
Crown |
Fy. |
Houston, Texas/Elsik |
| Brooke Hogan |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls |
| Jacqueline Kaplan |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Elysian, Minn./Waterville-Elysian-Morristown |
| Anika Kling |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Hudson, Wis./Hudson |
| Alexys Lewis |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown |
| Maria Mazo |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Hendaye, France/Irungo La Salle |
| Katherine Novak |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park |
| Aria Plewa |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| Elizabeth Poskie |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Cotton, Minn./South Ridge |
| Kelli Praska |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Eagan, Minn./Eagan |
| Valerie Rowe |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Ironwood, Mich./A.D.Johnston |
| Mikaela Shepard |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Blaine, Minn./Blaine |
| Amanda Sonnenburg |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Lakeville, Minn./Apple Valley |
| Natalie St. Marie |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis |
| LeAnn Torgerson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors |
| Marissa Voss |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Fairmont, Minn./Fairmont |
| Maria West |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Baxter, Minn./Brainerd |
UMAC Individual Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Jessica Bliese |
Shot Put |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Osakis, Minn./Osakis |
| Liana Blomgren |
Distance Medley Relay |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Mountain Lake, Minn./Mountain Lake |
| Emily Ciesynski |
400-meter Dash |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Blaine, Minn./Blaine |
| Lexi Erickson |
3,000-meter Run, High Jump |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Mya Hill |
Triple Jump |
Crown |
Fy. |
Houston, Texas/Elsik |
| Jacqueline Kaplan |
Distance Medley Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Elysian, Minn./Waterville-Elysian-Morristown |
| Anika Kling |
60-meter Dash, 200-meter Dash, Long Jump |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Hudson, Wis./Hudson |
| Alexys Lewis |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown |
| Maria Mazo |
60-meter Hurdles |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Hendaye, France/Irungo La Salle |
| Aria Plewa |
Distance Medley Relay |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| Elizabeth Poskie |
5,000-meter Run |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Cotton, Minn./South Ridge |
| Kelli Praska |
800-meter Run, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Eagan, Minn./Eagan |
| Valerie Rowe |
4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Ironwood, Mich./A.D.Johnston |
| Amanda Sonnenburg |
Pole Vault |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Lakeville, Minn./Apple Valley |
| Mikaela Shepard |
4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Blaine, Minn./Blaine |
| Natalie St. Marie |
Weight Throw |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis |
| LeAnn Torgerson |
4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors |
| Maria West |
Mile Run, Distance Medley Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Baxter, Minn./Brainerd |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Wisconsin-Superior
Bethany Lutheran – Morgan Sauer, Sr., Lismore, Minn./Adrian
Crown – Lynnea Asp, So, Waterville, Minn./Waterville-Elysian-Morristown
Minnesota-Morris – Sierra Paske, Sr., Rochester, Minn./Century
Northwestern – Claire Sulflow, So., Montevideo, Minn./Montevideo
St. Scholastica – Elizabeth Poskie, Jr., Cotton, Minn./South Ridge
Wisconsin-Superior – Mikaela Shepard, Jr., Blaine, Minn./Blaine