Cougars capture four of top UMAC women's outdoor accolades
ST. PAUL, Minn.--- The University of Minnesota Morris won its second Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship sin the last four years as it unseated the College of St. Scholastica after its two-year reign. Now, the champion Cougars top the post-meet awards list taking four of the top five major awards along with 10 individuals receiving all-conference honors, it was announced Wednesday.
Jessica Devine led the Cougars to a 46-point margin of victory to be named the Coach of the Year by her peers. Under her leadership, Emily Ciesynski was selected the Track Athlete of the Meet and Jessica Bliese was honored as the Field Athlete of the Meet. First-year Jenica Moes was also tabbed the Rookie of the Year. The final award went to Anika Kling of St. Scholastica who finished as the Top Scoring Athlete of the Meet for the second time in 2019 after also scoring the most points at the indoor meet.
Devine's Cougars trailed by one point after day one of the championships, but managed to climb back in to contention and run away with the title overtaking the University of Wisconsin-Superior in second. The Cougars won 10 total events including the 4 x 100-meter and 4 x 400-meter relays to collect 237 points. The Cougars also boasted six individuals who finished all-conference – which is given to an individual who places first or second in an individual event and all members of a winning relay team – in at least two events including Bliese, Ciesynski, Brooke Hogan, Katherine Novak, Kim Olurankinse and Olivia Salzwedel.
Starting on the track, Ciesynski dominated for the Cougars winning two events individuals events in outstanding fashion. The senior kicked off the meet Friday breaking her own record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.41 that ranks 15th in NCAA Division III. Saturday, she earned her second win with a time of 57.06 in teh 400-meter dash that is 22nd in the nation. Ciesynski also was part of both winning relays for the Cougars and grabbed second in the 110-meter hurdles after running the fastest prelim time to tally 33 points for the Cougars.
In the field, no one shone brighter than Bliese who tallied two event championship titles in throws. Bliese started off the meet winning the hammer throw Friday with a mark of 48.78 meters (160-0). She followed up with another win in the discus throw Saturday with a toss of 37.89 meters (124-3). Bliese also added a pair of runner-up finishes in the shot put and javelin to end her meet with four all-conference accolades and 36 points.
Moes was also spectacular in the field for the Cougars at her first UMAC outdoor meet. The rookie tossed 35.16 meters (115-4) in the javelin to claim the conference title and earn her team 10 points. She also was third in the discus throw and sixth in the shot put which helped her add 19 points to the Cougar total.
While 33 and 36 points are impressive, Kling knocked it out of the park when she collected 39.5 points thanks to three individual event wins. The junior star for the Saints won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash events with times of 12.60 and 25.97, respectively to collect 10 points in each. Her third victory came in the long jump thanks to a mark of 5.03 meters (16-6). Kling was second in the 400-meter dash and anchored the Saints' third-place 4 x 400-meter relay team to lock down the top total points at each the indoor and outdoor meets this season.
In total, there were nine athletes who collected at least two all-conference accolades including Bliese, Ciesynski, Hogan, Kling, Maria Mazo (Wisconsin-Superior), Novak, Olurankinse, Salzwedel and Natalie St. Marie (St. Scholastica).
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 – Anika Kling, Jr., St. Scholastica
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – Emily Ciesynski, Sr., Minnesota Morris
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – Jessica Bliese, So., Minnesota Morris
Rookie of the Year Award – Jenica Moes, Fy., Minnesota Morris
Coach of the Year Award – Jessica Devine, Minnesota Morris
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Jessica Bliese |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Osakis, Minn./Osakis |
| Emily Ciesynski |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Blaine, Minn./Blaine |
| 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 |
| Amber Heidenreich |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Phillips, Wis./Hayward |
| Mya Hill |
Crown |
Fy. |
Houston, Texas/Elsik |
| Brooke Hogan |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls |
| Anika Kling |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Hudson, Wis./Hudson |
| Kaitlyn Ladwig |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Granite Falls, Minn./Yellow Medicine East |
| Katelyn Leiden |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Green Bay, Wis./Green Bay West |
| Ali Manthey |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Zimmerman, Minn./Elk River |
| Maria Mazo |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Hendaye, France/Irungo La Salle |
| Jenica Moes |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Watertown, S.D./Watertown |
| Katherine Novak |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park |
| Kim Olurankinse |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Maple Grove, Minn./Flora (Lagos, Nigeria) |
| Kelli Praska |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Eagan, Minn./Eagan |
| Valerie Rowe |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Ironwood, Mich./A.D.Johnston |
| Macaela Rudeck |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Esko, Minn./Esko |
| Olivia Salzwedel |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
St. Anthony Village, Minn./St. Anthony Village |
| Natalie St. Marie |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis |
| Paige Stearns |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge |
| LeAnn Torgerson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors |
| Maria West |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Baxter, Minn./Brainerd |
| Alexa Yeager |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Clearwater, Minn./Monticello |
UMAC Individual Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Jessica Bliese |
Discus Throw, Hammer Throw |
Minnesota Morris |
So.. |
Osakis, Minn./Osakis |
| Emily Ciesynski |
400-meter Dash, 400-meter Hurdles
4 x 100-meter relay, 4 x 400-meter relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Blaine, Minn./Blaine |
| Lexi Erickson |
High Jump |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Amber Heidenreich |
Pole Vault |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Phillips, Wis./Hayward |
| Brooke Hogan |
4 x 100-meter relay, 4 x 400-meter relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls |
| Anika Kling |
100-meter Dash, 200-meter Dash
Long Jump |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Hudson, Wis./Hudson |
| Kaitlyn Ladwig |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Granite Falls, Minn./Yellow Medicine East |
| Katelyn Leiden |
Triple Jump |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Green Bay, Wis./Green Bay West |
| Maria Mazo |
100-meter Hurdles |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Hendaye, France/Irungo La Salle |
| Jenica Moes |
Javelin |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Watertown, S.D./Watertown |
| Katherine Novak |
1,500-meter Run, 5,000-meter Run
4 x 400-meter Relay, 4 x 800-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park |
| Kim Olurankinse |
4 x 100-meter relay, 4 x 400-meter relay |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Maple Grove, Minn./Flora (Lagos, Nigeria) |
| Kelli Praska |
800-meter Run |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Eagan, Minn./Eagan |
| Olivia Salzwedel |
4 x 100-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
St. Anthony Village, Minn./St. Anthony Village |
| Natalie St. Marie |
Hammer Throw |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis |
| Paige Stearns |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge |
| Maria West |
3,000-meter Steeplechase |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Baxter, Minn./Brainerd |
| Alexa Yeager |
4 x 800-meter Relay |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Clearwater, Minn./Monticello |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Minnesota Morris
Bethany Lutheran – Brianna Soutthivong, Sr., Mountain Lake, Minn./Mountain Lake
Crown – Jessica Darling, Fy., Worthington, Minn./Worthington
Martin Luther – Janet Putz, Sr., Portland, Mich./Michigan Lutheran Seminary
Minnesota-Morris – Katherine Novak, Sr., Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park
North Central – Bailey Brewster, Fy., Burnsville, Minn./Homeschool
Northwestern – Annie Sheedlo, So., Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park
St. Scholastica – Aria Plewa, So., Duluth, Minn./Duluth East
Wisconsin-Superior – Hannah Kivela, So., Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing