UMAC announces 2020 men's indoor post-meet honors
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2020 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship was highlighted by four new meet records and a competitive finish that saw the University of Wisconsin-Superior earn a fourth-straight team title by just a 4.5-point margin over the College of St. Scholastica. Following the exciting finish, the post-meet honors were dished out seeing the champion Yellowjackets earn two of the top five honors announced Wednesday.
The Yellowjackets' tallied 12 individual all-conference winners and saw head coach Glen Drexler named Coach of the Year following yet another team title. CJ Pillath of the Yellowjackets collected his third Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet award of his career after setting meet records in both throws events. Runner-up St. Scholastica's Isaac Boedigheimer was selected Track Athlete of the Meet following wins in three events, while Bethany Lutheran College jumped to a third-place team finish thanks to outstanding performances from multi-event specialists Keegan Rich and Jake Marzinske. Rich was the Top Scoring Athlete of the Meet, and Marzinske took the Rookie of the Year nod.
Under Drexler's leadership, the Yellowjackets' depth led to a close finish over the Saints with a total of five event wins including both throws events and two of the three relays. The Yellowjackets had four individuals finish in the top 10 for total scoring athletes with each compiling at least 18 total points.
Pillath led the Yellowjackets with a career performance in the weight throw and shot put events defending his title in both. On Friday, Pillath used a toss of 19.01 meters (62-4.5) to win the event by over four meters for a new meet record. His mark in the event would have been seventh-best in Division III and he currently sits at No. 5 nationally which should guarantee his spot in the national championship meet. Pillath followed up on Saturday with a throw of 16.32 meters (53-6.5) to win the shot put by nearly three feet. That meet record toss also ranks No. 15 which currently puts him into the NCAA field, but one week remains before selections. Pillath scored a total of 20 points to contribute to the Yellowjackets' team win.
The Saints nearly took down the champion 'Jackets thanks to three event wins from distance star Boedigheimer. The junior captured wins in three events and also collected a third-place finish in the mile to start his weekend. Later in the day Friday, Boedigheimer earned his first win in the 5,000-meter run clocking a time of 15:48.01 that was over 50 seconds faster than the runner-up. Saturday afternoon Boedigheimer then ran in the 800-meter run with no seed time and captured the win (2:00.83) despite running in a heat with just two other runners. He capped off the weekend taking the 3,000-meter title with a time of 9:01.78 and scored the second-most points on the weekend with 36.
The Vikings saw significant team improvement with the young talent of Rich and Marzinske leading the way. Rich backed up his Rookie of the Year season from a year ago with a 37.25-point weekend as a sophomore. He earned event wins on the track and in the field. Rich won the long jump Friday with a season-best mark of 6.77 meters (22-2.5) before winning the 60-meter hurdles with a season best time (8.58) Saturday. He also finished as the runner-up in two field events including the high jump which he entered with no mark and cleared 1.83 meters (6-0). Rich was second behind Marzinske in the triple jump Saturday with a jump of 13.00 meters (42-8).
In just two seasons of having the UMAC Rookie of the Year honor, both have now gone to Vikings. Marzinske earned a win in the triple jump setting a new meet record with his leap of 14.05 meters (46-1.25) on Saturday. The first-year also earned a runner-up finish in the long jump with a season-best performance of 6.57 meters (21-6.75). Like Rich, Marzinske fared well in high jump despite having no seed mark as he cleared 1.73 meters (5-8) for a third-place finish. He also earned third-place in the 60-meter hurdles (9.08). The Viking rookie earned the third-most total points on the men's side with 31.25.
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), Boedigheimer, Eddie Carlson (Wisconsin-Superior), Samuel Eben Ebai (St. Scholastica), Brett Goplen (Wisconsin-Superior), Marzinske, Jericho Peterson (St. Scholastica), Ben Renner (St. Scholastica) and Rich. Eben Ebai earned the fourth meet record of the weekend in the 60-meter dash (6.98).
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 – Keegan Rich, So., Bethany Lutheran
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – Isaac Boedigheimer, Jr., St. Scholastica
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – CJ Pillath, Sr., Wisconsin-Superior
Rookie of the Year Award – Jake Marzinske, Fy., Bethany Lutheran
Coach of the Year Award – Glen Drexler, Wisconsin-Superior
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Ryan Anderson |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Bellevue, Idaho/Wood River |
| Isaiah Arntson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Proctor, Minn./Esko |
| Isaac Boedigheimer |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Eddie Carlson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul |
| Samuel Eben Ebai |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Yaounde, Cameroon/P.S.S. Mankon |
| Tyler Finger |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville |
| Brett Goplen |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Hugo, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Finigan Huffington |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Georgetown, Cayman Islands/John Gray |
| Michael Knaack |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Maple, Wis./Northwestern |
| Tanner Lee |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Siren, Wis./Siren |
| Malcolm Lumsden |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Kingston, Jamaica/Kingston College |
| Jake Marzinske |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
St. Paul, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Trent Merkins |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Cottonwood, Minn./Lakeview |
| Derrick Moe |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Evan Nelson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago |
| Josiah Otis |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Freeport, Maine/Homeschool |
| Steven Pearson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Jericho Peterson |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Mountain Iron, Minn./Mountain Iron-Buhl |
| Michael Petron |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Royalton, Minn./Royalton |
| CJ Pillath |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Ben Renner |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd |
| Keegan Rich |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Mount Pleasant, Iowa/Homeschool |
| Lennon Shimon |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea |
| Jake Weston |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Eveleth, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Zion Zaloudek |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
River Falls, Wis./River Falls |
UMAC Individual Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Ryan Anderson |
Mile Run |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Bellevue, Idaho/Wood River |
| Isaiah Arntson |
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Proctor, Minn./Esko |
| Isaac Boedigheimer |
800-meter Run, 3,000-meter Run,
5,000-meter Run |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Eddie Carlson |
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul |
| Samuel Eben Ebai |
60-meter Dash |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Yaounde, Cameroon/P.S.S. Mankon |
| Tyler Finger |
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville |
| Brett Goplen |
High Jump |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Hugo, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Finigan Huffington |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Georgetown, Cayman Islands/John Gray |
| Michael Knaack |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Maple, Wis./Northwestern |
| Jake Marzinske |
Triple Jump |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
St. Paul, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Evan Nelson |
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago |
| Steven Pearson |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Jericho Peterson |
200-meter Dash, 400-meter Dash,
4 x 400-meter Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Mountain Iron, Minn./Mountain Iron-Buhl |
| Michael Petron |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Royalton, Minn./Royalton |
| CJ Pillath |
Shot Put, Weight Throw |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Coleman, Wis./Coleman |
| Ben Renner |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd |
| Keegan Rich |
60-meter Hurdles, Long Jump |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Mount Pleasant, Iowa/Homeschool |
| Lennon Shimon |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea |
| Jake Weston |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Eveleth, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Zion Zaloudek |
Pole Vault |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
River Falls, Wis./River Falls |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Minnesota Morris
Bethany Lutheran – Ryan McCue, Jr., Mountain Lake, Minn./Mountain Lake
Crown – Nic Knutson, Fy., Bloomington, Minn./Classical Conversations
Minnesota-Morris – Jeffrey McEarchern, Jr., Rochester, Minn./Rochester Century
North Central – Robbie Peck, Jr., White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake
Northwestern – Josiah Otis, Jr., Freeport, Maine/Homeschool
St. Scholastica – Isaac Boedigheimer, Jr., Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet
Wisconsin-Superior – Andre Couture, Sr., Culver, Minn./Cloquet