Saints capture 11th-consecutive Kruse Award following 2019-20 winter season
ST. PAUL, Minn.---After an unprecedented decision by the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) to cancel the 2020 spring sports seasons due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the College of St. Scholastica earned the Jerome Kruse All-Sport Trophy for the 2019-20 season following the conclusion of the winter sports seasons it was announced Tuesday.
|
UMAC Jerome Kruse Award Website |
Fall Update |
St. Scholastica finished the winter season with a total of 83 points for an 11th-consecutive Kruse Award victory. The Saints pushed ot runner-up University of Wisconsin-Superior by 8.5 points. The Yellowjackets tallied 74.5 points for a third-consecutive second-place finish, while the University of Northwestern rounded out the top three with 61 points in third place.
The champion Saints added a team championship in women's indoor track in field during the winter to finish the year with six total titles in 12 sports offered in 2019-20. The Saints earned five fall-sport titles in men's and women's cross country, women's golf, women's soccer and volleyball.
The Yellowjackets defended their title in men's indoor track and field to bring their total championship total for the year to three including men's golf and men's soccer from the fall segment. Northwestern collected a second-straight regular season title in men's basketball to end the year with two total sport titles in addition to volleyball from the fall.
Bethany Lutheran College made the biggest jump from fall to winter moving from sixth to fourth finishing with 58 points. The Vikings collected a championship in women's basketball to highlight the school's performances this year. The University of Minnesota Morris placed fifth with 56.5 points – just 1.5 points behind the Vikings.
The standings rounded out with Martin Luther College in sixth (39.5 points), Northland College in seventh (26.5 points), Crown College finishing eighth (26 points) and North Central University taking ninth (16 points).
Since the award's inception in 1996-97, St. Scholastica has won the Kruse Award a UMAC-best 16 times. The award, which is named after Mr. Jerome Kruse, a longtime athletic director at the former Northwestern College (Wis.) and Martin Luther College, travels to the full-member institution with the most points accumulated by the place finishes of the college's athletic teams in the final standings of 18 conference sponsored sports.
KRUSE AWARD POINTS (2019-2020 - FINAL)
1. St. Scholastica - 83 points
2. Wisconsin-Superior - 74.5 points
3. Northwestern - 61 points
4. Bethany Lutheran - 58 points
5. Minnesota Morris - 56.5 points
6. Martin Luther -39.5 points
7. Northland - 26.5 points
8. Crown - 26 points
9. North Central - 16 points
KRUSE AWARD POINTS (2019-2020)
UMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
| School |
MCC |
WCC |
FB |
MSC |
WSC |
VB |
MGF |
WGF |
MBB |
WBB |
MITF |
WITF |
Total |
| Bethany Lutheran College |
4 |
3 |
- |
7 |
4.5 |
5 |
5 |
3.5 |
8 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
58 |
| College of St. Scholastica |
8 |
8 |
4 |
8 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
83 |
| Crown College |
1 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1.5 |
3 |
- |
5 |
1.5 |
1 |
2 |
26 |
| Martin Luther College |
5 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
3.5 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
- |
- |
39.5 |
| North Central University |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
1.5 |
2 |
- |
2.5 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
16 |
| Northland College |
2 |
2 |
- |
6 |
3 |
3.5 |
4 |
2 |
2.5 |
1.5 |
- |
- |
26.5 |
| University of Minnesota Morris |
6 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
4.5 |
8 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
56.5 |
| University of Northwestern |
3 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
9 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
39 |
| University of Wisconsin-Superior |
7 |
6 |
- |
9 |
7 |
6 |
9 |
3.5 |
7 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
74.5 |