Van Acker, Yellowjackets headline 2021 UMAC men's cross country awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's cross country championship ended with a nine-point victory in favor of the University of Wisconsin-Superior Saturday at Nemadji Golf Course in Superior, Wisconsin. The fourth title in the last six years earned Yellowjacket head coach Glen Drexler Coach of the Year honors from his peers, while Jeremiah Van Acker of Crown College was the individual champion and medalist Saturday.
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Men's Results |
Championship Site |
Wisconsin-Superior outraced Martin Luther College by a narrow margin thanks to three top-five finishes from Tyler Finger (second), Derrick Moe (third) and Michael Butterfield (fifth). Drexler's champion squad led the award winners with three All-UMAC First Team finishes and had a UMAC-best six total selections with three more finishers earning Second Team accolades. Finger and Moe are the only two honorees in the field who earned All-UMAC recognition for at least the second time in their careers.
Following a breakout spring on the track, Crown sophomore Van Acker outpaced the competition Saturday clocking a winning 8,000-meter time of 23:56.3 to become the first-ever Crown runner to win the conference meet. His performance also helped the Storm to a program-best fourth-place finish and team time.
A total of 16 student-athletes were recognized for their finishes in Superior, Wisconsin, Saturday. All-UMAC First Team honors were awarded to the top eight finishers while the next eight were honored with All-UMAC Second Team nods.
The Yellowjackets led all teams with six selections, while runner up Martin Luther had five including two on First Team. The University of Minnesota Morris placed third as a team and finished with three total honorees. Crown and Bethany Lutheran College each had one First Team finisher.
Bethany Lutheran 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, including the championship event. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
2021 Individual Champion - Jeremiah Van Acker, Crown
Coach of the Year - Glen Drexler, Wisconsin-Superior
2021 UMAC Men's Cross Country All-Conference First Team
| Place |
Name |
School |
Time |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| 1st |
Jeremiah Van Acker |
Crown |
26:53.6 |
So. |
Scandia, Minn./Forest Lake |
| 2nd |
Tyler Finger |
Wisconsin-Superior |
27:02.0 |
Sr. |
Clintonsville, Wis./Clintonsville |
| 3rd |
Derrick Moe |
Wisconsin-Superior |
27:17.3 |
Sr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| 4th |
Ryan Maertz |
Martin Luther |
27:45.5 |
Jr. |
Watertown, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran |
| 5th |
Michael Butterfield |
Wisconsin-Superior |
28:00.6 |
Fy. |
Bovey, Minn./Greenway |
| 6th |
Jakin Anderson |
Bethany Lutheran |
28:09.4 |
Sr. |
Belle Plaine, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran |
| 7th |
Grant Strukel |
Minnesota Morris |
28:24.8 |
So. |
Forest City, Iowa/Blue Earth |
| 8th |
Camden Sulzle |
Martin Luther |
28:25.8 |
Fy. |
Redwood Falls, Minn./Luther Prep |
2021 UMAC Men's Cross Country All-Conference Second Team
| Place |
Name |
School |
Time |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| 9th |
Gregory Peterson |
Minnesota Morris |
28:45.1 |
So. |
Nashwauk, Minn./Greenway |
| 10th |
Luke Wegner |
Martin Luther |
28:47.1 |
Fy. |
Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran |
| 11th |
Nate Huju |
Wisconsin-Superior |
28:50.6 |
Fy. |
Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids |
| 12th |
Joshua Zander |
Martin Luther |
28:52.4 |
Fy. |
Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lutheran |
| 13th |
Micah Schibbelhut |
Martin Luther |
28:53.2 |
Fy. |
Onalaska, Wis./Luther |
| 14th |
Grady Larsen |
Minnesota Morris |
29:00.1 |
So. |
Frazee, Minn./Frazee |
| 15th |
Kieran Johnson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
29:03.7 |
Fy. |
South Range, Wis./Northwestern |
| 16th |
Mitchell Hammer |
Wisconsin-Superior |
29:06.1 |
Jr. |
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis./Lincoln |
2021 UMAC Men's Cross Country Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Bethany Lutheran
Bethany Lutheran - Jakin Anderson, Sr., Belle Plaine, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran
Crown - Jeremiah Osterlund, Fy., Rochester, Minn./Rochester Area Association of Home Educators
Martin Luther - Ryan Maertz, Jr., Watertown, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Maxwell Kivi, Sr., Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove
North Central - Jack Campbell, Sr., South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul
Northland - Matt Traeger, Fy.
Northwestern - Nathaniel Moser, Fy., West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian
Wisconsin-Superior - Kieran Johnson, Fy., South Range, Wis./Northwestern