Cougars, Eagles each take two of top UMAC women's indoor track and field awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.--- For the first time ever, the University of Minnesota Morris captured the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championship Saturday and were recognized with two of the top honors with Jessica Bliese earning the UMAC Field Athlete of the Meet Award for the second-consecutive season while Head Coach Josh Kuusisto was selected as Coach of the Year by his peers to headline the post-meet awards Tuesday.
The remaining awards included standout first-year Kacy Selje of the University of Northwestern who was the Top Scoring Athlete of the Meet and the UMAC Rookie of the Year. Abby Hagen of Crown College rounded out the awards as the Track Athlete of the Meet.
The Cougars knocked off the College of St. Scholastica for the first time in the history of the women's indoor championship meet winning five events for 139 total points under Kuusisto's leadership. Bliese was one of the team's top scorers and among five all-conference honorees and four individuals to win an event.
Senior Bliese captured victory in both throwing events with a third-consecutive win in the shot put. She tossed 13.20 meters (43-3.75) in the event and currently ranks No. 12 in all of NCAA Division III. Bliese also claimed a win in the weight throw with a mark of 15.11 meters (49-7). Her throws in shot put and weight throw rank fourth and tenth, respectively, in UMAC Championship history.
The Eagles Selje made a solid first impression in her collegiate championship debut winning two individual events and anchoring Northwestern's winning 4 x 200-meter relay (1:58.28). Selje collected 32.5 total points to lead all scorers thanks to wins in the 60-meter dash (8.33) and the 200-meter dash (28.03). She also finished third in the pole vault ( 2.26 meters/7-5) and fifth in the 400-meter dash (1:06.31) and was part of the runner-up 4 x 400-meter relay squad. With Selje leading the way, the Eagles placed third as a team with 84 points.
Crown had one of its best team performances in program history with a 61-point, fourth-place performance thanks to two big wins on the track from Abby Hagen. The sophomore accounted for 20 of the team's total points. Hagen outpaced the competition for a win in the 800-meter run (2:31.22) by just over a half-second. She also won the mile run with a time of 5:31.95 that was less than a second ahead of the next finisher for a thrilling victory.
There were 11 All-UMAC performers that earned the award in at least two events including Jenna Benson (Minnesota Morris), Bliese, Anna Brueckner (Crown), Ava DeShazer (Northwestern), Lexi Erickson (St. Scholastica), Hagen, McKenna Langerud (Minnesota Morris), Ellie Sholing (St. Scholastica), Selje, Carly Thompson (Northwestern) and Kayla Tobin (Bethany Lutheran College).
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 – Kacy Selje, Fy., Northwestern
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – Abby Hagen, So., Crown
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – Jessica Bliese, Sr., Minnesota Morris
Rookie of the Year Award – Kacy Selje, Fy., Northwestern
Coach of the Year Award – Josh Kuusisto, Minnesota Morris
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Megan Bechthold |
4 x 400-meter Relay (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Duluth, Minn./Lakeview Christian Academy |
| Anna Becker |
Shot Put (2nd) |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Buffalo, Minn./Maple Lake |
| Jenna Benson |
Long Jump (1st), 60-meter Dash (2nd) |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Annandale, Minn./Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted |
| Jessica Bliese |
Shot Put (1st), Weight Throw (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Osakis, Minn./Osakis |
| Anna Brueckner |
400-meter Dash (1st), 200-meter Dash (2nd) |
Crown |
Fy. |
Swanton, Vt./Homeschool |
| Katelyn Chromy |
4 x 400-meter Relay (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
New Prague, Minn./New Prague |
| Alexxa DeQuevedo |
60-meter Hurdles (2nd) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Silver Bay, Minn./William Kelley |
| Ava DeShazer |
3,000-meter Run (2nd), 5,000-meter Run (2nd) |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie |
| Lexi Erickson |
4 x 400-meter Relay (1st), High Jump (2nd) |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Melissa Geisenhof |
Pole Vault (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Little Falls, Minn./Little Falls |
| Abby Hagen |
800-meter Run (1st), Mile Run (1st) |
Crown |
So. |
Sleepy Eye, Minn./Homeschool |
| Clara Harter |
Pole Vault (2nd) |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
La Crosse, Wis./Logan |
| Maggie Hippen |
4 x 200-meter Relay (1st) |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Chanhassen, Minn./Homeschool |
| Cianna Hoppe |
Distance Medley Relay (1st) |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Lewiston, Minn./Luther |
| Kasha Hughlett |
Weight Throw (2nd) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Maple, Wis./Northwestern |
| Chloe Kuhlman |
Distance Medley Relay (1st) |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Watertown, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran |
| McKenna Langerud |
5,000-meter Run (1st), Mile Run (2nd) |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks |
| Elizabeth Lofstad |
Triple Jump (1st) |
North Central |
Fy. |
Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial |
| Jordan Merwin |
Distance Medley Relay (1st) |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti |
| Megan Nowak |
4 x 200-meter Relay (1st) |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Athens, Wis./Athens |
| Kacy Selje |
60-meter Dash (1st), 200-meter Dash (1st), 4 x 200-meter Relay (1st) |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest |
| Ellie Sholing |
4 x 400-meter Relay (1st), 400-meter Dash (2nd), 800-meter Run (2nd) |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Wabasha, Minn./Wabasha-Kellogg |
| Jasmine Terry |
High Jump (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee |
| Carly Thompson |
4 x 200-meter Relay (1st), Long Jump (2nd) |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Gibbon, Minn./Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop |
| Kayla Tobin |
3,000-meter Run (1st), Distance Medley Relay (1st) |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
Watertown, Wis./Homeschool |
| Lexi Weisser |
Triple Jump (2nd) |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral |
| McKenzie Williams |
60-meter Hurdles (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Blaine, Minn./Blaine |
UMAC Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Megan Bechthold |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Duluth, Minn./Lakeview Christian Academy |
| Jenna Benson |
Long Jump |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Annandale, Minn./Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted |
| Jessica Bliese |
Shot Put, Weight Throw |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Osakis, Minn./Osakis |
| Anna Brueckner |
400-meter Dash |
Crown |
Fy. |
Swanton, Vt./Homeschool |
| Katelyn Chromy |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
New Prague, Minn./New Prague |
| Lexi Erickson |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| Melissa Geisenhof |
Pole Vault |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Little Falls, Minn./Little Falls |
| Abby Hagen |
800-meter Run, Mile Run |
Crown |
Fy. |
Sleepy Eye, Minn./Homeschool |
| Maggie Hippen |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Chanhassen, Minn./Homeschool |
| Cianna Hoppe |
Distance Medley Relay |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Lewiston, Minn./Luther |
| Chloe Kuhlman |
Distance Medley Relay |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Watertown, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran |
| McKenna Langerud |
5,000-meter Run |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks |
| Elizabeth Lofstad |
Triple Jump |
North Central |
Fy. |
Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial |
| Jordan Merwin |
Distance Medley Relay |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti |
| Megan Nowak |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Athens, Wis./Athens |
| Kacy Selje |
60-meter Dash, 200-meter Dash, 4 x 200-meter Relay |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest |
| Ellie Sholing |
4 x 400-meter Relay |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Wabasha, Minn./Wabasha-Kellogg |
| Jasmine Terry |
High Jump |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee |
| Carly Thompson |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Gibbon, Minn./Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop |
| Kayla Tobin |
3,000-meter Run, Distance Medley Relay |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
Watertown, Wis./Homeschool |
| McKenzie Williams |
60-meter Hurdles |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Blaine, Minn./Blaine |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Minnesota Morris
Bethany Lutheran – Chloe Kuhlman, So., Watertown, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran
Crown – Emily Hilton, Jr., Conestoga, Penn./Dayspring Christian
Minnesota-Morris – Jenica Moes, Jr., Kranzburg, S.D./Watertown
North Central – Elizabeth Lofstad, Fy., Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial
Northwestern – Ava DeShazer, Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie
St. Scholastica – Anna Becker, Jr., Buffalo, Minn./Maple Lake
Wisconsin-Superior – Nicole Koski, Jr., Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon