UMAC Announces Outdoor Women's Track & Field All-Conference Awards
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced its 2021 Outdoor Track & Field Women's All-Conference and major award winners on Tuesday afternoon, recognizing the achievements of 29 student-athletes.
UW-Superior's LeAnn Torgerson, the top-scorer at the UMAC meet, was named Track Athlete of the Meet, as voted on by the UMAC Track & Field coaches. Minnesota Morris' Jessica Bliese earned Field Athlete of the Meet honors while her coach Joshua Kuusisto was tabbed Coach of the Year.
Megan McCue of Bethany Lutheran was selected Rookie of the Year to round out the major award winners on the women's side.
Torgerson capped an outstanding UMAC career, winning all three of her sprint events. The Two Harbors, Minn. native took first in the 100m, 200m and 400m, respectively, and placed third in the long jump.
She is the first female from UW-Superior to be named Track Athlete of the Meet since 2017, when Valeria Rowe earned the same accolade. Torgerson becomes the third Yellowjacket to win a major UMAC Outdoor award, joining Taylor Phillips (Field Athlete of the Meet, 2018) and Rowe.
UMM's Bliese was the second-overall point-scorer, winning the hammer and javelin throws by a wide margin. She also placed second in the discus and third in the shot put, showing her versatility in the field events. Bliese's marks in the hammer are second all-time in UMAC history and rank 8th currently in NCAA Division III.
Bliese repeats as Outdoor Field Athlete of the Meet, taking home that honor in 2019. She now has collected three-combined Field Athlete of the Meet awards as she was named Field AOTM following the 2020-21 indoor season.
With Bliese as the anchor for Kuusisto's squad, UMM captured its second-consecutive Women's Outdoor Championship, its fourth in program-history. The Cougars also completed a sweep of the Women's Track & Field Team Championships, winning the Indoor Championship earlier in 2021.
Kuusisto previously earned Coach of the Year honors during the 2020-21 indoor season, making this his second career accolade.
BLC's McCue made her mark at her first-ever UMAC Outdoor Championships, posting four top-five finishes and 21.25 total points. McCue placed third in both the 100m and 400m hurdles and was a part of the 4th-place 4x400m relay team. She then posted some solid performances in the fields events as well, securing 4th in the long and 6th in the triple jump.
Minnesota Morris also 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 Point Scorer of the Meet Award – LeAnn Torgerson, Wisconsin-Superior
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – LeAnn Torgerson, Wisconsin-Superior
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – Jessica Bliese, Minnesota Morris
Rookie of the Year Award – Megan McCue, Bethany Lutheran
Coach of the Year Award – Josh Kuusisto, Minnesota Morris
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
| Megan Bechthold |
4 x 400-meter relay (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
| Anna Becker |
Shot Put (2nd) |
St. Scholastica |
| Jenna Benson |
Long Jump (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
| Jessica Bliese |
Discus Throw (2nd), Hammer Throw (1st)
Javelin (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
| Bailey Brewster |
800-meter run (1st) |
North Central |
| Daya Davidson |
Pole Vault (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
| Lexi Erickson |
400-meter hurdles (1st), 4 x 400-meter relay (1st)
High Jump (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
| Maddie Fenske |
4 x 800-meter relay (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
| Melissa Geisenhof |
Pole Vault (2nd) |
St. Scholastica |
| Hailey Gill |
Shot Put (1st), Discus Throw (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
| Abby Hagen |
3,000-meter Steeplechase (1st) |
Crown |
| Nanako Hara |
3,000-meter Steeplechase (2nd) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
| Kasha Hughlett |
Hammer Throw (2nd) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
| Janae Jensen |
100-meter dash (2nd), Long Jump (2nd)
Triple Jump (1st) |
Martin Luther |
| Kaitlyn Ladwig |
1,500-meter run (1st), 4 x 800-meter relay (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
| McKenna Langerud |
1,500-meter run (2nd), 5,000-meter run (2nd)
4 x 800-meter relay (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
| Elizabeth Lofstad |
Triple Jump (2nd) |
North Central |
| Jenica Moes |
Javelin (2nd) |
Minnesota Morris |
| Megan Nowak |
100-meter hurdles (1st), 4 x 100-meter relay (1st) |
Northwestern |
| Madelyn Plitzuweit |
100-meter hurdles (2nd) |
Martin Luther |
| Juanel Roux |
400-meter hurdles (2nd) |
Crown |
| Kacy Selje |
200-meter dash (2nd), 400-meter dash (2nd),
4 x 100-meter relay (1st) |
Northwestern |
| Lillianne Tapper |
800-meter run (2nd); 4 x 400-meter relay (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
| Jasmine Terry |
High Jump (2nd) |
Minnesota Morris |
| Carly Thompson |
4 x 100-meter relay (1st) |
Northwestern |
| LeAnn Torgerson |
100-meter dash (1st), 200-meter dash (1st)
400-meter dash (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
| Annika Voss |
4 x 400-meter relay (1st) |
St. Scholastica |
| Gracia Widman |
4 x 100-meter relay (1st) |
Northwestern |
| Alexa Yeager |
5,000-meter run (1st),4 x 800-meter relay (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
UMAC Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
| Megan Bechthold |
4 x 400-meter relay |
St. Scholastica |
| Jenna Benson |
Long Jump |
Minnesota Morris |
| Jessica Bliese |
Hammer Throw, Javelin |
Minnesota Morris |
| Bailey Brewster |
800-meter run |
North Central |
| Daya Davidson |
Pole Vault |
St. Scholastica |
| Lexi Erickson |
400-meter hurdles, 4 x 400-meter relay, High Jump |
St. Scholastica |
| Maddie Fenske |
4 x 800-meter relay |
Minnesota Morris |
| Hailey Gill |
Shot Put, Discus Throw |
Minnesota Morris |
| Abby Hagen |
3,000-meter Steeplechase |
Crown |
| Janae Jensen |
Triple Jump |
Martin Luther |
| Kaitlyn Ladwig |
1,500-meter run, 4 x 800-meter relay |
Minnesota Morris |
| McKenna Langerud |
4 x 800-meter relay |
Minnesota Morris |
| Megan Nowak |
100-meter hurdles, 4 x 100-meter relay |
Northwestern |
| Kacy Selje |
4 x 100-meter relay |
Northwestern |
| Lillianne Tapper |
4 x 400-meter relay |
St. Scholastica |
| Carly Thompson |
4 x 100-meter relay |
Northwestern |
| LeAnn Torgerson |
100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash |
Wisconsin-Superior |
| Annika Voss |
4 x 400-meter relay |
St. Scholastica |
| Gracia Widman |
4 x 100-meter relay |
Northwestern |
| Alexa Yeager |
5,000-meter run, 4 x 800-meter relay |
Minnesota Morris |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Minnesota Morris
Bethany Lutheran – Karsen Risse
Crown – Emily Hilton
Martin Luther – Johanna Fischer
Minnesota Morris – McKenna Langerud
North Central – Bailey Brewster
Northwestern – Megan Nowak
St. Scholastica – Liana Blomgren
Wisconsin-Superior – Amber Heidenreich