Champion Yellowjackets lead UMAC men's indoor postseason honors
ST. PAUL, Minn.---For the sixth-straight season, the University of Wisconsin-Superior dominated the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) for indoor track and field winning the championship by a remarkable margin of 133. Now, the champion Yellowjackets take three of the top five awards and headline the all-conference list announced Wednesday.
Glen Drexler repeated as the UMAC Coach of the Year, while thrower Gage Stankiewicz was named the Field Athlete of the Meet and Rookie of the Year. Jeremiah VanAcker of Crown College repeated as the Track Athlete of the Meet and finished as the Top Scoring Athlete of the Meet.
Under Drexler's leadership, the Yellowjackets collected 254 points winning 10 total events over the two-day meet including a sweep of the relay events. The Yellowjackets lead the all-conference list with 11 different individuals earning the honor.
Stankewicz had a solid rookie debut for the indoor season. The first-year thrower found himself on the NCAA Division III qualifying list for the shot put in January, but he managed to improve his odds of making the NCAA Championship in less than two weeks with his personal-record and championship-winning throw of 15.70 meters (51-6.25) Saturday. He currently ranks 18th in the nation with the top 20 individuals qualifying for the NCAA Championship next Monday. In addition to his shot put win, Stankiewicz finished second in the weight throw with a toss of 15.77 meters (51-9).
For the second time in as many seasons, Crown's VanAcker was selected as the top performer on the track accounting for 30 total points – more than half of the Storm's total team points. He collected one individual title in the mile run with a time of 4:27.75 to repeat as event champion. The sophomore also earned second-place finishes in each of the long distance events clocking 9:20.44 in the 3,000-meter run and 16:48.23 in the 5,000-meter run. Additionally, he was a member of the Storm's second-place distance medley relay team and third-place 4 x 400-meter relay.
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 David Collins (Wisconsin-Superior), Tyler Finger (Wisconsin-Superior), Jamon Horward (University of Northwestern), Jake Marzinske (Bethany Lutheran College), Iain Matheson (Wisconsin-Superior), Derrick Moe (Wisconsin-Superior), Steven Pearson (Wisconsin-Superior), Stankiewicz (Wisconsin-Superior), VanAcker (Crown) and Ethan Westimayer (Wisconsin-Superior).
Wisconsin-Superior 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 – Jeremiah VanAcker, So., Crown
Track Athlete of the Meet Award – Jeremiah VanAcker, So., Crown
Field Athlete of the Meet Award – Gage Stankiewicz, Fy., Wisconsin-Superior
Rookie of the Year Award – Gage Stankiewicz, Fy., Wisconsin-Superior
Coach of the Year Award – Glen Drexler, Wisconsin-Superior
UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Michael Butterfield |
Pole Vault (2nd) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Bovey, Minn./Greenway |
| David Collins |
800-meter Run (2nd), Distance Medley Relay (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Ironwood, Mich./Luther L. Wright |
| Tyler Finger |
800-meter Run (1st), Mile Run (2nd), 4 x 400-meter Relay (1st), Distance Medley Relay (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville |
| Ren Hammann |
60-meter Hurdles (2nd) |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville |
| Jamon Howard |
Long Jump (1st), Triple Jump (2nd) |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Fargo, N.D./Fargo South |
| Garrett Lynch |
Pole Vault (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Portage, Wis./Portage |
| Jake Marzinske |
Triple Jump (1st), 60-meter Hurdles (1st) |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
St. Paul, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Iain Matheson |
200-meter Dash (2nd), 400-meter Dash (1st)
4 x 200-meter Relay (1st), 4 x 400-meter Relay (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Derrick Moe |
3,000-meter Run (1st), 5,000-meter Run (1st),
Distance Medley Relay (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Connor Nelson |
Distance Medley Relay (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran |
| Cody Nye |
Shot Put (2nd) |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Soldotna, Alaska/Soldotna |
| Steven Pearson |
400-meter Dash (2nd), 4 x 200-meter Relay (1st)
4 x 400-meter Relay (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Travaris Ricks |
Long Jump (2nd) |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Brooklyn Center, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy |
| Justin Robinson |
Weight Throw (1st) |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Zimmerman, Minn./Zimmerman |
| Will Schorr |
4 x 200-meter Relay (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Sam Sheedlo |
High Jump (2nd) |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park |
| John Shevchuk |
60-meter Dash (1st) |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Ham Lake, Minn. |
| Gage Stankiewicz |
Shot put (1st), Weight Throw (2nd) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Esko, Minn./Esko |
| Ryan Swecker |
60-meter Dash (2nd) |
Crown |
So. |
Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells |
| Jeremiah VanAcker |
Mile Run (1st), 3,000-meter Run (2nd),
5,000-meter Run (2nd) |
Crown |
So. |
Scandia, Minn./Forest Lake |
| Isaac Weiers |
High Jump (1st) |
North Central |
Fy. |
Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville |
| Ethan Westimayer |
200-meter Dash (1st), 4 x 200-meter Relay (1st)
4 x 400-meter Relay (1st) |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Laona, Wis./Laona |
UMAC Individual Event Champions
| Name |
Event(s) |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| David Collins |
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Ironwood, Mich./Luther L. Wright |
| Tyler Finger |
800-meter Run, 4 x 400-meter Relay, Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville |
| Jamon Howard |
Long Jump |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Fargo, N.D./Fargo South |
| Garrett Lynch |
Pole Vault |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Portage, Wis./Portage |
| Jake Marzinske |
Triple Jump, 60-meter Hurdles |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
St. Paul, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Iain Matheson |
400-meter Dash, 4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Derrick Moe |
3,000-meter Run, 5,000-meter Run, Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet |
| Connor Nelson |
Distance Medley Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran |
| Steven Pearson |
4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Justin Robinson |
Weight Throw |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr.. |
Zimmerman, Minn./Zimmerman |
| John Shevchuk |
60-meter Dash |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Ham Lake, Minn. |
| Will Schorr |
4 x 200-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Gage Stankiewicz |
Shot Put |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Esko, Minn./Esko |
| Jeremiah VanAcker |
Mile Run |
Crown |
So. |
Scandia, Minn./Forest Lake |
| Isaac Weiers |
High Jump |
North Central |
Fy. |
Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville |
| Ethan Westimayer |
200-Meter Dash, 4 x 200-meter Relay, 4 x 400-meter Relay |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Laona, Wis./Laona |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Wisconsin-Superior
Bethany Lutheran – Jake Marzinske, So., St. Paul, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran
Crown – Jeremiah Osterlund, Fy., Rochester, Minn./Rochester Area Association of Home Educators
Minnesota-Morris – Jerad Nelson, Sr., Georgetown, Minn./Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
North Central – Derek Burgin, Fy., Moline, Ill./Moline
Northwestern – Ben Ammermann, Fy., Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield
Wisconsin-Superior – Brock Phernetton, Sr., Frederic, Wis./Frederic