UW-Superior Men's Cross Country selected to be top team once again in UMAC
ST. PAUL, MINN. – Last year’s Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s cross country championship featured an exciting battle at the top as UW-Superior and Martin Luther College tied for the low score at the 2022 UMAC championship with UW-Superior ultimately claiming the title based upon application of the tiebreaker procedures. The University of Minnesota Morris was not far behind in collecting third place honors at the conference championship race. It appears heading into the 2023 season, the same three squads will duel for the conference championship based upon the results of the pre-season poll conducted by UMAC head coaches.
| Institution |
Total Number of Points |
| UW-Superior (7) |
49 points |
| Martin Luther College (1) |
39 points |
| University of Minnesota-Morris |
37 points |
| Bethany Lutheran College |
31 points |
| Crown College |
23 points |
| Northland College |
18 points |
| North Central University |
16 points |
| University of Northwestern |
11 points |
| (#) Number of First-Place Votes |
|
UW-Superior took the top spot in the pre-season poll, garnering seven of the possible eight first-place votes. The Yellowjackets have their sights set on their third consecutive UMAC men’s cross country championship and sixth conference title in the past seven seasons. Martin Luther College secured the other first-place vote as the Knights aim to bring back the UMAC championship trophy to New Ulm for the first time since the 2008 season. Martin Luther claimed the second spot in the pre-season poll followed closely by the University of Minnesota Morris.
Reigning UMAC Coach of the Year Glen Drexler from UW-Superior returns several key contributors from his team that won the 2022 title. This list is led by first-team all-conference performer Michael Butterfield, a junior who was the individual runner-up at the UMAC championship and top team finisher for the Yellowjackets. Also back in uniform for UW-Superior is junior Aidan Doherty and senior David Collins as both individuals collected second-team all-conference accolades a season ago with their 10
th and 13
th place finishes respectively at the conference championship.
Martin Luther College and the University of Minnesota Morris both have plenty of talent on their rosters to contend for the 2023 UMAC crown. The Knights line-up will include the trio of Camden Sulzle, Caleb Lash, and Micah Schibbelhut, as all three runners were first-team all-conference honorees in 2022 with their 5
th, 6
th and 7
th place finishes respectively. The Minnesota Morris Cougars will be led by senior Greg Peterson, the third place individual finisher at the 2022 UMAC championship and a first-team all-conference standout.
The rest of the 2023 pre-season poll reflected the order of the team results from the 2022 UMAC championship with Bethany Lutheran College (4
th) and Crown College (5
th) leading the middle pack of teams while Northland College (6
th), North Central University (7
th) and the University of Northwestern (8
th) rounded out the list of teams aiming to improve their positioning in the conference standings.
The 2023 UMAC men’s cross country championship will take place on Saturday, October 28, at Winthrop Golf Course (Minn.). The season gets underway later this week with the first official races scheduled for Friday, September 1.
TEAM CAPSULES AND NOTES FOR EACH UMAC TEAM
Bethany Lutheran College
Michael Dunn, Head Coach | 9th season
2022 Season
4
th at UMAC Championship | 86 points
Top Returning Runners
Josiah Hopper, Jr. | 2022 Championships: 22
nd, 31:00.4, 4
th on team
Trace Edmondson, Sr. | 2022 Championships: 24
th, 31:08.5, 5
th on team
Crown College
Grant DeWitt, Head Coach | 1
st Season
2022 Season
5
th at UMAC Championship | 155 points
Top Returning Runners
Austin Carlson, Junior | 2023 UMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship Running Athlete of the Meet
Martin Luther College
Mark Wienkauf, Head Coach | 4th Season
2022 Season
2
nd at UMAC Championship (tiebreaker) | 50 points
Top Returning Runners
Camden Sulzle, Junior | 2021, 2022 First Team All-UMAC | 2022 Championships: 5
th overall, 28:36.9, # 1 team finisher
Caleb Lash, Senior | 2022 First Team All-UMAC | 2022 Championships: 6
th overall, 28:37.7, # 2 team finisher
Micah Schibbelhut, Junior | 2021 Second Team All-UMAC, 2022 First Team All-UMAC - 2022 Championships: 7
th overall, 28:42.8, # 3 team finisher
North Central University
Paul Theorin, Head Coach | 1
st Season
2022 Season
7
th at UMAC Championship | 175 points
Top Returning Runners
Michael Herr-Zielke, Senior | 2022 Championships: Finish: 21st, time: 30.55.9, # team finisher: 2nd
Garrett Converse, Sophomore | 2022 Championships: Finish: 19th, time: 30:45.5, # team finisher: 1st
Ryan Azeltine, Sophomore | 2022 Championships: Finish: 38th, time: 34:46.4, # team finisher: 3rd
Northland College
Kale Adams, Head Coach | 2
nd Season
2022 Season
6
th at UMAC Championship | 169 points
Top Returning Runners
Beck Pope, Junior | 2022 Championships: 27th, 31:28, #1 team finisher
Ben Thompson, Senior | 2022 Championships: 31, 32:25, #2 team finisher
Brandon Faber, Freshman | 2022 Championships: 33, 32:35, #3 team finisher
University of Minnesota Morris
Emily Hoesing, Head Coach | 1st Season
2022 Season
3
rd at UMAC Championship | 57 points
Top Returning Runners
Greg Peterson, Senior | First Team All-UMAC | 2022 Championships: 3rd, 27:46.4, #1 team finisher
Grant Strukel, Senior | First Team All-UMAC in 2021 | 2022 Championships: 18th, 30:27.2, #4 team finisher
Calvin Nelson, Junior | 2022 Championships: 23rd, 31:04.5, #5 team finisher
University of Northwestern
Steve Thiessen, Head Coach | 32
nd Season
2022 Season
8
th at UMAC Championship | 179 points
Top Returning Runners
Tyler Monsen, Junior | 2022 Championships: 26
th overall, 31:12, 1st team finisher
Nathaniel Moser, Junior | 2021 UMAC Sportsmanship Award | 2022 Championships: 32
nd overall, 32:29, 3rd team finisher
UW-Superior
Glen Drexler, Head Coach | 14th Season
2022 Season
1st at UMAC Championship (won tiebreaker) | 50 points
Postseason: 22nd at NCAA Division III North Regional, Top UMAC finisher at the NCAA Regional.
Top Returning Returners
Michael Butterfield, Junior | 2022 All-UMAC First Team | UMAC Runner up (2
nd overall) 27:20, Lead Yellowjacket runner
David Collins, Senior | 2022 All-UMAC Second Team | 4th team finisher, 29:36
Aidan Doherty, Junior | 2022 All-UMAC Second Team | 2nd team finisher, 27:38