2006 WIAC Men's Indoor Track & Field
Athletes of the Week

Week of Feb. 20 - 26
Track
UW-La Crosse's Distance Medley Relay Team of Kevin Oelstrom (Junior, Hales Corners/Whitnall), Nate Olson (Senior, Stevens Point/SPASH), Andrew Boldt (Sophomore, Stillwater, Minn.) and Mike Herlihy (Senior, Racine/Horlick)
The quartet took first place with a NCAA Division III automatic qualifying time of 10:00.12 at the Pointer Qualifier on February 25. The time is the second fastest in the NCAA Division III this season.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Nick Boehlke, Senior, Three Lakes
UW-Platteville, Cameron Klein, Junior, Monroe
UW-River Falls, Rick Stewart, Junior, Oregon
UW-Stevens Point, 1,600-Meter Relay Team, Adam Baumann, Marathon - Ryan Schroeder, Walworth (Big Foot) - Nick Ver Duin, Howards Grove - Kyle Steiner, Grafton
UW-Stout, Derek Gonzenbach, Junior, Milbank, SD
UW-Whitewater, Eric Keen, Sophomore, Monroe

Field
Ross Kapp, Senior (West Allis/Heritage Christian), of UW-Whitewater
Kapp took first place in the shot put with a NCAA Division III automatic qualifying heave of 56-3 ¼ and finished second in the weight throw with a provisional qualifying toss of 56-11 1/2 at the Karl Schlender Invitational on February 25.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Mike Raether, Senior, Marathon
UW-Oshkosh, Zach Johnson, Junior, Clintonville
UW-Stevens Point, Pete Prusinski, Senior, Rib Lake
UW-Stout, Patrick Doty, Senior, Richfield, Minn.

Week of Feb. 13 - 19
Track
Matt Kramer, Sophomore (Cloquet, Minn.), of UW-Superior
Kramer finished third in the 800-meter run with a NCAA Division III provisional qualifying time of 1:53.70 at the University of Minnesota Snowshoe Open on February 17. His time set a school record and currently ranks eighth in the NCAA Division III this season.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Marcus Walgrave, Junior, Luverne, Minn.
UW-Oshkosh, Nick Boehlke, Senior, Three Lakes
UW-Platteville, Cameron Klein, Junior, Monroe
UW-Stevens Point, Nick Ver Duin, Sophomore, Howards Grove
UW-Stout, Steven Leech, Freshman, Lake Geneva (Badger)
UW-Whitewater, Justin Marquardt, Senior, Oconto Falls

Field
Nick Pergande, Senior (Waukesha/North), of UW-La Crosse
Pergande captured the pole vault at the St. Olaf (Minn.) Tostrud Classic on February 18 with a NCAA Division III automatic qualifying mark of 17-0 3/4. He also set a St. Olaf facility record and his mark currently ranks second in the NCAA Division III.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Brandon Houle, Junior, Oshkosh (North)
UW-Platteville, Jim Uppena, Senior, Cassville
UW-River Falls, Dustin Jolicoeur, Sophomore, Baldwin (Baldwin-Woodville)
UW-Stevens Point, Kyle Steiner, Junior, Grafton
UW-Whitewater, Michael Paddock, Senior, Greendale (Martin Luther)

Week of Feb. 6 - 12
Track
A.J. Hollanquest, Sophomore (Wausau/East), of UW-Oshkosh
Hollanquest won the 55-meter dash and ran the first leg on a second-place 1,600-meter relay team at the Warhawk Classic on February 10. He posted a time of 6.48 to finish ahead of 39 competitors in the 55-meter dash. His performance is the 10th best in the NCAA Division III and surpassed the provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division III Championships. The 1,600-meter relay team recorded a time of 3:22.0.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Dan Thour, Sophomore, Plymouth, Minn. (Wayzata)
UW-Platteville, Ben Zizis, Sophomore, Cudahy
UW-River Falls, Al Moore, Freshman, North Branch, Minn.
UW-Stevens Point, 1,600-Meter Relay Team, Adam Baumann - Marathon, Ryan Schroeder - Walworth (Big Foot), Nick Ver Duin - Howards Grove, Kyle Steiner - Grafton
UW-Stout, Derek Gonzenbach, Junior, Milbank, South Dakota
UW-Whitewater, Brian Butzler, Freshman, Beloit (Turner)

Field
Kevin Becker, Senior (Rochester, Minn./Mayo), of UW-La Crosse
Becker captured the weight throw at the Warhawk Classic on February 10 with the farthest throw in NCAA Division III history by over four feet with a mark of 69-0 1/2. His toss was a NCAA Division III automatic qualifying distance and set a school, facility and meet record.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Zach Johnson, Junior, Clintonville
UW-Platteville, Nick Fix, Senior, Oconomowoc
UW-Stevens Point, Jason Boudreau, Freshman, Kewaskum (Oconto)
UW-Stout, Ryan Carpenter, Junior, Sauk City
UW-Whitewater, Derek Stanley, Junior, Madison (Verona)

Week of Jan. 30 - Feb. 5
Track
Nate Olson, Senior (Stevens Point/SPASH), of UW-La Crosse
Olson won the 400-meter dash at the Minnesota State-Mankato Open on February 4 with a NCAA Division III automatic qualifying time of 47.74. It is the fastest time in NCAA Division III this season and a lifetime personal best for Olson.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Chris Kupfer, Freshman, Germantown
UW-Oshkosh, Willy Kaul, Sophomore, Menomonee Falls (Milwaukee Lutheran)
UW-Platteville, Ben Zizis, Sophomore, Cudahy
UW-River Falls, Mike Meissner, Freshman, Cottage Grove, Minn. (Park)
UW-Stevens Point, Kyle Steiner, Junior, Grafton
UW-Stout, Ryan Harder, Freshman, Spooner
UW-Whitewater, Jon Schellin, Sophomore, Columbus

Field
Mitch Ellis, Junior (Three Lakes), of UW-Stevens Point
Ellis posted a NCAA Division III automatic qualifying performance in the high jump as UW-Stevens Point coasted to the team title at the Carthage Invitational on February 4. He had a leap of 6-10 1/4, which is the best in NCAA Division III this season. The Pointers won the 13-team meet with 217.50 points.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Brent Tice, Senior, Colfax
UW-La Crosse, Matt Novak, Junior, Schofield (D.C. Everest)
UW-Oshkosh, Brandon Houle, Junior, Oshkosh (North)
UW-Stout, Ryan Kawski, Junior, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Whitewater, Derek Stanley, Junior, Madison (Verona)

Week of Jan. 23 - 29
Track
Cal Kromm, Senior (Omro), of UW-Oshkosh
Kromm won the mile run and ran on the winning 1,600-meter relay team to lead UW-Oshkosh to a first-place finish in a triangular with North Central (Ill.) and Ripon on January 27. Kromm, who was involved in two of UW-Oshkosh's 16 first-place efforts, ran to a time of 4:13.97 in the mile run to surpass the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Division III Championships. UW-Oshkosh's 1,600-meter relay team posted a time of 3:27.11.

Also nominated:
UW-Platteville, Tyler Sigl, Sophomore, Seymour
UW-Stevens Point, Travis Nechuta, Freshman, Mosinee
UW-Stout, Steven Leech, Freshman, Lake Geneva (Badger)
UW-Whitewater, Matt Regan, Freshman, Pell Lake

Field
Jim Uppena, Senior (Cassville), of UW-Platteville
Uppena threw the 35-pound weight 61-7 to win that event at the UW-Whitewater Invitational on January 28. He qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships by a full foot and broke one of the Pioneers' oldest school records, surpassing Bryan Cunninham's 1996 record of 60-1 3/4. He also finished fourth in the shot put with a heave of 49-5 3/4.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Tom Roszak, Senior, Greenfield
UW-River Falls, Mycola Kramper, Sophomore, McFarland
UW-Stevens Point, Kent Hutchinson, Senior, Green Bay (Preble)
UW-Stout, Ryan Kawski, Junior, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Whitewater, Mike Paddock, Senior, Greendale (Martin Luther)

Week of Jan. 9 - 22
Track
Joe Schmidt, Senior (Howards Grove), of UW-Whitewater
Schmidt won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.74 at the Warhawk Invitational on January 20. His time provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Division III Championships.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Nick Aliota, Junior, Brookfield (Central)
UW-Oshkosh, A.J. Hollanquest, Sophomore, Wausau (East)
UW-Platteville, Tyler Sigl, Sophomore, Seymour
UW-River Falls, Andrew Reckard, Sophomore, Menomonie

Field
Brandon Houle, Junior (Oshkosh/North), of UW-Oshkosh
Houle finished first in both the shot put and 35-pound weight throw as UW-Oshkosh opened its season with a 96-45 victory over Chicago (Ill.) on January 14. He took first place in the shot put with a heave of 54-1 3/4 and the 35-pound weight throw with a fling of 59-10 3/4.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Dan Roemhild, Sophomore, Fall Creek
UW-Platteville, Jim Uppena, Senior, Cassville
UW-Whitewater, Pete Ringquist, Senior, Brookfield (Central)

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