2003 WIAC Men's Indoor Track & Field
Athletes of the Week

Week of Feb. 24 - March 2
Track
Jon Zweiger, Junior (Oshkosh/Lourdes), of UW-Oshkosh
Zweiger won the 55-meter hurdles in impressive fashion at the Pointer Invitational on March 1. His time of 7.57 seconds established a school record and advanced him to third on the NCAA Division III honor roll. Zweiger's effort surpassed the provisional qualifying standard for the upcoming NCAA Division III Championship. UW-Stevens Point won the six-team meet with 165 points, while UW-Oshkosh finished second with 142 and UW-La Crosse third with 116.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Doug Connor, Junior, Onalaska
UW-Platteville, Scott Ross, Junior, Franklin
UW-Stevens Point, Matt Legel, Sophomore, Crystal Lake, Ill.
UW-Stout, Matt Schlough, Sophomore, Boyceville

Field
Noah Eschenbauch, Senior (Rosholt), of UW-Stevens Point
Eschenbauch had one of the best days of his career at the Pointer Invitational on March 1. He recorded a throw of 19.25 meters in the 35-pound weight throw, setting a new Multi-Activity Center record and a new school record. His throw was also the best in the nation this season. Eschenbauch won the event by nearly two meters.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Nick Pergande, Freshman, Waukesha (North)
UW-Oshkosh, Jon Wagner, Junior, Delafield (Kettle Moraine)
UW-Platteville, Adam Teunissen, Senior, Sheboygan (North)

Week of Feb. 17 - 23
Track
Steve Gillespie, Senior (Green Lake), of UW-Stevens Point
Gillespie posted a time of 3:56.97 in the 1500-meter run at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational on Saturday to finish second in the event and provisionally qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Zach Severson, Freshman, Sun Prairie
UW-La Crosse, Doug Connor, Junior, Onalaska
UW-Oshkosh, Kirk DeWindt, Sophomore, Green Bay (Southwest)
UW-River Falls, Lewie Parish, Freshman, Onalaska
UW-Stout, Brady Hurtgen, Sophomore, Ridgeland (Prairie Farm)

Field
Nick Fix, Freshman (Oconomowoc), of UW-Platteville
Fix provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in the triple jump at the Northern Iowa Invitational with a leap of 46-1 1/2. He then placed first in the same event the next day at the UW-Platteville Open with a jump of 45-6 3/4.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Hans Schmidt, Sophomore, Park Falls
UW-Oshkosh, Joe Schnier, Freshman, Brookfield (East)
UW-River Falls, Steve Berg, Junior, Racine, Minn. (Stewartville)
UW-Stevens Point, Jeremiah Rolfs, Junior, Iola
UW-Stout, Scott Jensen, Freshman, Elk Mound

Week of Feb. 10 - 16
Track
Herc Hyland, Sophomore (Nekoosa), of UW-La Crosse
Hyland provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.62 at the Warhawk Classic. UW-La Crosse won the five-team meet with 219 points.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Jason Fast, Junior, Menasha
UW-Platteville, Josh Pluemer, Freshman, Platteville
UW-River Falls, Mike Zander, Freshman, Fredonia (Ozaukee)
UW-Stevens Point, Distance Medley Relay Team, Steven Gillespie, Matt Buska, Mathew Legel, Jesse Baumann
UW-Stout, Matt Schlough, Sophomore, Boyceville

Field
Lewis Cassellius, Junior (Glenwood City), of UW-Stout
Cassellius extended his NCAA Division III provisional qualifying pole vault height by three inches in winning the event (15-3) at the Wisconsin/Minnesota Border Battle. He won the event by nearly a foot.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Chris Walters, Junior, Cornell
UW-Oshkosh, Joe Schnier, Freshman, Brookfield (East)
UW-Platteville, Andy Paulsen, Senior, Blue River (River Ridge)
UW-River Falls, Andy Poterucha, Sophomore, Rochester, Minn. (Lourdes)
UW-Stevens Point, Ryan Shepard, Sophomore, Cornell

Week of Feb. 3 - 9
Track
Matt Pagel, Freshman (Oconto), of UW-La Crosse
Pagel provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in the 55-meter dash at the Minnesota State-Mankato Open. He finished second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.95, which coverts to 6.49 for the 55-meter dash.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Ben Schmiege, Junior, Madison (Lakeside Lutheran)
UW-Oshkosh, Jeff Ehrike, Senior, Stratford
UW-River Falls, Ben Kirmse, Freshman, Wild Rose
UW-Stevens Point, Jesse Baumann, Senior, Verona
UW-Stout, Mark Kempen, Freshman, Kaukauna (Freedom)

Field
Ryan Shepard, Sophomore (Cornell), of UW-Stevens Point
Shepard cleared the two-meter mark in the high jump at the Warren Bowlus Invitational at UW-Stout. He won the event with a best jump of 2.02 meters, which provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Division III Championships.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Matt Pagel, Freshman, Oconto
UW-Oshkosh, Justin Van Allen, Freshman, Marion
UW-Platteville, Andy Paulsen, Senior, Blue River (Riverdale)
UW-River Falls, Erik Olson, Freshman, Shoreview, Minn. (Mounds View)
UW-Stout, Eric Moe, Senior, Hixton (Whitehall)

Week of Jan. 27 - Feb. 2
Track
Matt Groose, Senior (Watertown), of UW-Oshkosh
Groose ran to a school record time of 4:07.04 in the mile run as he helped UW-Oshkosh finish second in a pentangular held February 1 in Kolf Sports Center. His performance bested the second-place time by eight seconds and automatically qualified for next month's NCAA Division III Championships. UW-La Crosse won the meet with 189 points, while UW-Oshkosh finished second with 125.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Ben Schmiege, Junior, Madison (Lakeside Lutheran)
UW-La Crosse, Dan Sutton, Senior, West Bend (East)
UW-Platteville, Steve Ross, Junior, Franklin
UW-River Falls, Weesayma Kennedy, Sophomore, St. Paul, Minn. (Concordia-Academy)
UW-Stevens Point, Aaron Carley, Sophomore, Mauston

Field
Noah Eschenbauch, Senior (Rosholt), of UW-Stevens Point
Eschenbauch was a double winner at the Pointer Open Invitational hosted by UW-Stevens Point on February 1. He dominated the weight throw, winning by over a full meter with a throw of 17.73 meters, provisionally qualifying him for the NCAA Division III Championships. Eschenbauch also won the shot put with a throw of 16.23 meters, also a provisional qualifying effort.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Jake Hines, Junior, Ellsworth
UW-Oshkosh, Kevin Deering, Junior, East Troy (Mukwonago)
UW-Platteville, Scott Ubert, Senior, Rolling Meadows, Ill.
UW-River Falls, Dean Harder, Freshman, Frederic
UW-Stout, Eric Moe, Senior, Hixton (Whitehall)

Week of Jan. 20 - 26
Track
Matt Legel, Sophomore (Crystal Lake, Ill.), of UW-Stevens Point
Legel won the 800-meter run at the UW-Whitewater Invitational last Saturday. He won the race by more than a second, stopping the clock in 1:54.45. His time provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. Legel also ran the fastest leg of the Pointers' second-place 4x400-meter relay team.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Ethan Kreul, Sophomore, Poynette
UW-La Crosse, 4x400 relay team, Derek Toshner, Kris Smith, Charlie Wittleder, Andrew Rock
UW-Oshkosh, Matt Groose, Senior, Watertown
UW-River Falls, Weesayma Kennedy, Sophomore, St. Paul, Minn. (Concordia Academy)
UW-Stout, Kevin Riester, Junior, Red Wing, Minn.

Field
Hans Schmidt, Sophomore (Park Falls), of UW-La Crosse
Schmidt won the pole vault at the Gold Country Classic at the University of Minnesota. He went 16-10 to automatically qualify for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, John Schuna, Sophomore, Hudson
UW-Oshkosh, Kevin Deering, Junior, East Troy (Mukwonago)
UW-Platteville, Scott Ubert, Junior, Rolling Meadows, Ill.
UW-Stevens Point, Cory Lesperance, Senior, Sheboygan
UW-Stout, Lewis Cassellius, Junior, Glenwood City

Week of Jan. 13 - 19
Track
Charlie Wittleder, Senior (St. Charles, Ill.), of UW-La Crosse
Wittleder won the 400-meter dash at the University of Iowa Invitational. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships with a winning time of 49.70.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, James Larson, Senior, Brooklyn Center, Minn. (Park Center)
UW-Platteville, Luke Boehnlein, Senior, Bonduel (Seymour)

Field
Phil Whitesitt, Junior (Brownsville, Minn.), of UW-La Crosse
Whitesitt won the weight throw at the University of Iowa Invitational. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships with a winning throw of 59-4.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Kurt Heilman, Senior, Kendall (Royall)
UW-Platteville, Dan Kuehn, Senior, Waunakee

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