Softball

April 10, 1999

STEVENS POINT - The UW-Stout softball team won once and lost once at the UW-Stevens Point Coca-Cola Fastpitch Tournament, Saturday, April 10 and the second day of the tournament was called off because of snow.

The Blue Devils downed St. Norbert, 9-5, in their first game and then were shutout by defending national champion UW-Stevens Point, 9-0, in the second game.

Blue Devil pitcher Rebecca Deuel (Fr, Big Lake, Minn) picked up her second win of the season, but Rebecca Zimmerman (Jr, Fall Creek) had to come in to bail her out in the sixth inning when Deuel surrendered four runs.

Cara Fenhouse (Jr, Superior) had a hot bat, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a double. Angie Pinnow (So, Bruce) also went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two stolen bases.

The Blue Devils broke a 1-1 tie with a two runs in the third, then added three in the fifth and three more in the sixth.

Stout (5-13) was unable to generate any offense against the Pointers, being held to three hits in the five-inning contest. Zimmerman went the distance to pick up the loss.

Cancelled were games with the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) and conference rival UW-Eau Claire. Those games will not be made up.

Stout will host UW-Superior Tuesday, April 13 at 3 p.m. at Wakanda Park to open their portion the conference schedule, then will head to UW-La Crosse Thursday, April 15. Stout returns home Sunday, April 18 for a 1 p.m. Parent's Day contest with Mt. Senario at Wakanda Park.

April 10, 1999

ST. PAUL, Minn - UW-Stout's Corey Knudsen (Fr, Elk Mound) could very well join his high-flying teammate, Jamie Buchholtz (So, Bloomer) at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

After moving the pole vault event indoors due to inclement weather at the St. Thomas Invitational, Saturday, April 10, Knudsen finished third to Buchholtz with an NCAA Division III provisional qualfying height of 15-feet, 6-inches.

Buchholtz, who has already qualified automatically to the nationals in the pole vault, improved his height by clearing 16-feet to win the event.

Mike Bethke (Jr, Mondovi) had perhaps his best meet since coming back from a neck injury suffered during the 1997 football season. Bethke scored career highs in both the shot put and the javelin. Bethke won the shot put event, tossing the weight 49-feet, 10-inches and placed second in the javelin, notching a toss of 165-7.

Tim Hamill (Sr, Brookfield) won his second race in as many weeks, this time slogging his way to the 1500-meter title in a time of 4-minutes, 5.25-seconds.

The Blue Devils got a second place finish from Jesse Hunter (So, Hillsboro) in the 400-hurdles (57.13) and a third place finish from Corey O'Donnell (Sr, Chippewa Falls) in the hammer throw (154-8).

As a team, the Blue Devils finished second to NCAA Division II North Dakota State. Stout will return to action Saturday, April 17 at the Carleton Invitational in Northfield, Minn.

St. Thomas Invitational team results

1.North Dakota State 185; 2. UW-Stout 72.5; 3. UW-Eau Claire 67; 4. St. Thomas 66.5; 6. UM-Duluth 60; 6. South Dakota State 32; 7. South Dakota 32; 8. Minnesota 29; 9. Bethel 16; 10. Moorhead 5; 11. Minnesota State-Mankato 4; 12. Augsburg 2.

St. Thomas Individual Results
(First place, all Stout finishers)
100: 1. Jeremy Heckman (St. Thomas) 11.0; 10. Jesse Hunter 11.50; 15. Dan Reinert 11.70; 17. Jim Staska 11.72; 18. Joe Johnson 11.74; 20. Sean Fagan 11.81; 200: 1. Jason Breitzman (N. Dak) 22.27; 400: 1. Jason Breitzman (N. Dak. St) 48.36; 4. Billy Busch 50.48; 800: 1. Nick Burrows (S. Dak. St) 1:54.31; 27. Bryan Ott 2:05.40; 36. Jeff Gross 2:12.60; 1500: 1. Tim Hamill (Stout) 4:05.25; 10. Jason Petersohn 4:12.04; 23. Ethan Webinger 4:21.96; 26. Aaron Hass 4:23.26; 27. Ryan Hill 4:25.41; 30. Jamie Block 4:27.20; 5000: 1. Mike Gade (S. Dak) 14:48.45; 20. Clint Latz 16:01.58; 29. Tim King 17:15.13; 30. Joshua Peters 17:15.58; 10,000: 1. Chris Raabe (N. Dak. St) 31:34.16; 10. Joshua Webb 35:21.48; 12. Alex Anderson 35:30.24; 110-hurdles: 1. Craig Frederickson (N. Dak. St) 15.43; 7. Aaron Scheffer 16.36; 400-hurdles: 1. Mike Warder (St. Thomas) 55.84; 2. Jesse Hunter 57.13; 10. Jeff Miller 61.65; 3000-steeplechase: 1. Pat Russell (UMD) 9:35.92; 9. Chris Stevens 10:15.25; 12. Chris Emerson 10:39.81; 4X100-relay: 1. UM-Duluth 41.62; 4. UW-Stout 42.57;

Long jump: 1. Justin Lockhart (N Dak. St) 23-0.50; 4. Sean Fagan 21-11.50; 19. Eric Moe 20-6; Shot put: 1. Mike Bethke (Stout) 49-10; 13. Kevin McCulley 40-11.75; Hammer: 1. Joe Bilek (St. Thomas) 178-10; 3. Corey O'Donnell 154-8; Javelin: 1. T. Tebkin (N Dak. St) 166-2; 2. Mike Bethke 165-7; Kevin McCulley 119-3; Jeff Rotering 110-11; High jump: 1. Brian Antoine (N Dak. St) 6-10.25; 8. Aaron Scheffer 5-8.75; Pole vault: 1. Jamie Buchholtz (Stout) 16-0; 3. Corey Knudsen 15-6; 9. Matt Lausted 14-0; 11. Jeff Rotering 14-0.

April 6, 1999

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout distance runner Tim Hamill (Sr, Brookfield) was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) men's track athlete of the week for his performance at the UW-Stout Blue Devil Invitational Friday, April 2 in Menomonie.

Hamill had little trouble winning the 3000-meter steeplechase, clocking an NCAA Division III provisional time of 9-minutes, 16.90-seconds. He paced the field by more than 40 seconds on his way to setting a facility record in the event.

Women's Track & Field

April 10, 1999

ST. PAUL, Minn - Inclement weather was the winner as the UW-Stout women's track and field team competed at the St. Thomas Invitational Saturday, April 10 in St. Paul, Minn., and finished seventh.

Katie Jacobson (Sr, Eau Claire) placed second to Kris Ihle, an independent runner who is making a bid for the Olympic team, in the 1500-meter run. Jacobson clocked a 4:45.41 in the cold rain to Ihle's meet record 4:32.97.

Michelle Abramczak (So, Stanley) placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles (1:10.37), and Katy Olsen (Sr, Rice Lake), Jen Wucherer (Jr, Edgar) and Katie Kuffel (So, Minneapolis, Minn) placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively in the 3000-meter run.

Amy Arndt (Fr, Lakefield, Minn) was fifth in the 5000-meter, while Tia Richardson (Fr, Spring Lake) was sixth in the 400 and Jen Turner (So, Eden Prairie, Minn) was sixth in the hammer throw. Andi Schwabenlender (Fr, Bristol) was fourth and Ann Marie Curtis (Fr, LaCrosse) was fifth in the high jump.

The Blue Devils return to action Saturday, April 17 when they compete at the St. Olaf Invitational in Northfield, Minn.

St. Thomas Invitational team results
1.North Dakota State 245.5; 2. St. Thomas 79; 3. UM-Duluth 68.5; 4. South Dakota State 53; 5. Moorhead 51; 6. South Dakota 26; 7. UW-Stout 24; 8. Nike International 20; 9. Minnesota State-Mankato 2.

St. Thomas Invitational individual results
(First place, all Stout finishers)
400: 1. Jill Theeler (N Dak St) 63.82; 6. Tia Richardson 67.24; 800: 1. Kris Ihle-Helledy (Nike) 2:19.77; 10. Michelle Beckman 2:35.00; 15. Jamie Schwabenlender 2:55.63; 1500: 1. Kris Ihle-Helledy (Nike) 4:32.97; 2. Katie Jacobson 4:45.41; 20. Jen Bahr 5:24.62; 3000: 1. Tina Fenske (S Dak) 10:20.44; 5. Katy Olsen 10:58.48; 6. Jen Wucherer 11:15.27; 7. Katie Kuffel 11:22.35; 10. Ellen Everson 11:56.49; 5000: 1. Molly Wedel (S Dak) 17:31.55; 5. Amy Arndt 19:41.38; 100-hurdles: 1. Katie Bestul (St. Thomas) 15.36; 12. Michelle Abramczak 17.43; 14. Alison West 17.91; 20. Jamie Schwabenlender 18.55; 23. Marion Doble 20.06; 400-hurdles: 1. Aaron Clark (Moorhead) 64.82; 5. Michelle Abramczak 70.37; 6. Alison West 72.08; 12. Marion Doble 83.20;

Hammer: 1. Diandra Koehler (N Dak St) 161-9; 6. Jen Turner 125-6; 7. Sara Pivec 120-6; 15.Caroline Myrlie 97-4; 16. Amy Lueder 76-3.75; Javelin: 1. Amber Bullar (N Dak St) 133-0; Jamie Schwabenlender 78-1.50; Andi Schwabenlender 74-2.25; High jump: 1. Crystal Cummins (N Dak St) 5-1; 4. Andi Schwabenlender 4-9; 5. Ann Marie Curtis 4-9.

April 12, 1999

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout student/athletes Rachel Traynor (Sr, Ellsworth/Spring Valley HS) and Ben Leslie (Sr, Eau Claire/Altoona HS) were selected by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a 1999 NSCA All-America athlete.

Traynor, a member of the Blue Devils' women's basketball team, was the team's most valuable player and a first team all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) pick, as well as a Columbus Multi-Media Central region pick. Traynor was the team's second leading scorer, averaging 12.7 points per game.

Traynor bench pressed 175-lbs, squatted 275-lbs, and lifted 150-lbs in the power clean.

"Rachel is a four-year starter and a real leader for her team," Stout strength and conditioning coach Duane Naatz said. "Her strength is a result of hard work and a continued drive to improve herself as an athlete."

Leslie was a four-year starter for the Blue Devil football team in the offensive line and was a second team all-conference pick last fall.

Leslie, who had started 36 consecutive games stretching back to his freshman year, graded out at 91.7 percent on the line, recording 11 pancake blocks and allowed only one sack over the last two years on the Blue Devils highly-potent passing attack - a passing game that ranked second in the NCAA Division III last season with 3392 yards and 39 passing touchdowns.

Leslie bench pressed 350-lbs., squatted 550-lbs, and lifted 340-lbs. In the power clean.

"Ben is a true leader by example," Naatz, who is also the football team's offensive coordinator, said. "His training habits are excellent, he works hard at everything and is a successful student/athlete at the university."

The award program, in its 16th year, recognizes outstanding male and female athletes who have excelled in their strength training and conditioning. Selections are also based on community involvement, academic achievement and leadership qualities.

The program is supported by Power Systems, Inc., based in Knoxville, Tenn.