Three from the WIAC get top USTFCCCA Men’s Indoor Awards

MADISON, Wis.–Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) individuals have received national awards from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2020 indoor track & field season. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Dylan Cooper was tabbed the NCAA Division III Men’s Field Athlete of the Year, while Blugold assistant coach Sarah Glidden was selected the NCAA Division III Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. UW-Oshkosh’s Justin Kinseth received NCAA Division III Men’s Coach of the Year accolades. Cooper is the second Blugold to receive the distinction after David Kornack claimed the honor a season ago. The WIAC has had a performer secure the award six straight seasons. Cooper tied the NCAA Division III Record in the heptathlon at the WIAC Championship (presented by Culver’s) with 5,441 points. The total matched the divisional best set by Will Daniels of Central College (Iowa) a season ago. Earlier this year, Cooper scored 5,345 points at the Warren Bowlus Invitational, which now stands as the 13th-best all-time total. Glidden is the third Blugold assistant coach to earn the award, joining Jeremy Deterville (2015) and Dan Schwamberger (2016). She is the second woman in the history of the USTFCCCA National Award Program to earn an NCAA Division III honor for coaching men and the first to do so indoors. Glidden’s heptathletes owned the top-three spots on the Descending Order List and each scored more than 5,100 points: Dylan Cooper (1st, 5,441 points), Abrahm Schroedl (2nd, 5,183 points), Marcus Weaver (3rd, 5,157 points). Cooper’s PR at the WIAC Championship tied the NCAA Division III record in the event, while Schroedl and Weaver also rank in the all-time top-20. Kinseth becomes the third Titan head coach to secure the award, joining Bruce Coleman (1999) and John Zupanc (2001). WIAC coaches have combined to win the honor eight times, including five of the last eight seasons. Kinseth guided UW-Oshkosh for a strong run at the national title. The Titans were schedule to have a gender-high 16 entries into the NCAA meet, including seven in the jumps, where they earned the nation’s top-billed group in the long jump and triple jump. When the regular-season ended, UW-Oshkosh athletes ranked among the top 10 nationally in eight different events – ranging from the 60-meter dash to the shot put – with a national leader in the triple jump.