Since UW-Superior joined the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in 2015 the Yellowjackets have found success in almost every sport.
For all those years a conference championship evaded only the women’s teams for indoor and outdoor track and field, and cross country.
“We were always coming up a little short, second or third place… it hurt me to the core, so to see them finally get over that hump and win it was a big deal for me,” head coach Glen Drexler said.
Drexler also sent out messages to former women alumni saying this championship was for all of them.
This has lifted up the whole team, “Buzzing is the best way to describe how our women’s and men’s team felt about taking a championship on our home turf,” said Alexxa DeQuevedo, a senior sprinter.
For the men it was the seventh straight conference championship but in Drexler’s eye’s they got to celebrate this season more. “It was enjoyable for the guys because they got to celebrate in full, it was really fulfilling. We got to do this together and it was fun,” said Drexler.
The women won in interesting fashion, on the first day they won the 4×200-meter relay, the team of DeQuevedo, Cora Schmitz, Colleen Claude, and Myla Volk won the event with a time of 1:54.51 according to Yellowjacket Athletics.
This would be the only event the Yellowjackets would receive gold in, but with 24 top-5 finishes they were able to stockpile points in each event to take home the team victory with 171.5 total points, 28.5 more than second place Bethany Lutheran.
“Some girls maybe felt like they underperformed but on the other hand, some overperformed and that’s what championships are about, picking up for your teammates who stumbled,” said Drexler.
Drexler not only praised his athletes but the Yellowjacket athletics staff as a whole and the support they have from the directory, trainers and even the chancellors.
Along with her own coaches who have helped DeQuevedo grow over the last four years, “I can honestly say I love my team (athletes and coaches), they have become my family and it definitely shows on and off the track,” DeQuevedo said and added “they really care for us, and that shows me that they’re more than just coaches.
For the women’s team they will be getting a breather until April 1 when the outdoor season begins at the Hamline Invitational.
On the men’s side Garrett Lynch and Gage Stankiewitz have qualified for the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham Ala. this weekend.
