USTFCCA Announces 2009 Awards

Defending NCAA champion Lisa Brown of Gustavus Adolphus, Katie Theisen and James Ewer of St. Thomas, Gustavus Adolphus head coach Tom Thorkelson, and St. Thomas head men's coach Steve Mathre and assistant coach Tim Springfield are among the 64 men’s and women’s regional athletes and coaches of the year for the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced on Monday. Minnesota State University's Matt Kolb was one of 64 recipients of the NCAA Division II Regional Athlete and Coach of the Year honors for the 2009.

Theisen, a senior from Elko, was selected as the Central Region female track athlete of the year. She scored 22 points at the MIAC outdoor track & field championships to lead St. Thomas to the team title. Theisen is ranked third in the steeplechase with a time of 10:36.39 heading into the national championships, and she will also compete as a member of St. Thomas’s fifth-ranked 4x400 meter relay. Theisen also recorded provisional marks in the 800 meters and 1500 meters during the outdoor season.

Ewer, a senior from Lakeville was named the Central Region male track athlete of the year. He helped in scoring 36 points at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) outdoor track & field championships to lead the Tommies to victory. Headed into nationals, Ewer is ranked in the top 20 in the 100 meter dash and runs on St. Thomas’s top ranked 4x100 meter and 4x400 meter relays.

Lisa Brown is the Central Region female field athlete of the year. Brown heads into the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships with the Division’s second-best mark in the javelin, an automatic qualifying mark of 161’ (49.08m) achieved in a third-place finish at the Drake Relays. Brown won the IIAC championship in the javelin by nearly 30 feet and finished third in the shot put and fourth in the discus. She will compete in both the shot put and the javelin at this weekend’s NCAA Championships. Brown is a senior from Lake Crystal.

Tom Thorkelson is the Central Region women's head coach of the year. In his 24th year at Gustavus Adolphus and tenth as head coach, Thorkelson led the Gusties to a second-place showing at the 2009 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with the highest point total in school history. The Gusties also achieved nine NCAA provisional or automatic qualifying marks this season under Thorkelson’s guidance.

Steve Mathre was selected as the Central Region men's head coach of the year.
Mathre, the 2009 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year, recently led St. Thomas to its 23rd MIAC title in 27 seasons. The Tommies also achieved 17 NCAA provisional or automatic marks in 10 different events during the 2009 outdoor track & field season. Mathre is in his 14th season as St. Thomas’s head coach, and his 19th overall at the university.

Tim Springfield is the Central Region men's assistant coach of the year. In his twelfth year at St. Thomas, assistant coach Springfield led the Tommies’ middle distance crew to new heights in 2009. Springfield-coached student-athletes broke four school records, earned three indoor track & field All-American honors, achieved seven NCAA provisional or automatic qualifying marks, and scored 93 points at the MIAC championships during the indoor and outdoor track & field seasons.


Matt Kolb was awarded the Central Region men's assistant coach of the year title. His vaulters took second, third, and seventh at the NSIC Indoor Conference Championships and first at the NSIC Outdoor Championships. Freshman Dan Novak finished second at the indoor national meet in the pole vault, and senior Ben Mauch will represent the men’s vault crew at the Division II Outdoor Championships.