Hokanson Selected WIAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Matt Hokanson has been selected the recipient of the 2020 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete Award.
**Release courtesy of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Platteville's Matt Hokanson has been selected the recipient of the 2020 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men's Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete Award.
Hokanson, a senior from Cedarburg, Wis., is majoring in industrial engineering with a minor in business administration and owns a 3.53 grade point average. He was a member of the 2019 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team as an individual and is a three-time honoree on the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. Hokanson has secured a spot on UW-Platteville's Dean's List numerous semesters.
A team captain, he secured All-America recognition in the 400-meter hurdles with an eighth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Division III Championship. Hokanson received All-Midwest Region honors from the USTFCCCA in 2018 in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, and 2019 in the 400-meter hurdles. He earned a spot on the awards podium at the 2018 WIAC Outdoor Championship in the 400-meter hurdles (second), 110-meter hurdles (fourth) and 1,600-meter relay (fifth).
Hokanson has served as co-president of UW-Platteville's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee the past two years after being vice-president during the 2017-18 academic year. He is a member of UW-Platteville's Swing Dance Club and has volunteered for highway clean-up activities.
Also nominated for this year's scholar-athlete award were: UW-Eau Claire's Hunter Henk (Jr., Beldenville, Wis./River Falls); UW-La Crosse's Tyler Nault (Sr., Peshtigo, Wis.); UW-Stout's Parker Rongstad (Sr., Osseo, Wis./Osseo-Fairchild); and UW-Whitewater's Jake Schneider (Sr., Plymouth, Wis.).
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger, who served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference for 22 years from 1971-93. He oversaw the transition of the conference from NAIA to full NCAA membership. Sparger arrived at UW-Stout in 1959 and served the institution in a variety of capacities, including an assistant football and basketball coach, head wrestling coach and head football coach. He served as UW-Stout's athletics director from 1969-71 and was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, he must be in his last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.