Three standout Pioneers who were at the very top of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference shared the 2006 UW-Platteville Athlete of the Year Awards, presented at the Athletic Honors Banquet Wednesday, May 10.
Zach Chambers, named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet at the WIAC Championships, shared the Male Athlete of the Year Award with Tyler Sigl, who won the WIAC individual cross country race. Marcia Taddy, who earned Outstanding Track Performer at the WIAC outdoor championships, earned the Female Athlete of the Year Award.
Two-time academic all-district basketball player Holly Kaiser won the Pat Doyle Female Scholar-Athlete Award, while Ryan Rozek, a National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American, won the Male Scholar-Athlete Award for the second year in a row.
Volleyball and track and field standout Carrie Morschauser earned the school's NCAA Woman of the Year nomination and will be eligible for state and national honors.
Pioneer Career Achievement Awards went to football captain Damian Droessler (Cuba City), all-conference softball pitcher Katie Larson (South Wayne/Black Hawk) all-region volleyball player Rachel Schueller (Dubuque/Hempstead), and two-time track and field all-American thrower Jim Uppena (Cassville). The Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee presented its inspirational award to two track and field athletes, Matt Ammerman (Sr., Marshall) and Jessica Scott (Fr., Kiel), who both performed at high levels despite the death of parents during the year.
Dan Schwamberger won the department's Assistant Coach of the Year Award for his help with the cross country and track teams as well as his work across the department. Football manager Josh Baumgarten earned the second Katie Vaassen Memorial Scholarship.
Receiving the department's awards of thanks were Karl Jensen, a UWP graduate who returns to help out with home track meets; the Women's Night Out Committee of Ruth Joyce, Beth Molesworth, Lisa Riedle, Lois Schueller, Alecia Thiele and Gayle Viney; and Patti Mitch, from the Information Technology's HelpDesk, who not only assists with the department's computer workings but volunteers at many home events.
Chambers (Jr., Mineral Point) returned to school after spending 2004-05 on the front lines in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Reserves. He moved up a weight class to 141 and still went 28-8 and won the conference title, defeating the defending champion 10-2 in the finals. Chambers, whose accomplishments earned him a spot in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd, has a career record of 76-12 with 36 pins.
Sigl (So., Seymour) won the WIAC cross country title by nine seconds, then went on to win the NCAA III Midwest Regional race before placing fourth at the national championships. He broke the school record for the fastest 8,000-meter run, 24:25. Sigl also qualified for nationals in both indoor and outdoor track.
Taddy,(Jr., Two Rivers), earned the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coach's Association Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year award. She won the Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet at the NCAA III Indoor Championships after winning the mile, placing third in the 800 and anchoring the second-place distance medley relay team. She won three events at the WIAC championships last weekend, giving her five conference championships in 2006. Taddy was also all-conference and all-region in cross country.
Kaiser (Sr., Southwestern/Hazel Green) is one of the top basketball scorers in Pioneer history and scored 25 points in a victory over one WIAC co-champion, UW-Stout, and 19 in a win over the other, UW-Ohskosh. Twice, she earned the prestigious ESPN Academic all-District honors, making first team this season. Kaiser also carries a 3.96 grade point average while majoring in Biology/Pre-Physical Therapy as well as French.
Rozek (Jr., Plymouth) had an outstanding season that culminated in a trip to the NCAA III national championships. His trip there raised his record to an outstanding 64-36. He also punctuated one of the most exciting wrestling matches ever held in Williams Fieldhouse, needing a pin to win the match; he delivered with only 33 seconds remaining. He is a mechanical engineering major with a 3.8 grade point average and is on the ChancellorŐs and DeanŐs lists.
Morschauser (Sr., Deerfield) captains both volleyball and track and field while taking on the position of Co-President of the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and serves as the liaison to the WIAC Student-Athlete Council. Morschauser played on the WIAC tournament championship volleyball team and is an all-American high jumper. Last week, she won the WIAC high jump with a school-record 5-7 leap.