Four Pioneer Greats Named to the WIAC All-Time Men's Track and Field Team

Former University of Wisconsin-Platteville track and field standouts - Paul Conlin, Ryan Kleimenhagen, Chip Schneider, Tyler Sigl - were named to the Men's Track and Field WIAC All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference’s upcoming Centennial Celebration.

Paul Conlin was a three-time All-American on the outdoor circuit, winning national titles in the shot put in 1992 and 1993 after a runner-up finish in 1990. He was also a two-time All-American on the indoor circuit, winning a national title in 1992 and runner-up in 1993.

Ryan Kleimenhagen won three national indoor individual titles including the 1,500-meter run in 2004, the 800-meter run and mile in 2005. Also on the indoor circuit, he also ran a leg on the national champion distance medley relay team in 2004 and was second in 2002 in the 1,500-meter run. He was a five-time All-American on the outdoor circuit. Kleimenhagen finished second in the 1,500-meter run and third in the 800-meter run in 2002. He was third in the 1,500-meter run in 2003 and in 2004. He also finished seventh in the 800-meter run.

Chip Schneider picked up four All-American honors on the indoor circuit and four more on the outdoor circuit. In the indoor circuit, he was the 1995 national champion in the long jump on the indoor circuit. Plus, he earned All-American honors in 1994 with a sixth-place finish in both the long jump and in the 55-meter hurdles. He also picked up All-American honors in 1995 in the 55-meter hurdles with a second-straight sixth-place finish. On the outdoor circuit, he was the national champion in 1995 in the 400-meter hurdles. He finished fifth both in 1994 and in 1995 in the long jump and was third in 1994 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Tyler Sigl won the national title on the outdoor circuit in 2007 and in 2008. He was second in the 5,000-meter run in 2007, third in 2006 and 2008. On the indoor circuit, he was the runner up to Kleimenhagen in 2005, second in the 5,000-meter run in 2008, fifth in the 5,000-meter run in 2007 and a member of the national champion distance medley relay team as a senior in 2008.

All-Time Teams are being selected in those men’s and women’s sports that have been classified as “championship” sports at some point during the conference’s 100-year history. Additional teams will be released on a weekly basis throughout much of the 2011-12 academic year.

WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner remarked that this has been an extremely difficult process given the 100-year span and incomparable success the conference has experienced in most of its sports. Karner noted that in some sports, even achieving All-American status didn’t necessarily guarantee an athlete a spot on the team. He also acknowledged that while disagreement is inherent and expected whenever there is a selection of an all-time anything (be it a team, restaurant or movie), the conference nonetheless felt it important to recognize student-athletes and coaches who have contributed to the success of the most accomplished Division III conference in NCAA history.

The student-athlete representation on each team has relied heavily on input provided by the sports information director from each of the nine WIAC campuses, while the process for selecting the head coach(es) for each team also includes input from a panel of media representatives. The number of individuals selected per team varies depending upon the nature of the sport itself as well as the number of years the sport has/had been sponsored within the conference.

The conference has also elected to establish a special “legacy” category to recognize those student-athletes and coaches who had extremely accomplished careers but competed during an era(s) when the compilation of statistical data was spotty at best and/or the style of play at that time does not translate for comparative purposes to the stats prevalent in the modern era. The WIAC “Legacy Team” will also be named at a later date.

All-Time Team members will receive certificates from the conference and it is hoped that most, if not all, of the recipients will be in attendance or represented at the WIAC Centennial Banquet to be held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on August 4, 2012.

More information on the activities and events associated with the WIAC Centennial can be accessed via the WIAC website at www.wiacsports.com.