Look for the Blue Devils’ throwers to pave the way for the team this year as they are expected to be the strongest part of Stout’s track and field squad, despite losing their top thrower from last season in Kawski. Anchoring the throwers will be four juniors: Andrew Berlin (Shell Lake), Sean Larson (Ellsworth), Ryan Ament (Grand Meadow, Minn.), and Jon Wolff (DeForest).
Berlin, a team captain for 2008, will compete in the 35-pound weight toss, the shot put, and the hammer throw. His shot put toss of 44-feet, 2.75-inches earned him 12th at last year’s WIAC Indoor Championships, where he also placed 11th in the weight throw with a distance of 51-7.25.
Larson, who was one of four Blue Devils to hit NCAA Indoor provisional qualifying marks last season, will continue throwing the 35-pound weight, and compete in the hammer throw during the outdoor season. As a sophomore, Larson’s weight throw of 54-8.25 at the WIAC Championships earned him sixth place. Larson competed in the hammer throw in 2007, placing eighth at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite. His performance throughout the season earned him the sophomore class MVP award from his teammates.
Ament will compete in the discus, shot put, javelin, and hammer throw. Last year, he placed fourth at the WIAC Championships with a discus throw of 158-11, earning himself his first trip to nationals, where his 145-8 throw earned him 11th, two spots from advancing to the finals.
Wolff will head up the shot put for the Blue Devils. Wolff took first place at the 2007 Blue Devil Open in the shot with a throw of 40-10.5. Wolff will also compete in the javelin events this year.
Other throwers expected to compete in throws are Colin Brown (Fr, Cornell), Charles Lamkin (Fr, Somerset), Geoff Schruth (So, Pepin), Michael Shaver (Fr, Owatonna, Minn, Tim Woller (Fr, Athens), and Kody Zahrte (Fr, Black River Falls, Wis.).
The sprinters have brought in some new faces and return some key members from last season’s group, giving them the depth they need to stick with the competition this year.
Wendell Eskridge (Sr, Milwaukee) will try to add to his already impressive collegiate athletic career. Earlier this year, Eskridge was selected to the all-WIAC and all-region football teams, and competed in the Aztec Bowl. During last year's track season, Eskridge took a first-place medal from the Blue Devil Open in the 200-meter with a time of 22.76-seconds and a silver at the Warren Bowlus Invite when he finished in 22.94. As a freshman, Eskridge was a member of Stout’s 4x100 team that advanced to national outdoor championships and finished fourth in their heat with a time of 41.47.
Buchholtz, who is entering his sixth season with the Blue Devils, was impressed at how strong Dan Strong (Jr, Lantan, Fla.) came on at the end of his sophomore season a year ago. The team echoed that thought by voting Strong the "most improved performer" of the season. At the Phil Esten Challenge, Strong ran times of 11.28 in the 100 and 22.66 in the 200. Neither of those times were matched by him nor any other Blue Devils throughout the entire outdoor season. If Strong keeps improving at the pace he currently is, look for him to not only keep up with the competition in the conference, but also contend for a spot at nationals.
Bryan Tschude (Jr, New Richmond) will be joining the Blue Devils via transfer after two years at UW-Eau Claire. He competed in the 2007 Warren Bowlus Invite and ran a time of 22.88 in the 200, barely edging out now-teammate Eskridge for first place. As a Blugold, Tschude also competed in last year’s Blugold Invite and placed fifth in the 200 with a time of 22.85. At the WIAC Outdoor Championships, Tschudy earned 12th place with a time of 22.49 in the 200 and his 11.23 100-meter dash earned him fifth in that event.
Joining Berlin as a team captain, senior Bob Schmitz (Wells, Minn.) will compete in the 200 and 400 sprints this season. At the end of last year, Schmitz’ teammates awarded him with the junior class MVP award and the Tim Faber Award, an award that recognizes leadership and work ethic, both on and off the track.
The Blue Devils will welcome back junior Kendall Wade (Milwaukee), who did not compete clast season, but performed well as a freshman. This year, the multi-talented Wade should compete in sprints, short hurdles, and the long jump. In his freshman year, Wade was Stout’s top indoor short sprinter, running 55-meter dash times of 6.58 and 6.65, neither of which were matched by any other Blue Devils. At the 2006 WIAC outdoor championships, Wade ran a 14.74 in the 110-meter hurdles. He also broke the 8-second mark in the 55-meter hurdles in three out of five events.
Sophomore Eric Wheeler (Monroe) will compete in the 400-dash, 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles, freshman Adam Sawinski (Zumbrota Falls, Minn.) will run short sprints, and freshman Carlos Concepcion (Milwaukee) will compete in the short hurdles. Other sprinters looking to participate are Joe Bons (Jr, Little Chute), Jason Ewoldt (So, Neillsville), Sam Flood (Fr, Eden), Paul Krumberger (Fr, Green Bay), Blaine Lee (So, Mondovi), Kirk Merrill (So, Florence), Brady Schemenauer (Fr, Bloomer), Brandon Reynolds (Jr, Bloomer), Eric Sieve (So, Houston, Minn.), Jed Williams (So, Mosinee), Joe Newgren (Sr, Lakeville, Minn.), Josh A. Schmidt (So, Galesville).
Cross country coach Matt Schauf returns for his second year as the distance coach.
Coming off good cross country seasons, senior David Schonscheck (Omro) and sophomore Nate Carey (Champlin, Minn) will be expected to lead the group.
Other disance runners include Zach Becker (Fr, Stoddard), Korey Boehm (Fr, Mosinee), Michael Burke (Fr, Beloit), Corey Chilson (Fr, Downing), Zach Foy (Fr, Waunakee), Michael Granke (Fr, Koehler), Peter Johnston (Fr, Madison), Matt Kennedy (Jr, Waunakee), Will Leichleitner (Sr, Gilman), Michael Lien (Fr, Shoreview, Minn), Lucas Lippert (So, Spicer, Minn), Clint Loker (Fr, Sussex), Joey Merrill (So, Golden Valley, Minn), Sam Rabideau (Fr, Green Bay), Josh B. Schmidt (So, Elkhart Lake), Matt Steil (Fr, Eau Claire), Justin Verhulst (Jr, Fennimore).
Sophomore Eric Cieslak (Rochester, Minn.) will head the jumping crew, coming off a second team all-conference season as a freshman. Cieslak brought home six gold medals last year in the long jump. He also took second place at the WIAC Outdoor Championships with a distance of 23-0.75, his only jump of the season over 23 feet. Cieslak was a provisional qualifier to both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships in the long jump, but did not advance to either.
Wade is expected to join Cieslak in the long jump. Wade was Stout’s top indoor high jumper his freshman year, but will concentrate on the long jump. Other jumpers expected to participate are Newgren, Josh A. and Nate Schmitt. Stout’s pole-vaulting group will be very young, consisting of mostly freshmen and sophomores.
Sophomore Adam Kloss (So, Whitehall) will return as a key component of Stout’s pole-vaulting squad. Kloss’ highest vault came in the Pomona Pitzer Invite when he cleared a bar set at 13-9.25. Kloss also placed fifth at the Blugold Invite with a height of 13-5.75.
Among the new faces on the vaulting squad is two-time high school Wisconsin state champion, Daniel Drewek (Athens). Drewek took first place at the Division 3 championships in 2006 with a height of 14 feet, and earned first place in 2007 with a pole height of 15 feet, 1-inch, which set a new state record and was the top pole vault height of the meet among all three divisions.
Expected to join Drewek and Kloss in the pole vault is freshman Vince Tuminello (Fall Creek). Tuminello competed against Drewek last year in the state championships, and earned seventh place with a jump of 12-6.
Other Blue Devils expected to compete in the pole vault are Vance Grimm (Fr, Elk Mound), Jack Martinson (Fr, Ashland), Bryan Pennaz (Fr, White Bear Lake, Minn.), Nick Pfundheller (Fr, Edgerton), Dillon McFarren (So. Spooner), William Stommel (Fr, Racine, Wis.), and Nate Schmitt (So, Janesville). / by Dan Nelson, UW-Stout sports information assistant