Information courtesy of MLC Athletics

NEW ULM — Martin Luther College men’s track and field student-athletes Benjamin Bitter, Caleb Foelske, Jacob Melso, Micah Otto and Joshua Wordell were each named All-Upper Midwest Athletic Conference on Wednesday following their performances at last week’s UMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

MLC finished in a tie for third place at the event with a school-record 111 points at the event.

Bitter earned All-UMAC honors for the third consecutive season following second-place finishes in both the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 1,500-meters. Bitter finished the steeplechase in 9:55.37, and trailed the winner of the 1,500 by less than one second with a time of 4:07.53 in that event. Bitter now has six career All-UMAC honors, including three in cross country.

Foelske scored points in three separate events in his first ever conference meet. The first-year thrower set an MLC record in the discus with a throw of 42.63 meters. He also took third place in the shot put with a throw of 13.75 meters, and finished seventh in the Javelin with a throw of 38.24 meters. In total, Foelske scored 16 points for the Knights at the event.

Melso started the event strong with a second-place finish in the 800-meters in a time of 1:59.38 on Friday. He also scored one point in the 400-meters with a time of 52.16, good for eighth place in the event.

Otto battled injuries for much of the season leading up to the event, but found himself in good form over the weekend. He won the 400-meter hurdles on Friday in a time of 58:88, and then took second place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.30.

Wordell won the javelin on Friday with a throw of 45.09, beating his previous personal best by 11 meters in the process. On Saturday, he took seventh in the 400-meters with a time of 51.99.

Bitter, Melso and Wordell also participated in the Knights’ 4×400-relay team that finished third with a time of 3:28.77.

Janet Putz and Ethan Carter were named the MLC recipients of the Sportsmanship Award, given to one student-athlete on each team who best exemplifies sportsmanship throughout the season.