Bio

Kay (Mikolajczak) Chmielewski has a long list of accomplishments that extend beyond her accolades as a two-sport star at UW-Oshkosh.

Mikolajczak not only won the 2004 Josten’s Trophy for the most outstanding student-athlete in NCAA Division III women’s basketball, earned All-America awards in a pair of sports and helped the UW-Oshkosh outdoor track & field team win a national championship, but she also earned recognition for her excellence in the classroom.

Mikolajczak, who earned three letters in basketball and three in track & field from 2002-04, was the 2004 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee from the state of Wisconsin and a recipient of the 2005 NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award, which honors achievement in athletics, academics and community service. The Franklin High School graduate also received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, UW-Oshkosh’s John Taylor Senior Scholar-Athlete Award and Chancellor’s Award For Excellence, WIAC Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, and Academic All-America recognition in 2004.

In her basketball career under fellow 2016 Hall of Fame inductee Pamela Ruder, Mikolajczak was a two-time All-WIAC first team selection (2003, 2004) who helped the Titans compile a 64-19 record during her three seasons. She still holds the school record with 127 blocks and currently ranks eighth in WIAC history with a .554 career field goal percentage. The center also concluded her career ranked ninth in program history with 643 rebounds and 11th with 1,124 points in 80 games played, including 67 as a starter.

Mikolajczak capped her stellar senior campaign in 2004 by helping UW-Oshkosh to a 21-6 record and a share of the WIAC title. She garnered All-America first team honors from D3hoops.com and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association in addition to the the Josten’s Trophy after averaging 17.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while notching a league-leading 12 double-doubles.

In 2003, Mikolajczak gained All-WIAC first team honors and helped the Titans to a 22-6 record by averaging 13.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. After playing her freshman season at UW-Eau Claire in 2001, Mikolajczak led the 2002 UW-Oshkosh squad to a 21-7 record by averaging 11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per contest.

Mikolajczak, who signed a one-year contract with the Danish National Basketball League after completing her UW-Oshkosh career, was named to the WIAC’s All-Time Women’s Basketball Team (15 members) in 2012.

In outdoor track & field, Mikolajczak won the 2003 WIAC javelin title and acquired a pair of All-America awards in the heptathlon after finishing fourth at the NCAA Championship in 2004 and fifth in 2002. Her fourth-place showing in 2004 helped UW-Oshkosh clinch the outdoor national title, the program’s sixth overall and first since 1997. The Titans, who also won the 2004 WIAC title, finished fifth at the national meet in 2003 and eighth in 2002.

At UW-Eau Claire in 2001, Mikolajczak earned letters in both basketball and outdoor track & field. She tallied 12 points in four games played on the basketball team and finished seventh in the high jump at the WIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship.

Mikolajczak, a six-time UW-Oshkosh Dean’s List honoree, graduated from UW-Oshkosh in 2004 and received her doctorate degree from Marquette University in 2008.

Mikolajczak is married to Jack Chmielewski. The couple live in Greenfield with their sons Mitchell, Kyle and Joel.