UW-Oshkosh To Shine At WIAC Centennial Banquet
More than 100 UW-Oshkosh student-athletes and coaches from the
past and present will be recognized at the Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Centennial Banquet on
Saturday (Aug. 4) at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
UW-Oshkosh was represented 129 times, the most of any school, on
the WIAC All-Centennial Teams. Throughout the past year, the
conference selected these squads to recognize outstanding
individuals from the past 100 years. There were 24 teams released
– one for each of the league’s championship sports
since 1913. Selected athletes will receive a certificate at the
banquet.
UW-Oshkosh athletes occupied 122 spots on the all-time teams,
including 25 for women’s track & field, 16 for baseball
and 14 for both men's soccer and men's track & field.
UW-Oshkosh also owned nine positions on the men's gymnastics team
and six on the women's cross country squad.
Seven of the all-time coaches hailed from UW-Oshkosh. Deb
Vercauteren (1981-2010) was named the coach for both women’s
cross country and women’s track & field. Tom Lechnir
(1989-present) and Russ Tiedemann (1968-69, 71-88) shared the
centennial baseball coach honor. Other UW-Oshkosh all-time coaches
were Ken Allen (1969-92) for men’s gymnastics, Toby Bares
(1984-2009) for men’s soccer and Jim Davies (1965-90) for
men’s tennis.
The WIAC will also honor its inaugural Hall of Fame class at the
banquet. The 30-member class features three members from each
school, along with three conference officials. UW-Oshkosh’s
inductees are Vercauteren, Casey Edwards and Jarrod Washburn.
Vercauteren achieved unprecedented success as head coach of the
UW-Oshkosh women's cross country and track & field teams. She
won a total of 18 NCAA Division III titles while coaching cross
country from 1981-2010 and track & field from 1982-2009.
In cross country, Vercauteren led the Titans to four national
championships and 15 WIAC titles. She was named National Cross
Country Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996. Vercauteren coached
UW-Oshkosh to eight NCAA outdoor track & field titles and six
NCAA indoor track & field crowns. Vercauteren, who was selected
as the National Outdoor Coach of the Year in 2004 and National
Indoor Coach of the Year in 2006, led her track & field teams
to a total of 21 WIAC titles.
In 2005, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches
Association selected Vercauteren as its NCAA Division III Cross
Country Silver Anniversary Coach. During 2007, Vercauteren was
inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame. One year later, the
association named the NCAA Division III Program of the Year Award
in her honor.
Totaling 22 individual titles and 35 All-America awards, Edwards
ranks as one of the finest gymnasts to ever compete at the NAIA and
NCAA Division II championships.
Edwards performed for the UW-Oshkosh men's gymnastics team from 1976-78 and 1980. He captured 14 NAIA titles, including three on both the vault and in the all-around competition. Edwards claimed eight NCAA Division II titles, including three in the all-around event. Edwards was also a two-time NCAA Division I All-American. He earned the distinction after placing fifth in the all-around competition and sixth on the parallel bars in 1980.
Led by Edwards, UW-Oshkosh won NAIA titles in 1978 and 1980 and
an NCAA Division II championship in 1980. Edwards then served as
the Titans' interim head coach during their 1983 NAIA championship
season. During 1979, Edwards tested his talents internationally and
competed for the United States at the World University Games. In
1980, Edwards qualified as a member of the U.S. gymnastics squad
that would have represented the country at the Summer Olympics in
Moscow. He was selected to the WIAC All-Time Men's Gymnastics Team
earlier this year.
Washburn played baseball at UW-Oshkosh in 1994 and 1995. During
1994, he helped the Titans to a 41-4 record and the NCAA Division
III title. Washburn threw a complete-game victory in the
championship contest as the Titans defeated Wesleyan University
(Conn.). In 1995, Washburn received NCAA Division III All-America
honors after leading the Titans to a third-place national finish.
He finished his UW-Oshkosh career with a 15-2 record, 141
strikeouts and a 1.97 earned run average in 118.2 innings
pitched.
Following the 1995 season, the Anaheim Angels drafted Washburn
with the 31st overall selection. He went on to play for the Angels,
Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers during a career that spanned 12
major league seasons. His 2002 campaign featured an 18-6 record
with a 3.15 earned run average. Washburn finished fourth in that
year's Cy Young Award balloting as the Angels won the World
Series.
Washburn started 300 games in the major leagues, while becoming
the best professional pitcher to ever attend UW-Oshkosh. He
concluded his career with 107 wins, 1,103 strikeouts and a 4.10
earned run average in 1,863.2 innings. Earlier this year, Washburn
was selected to the WIAC All-Time Baseball Team.
The first organizational meeting of the State Normal School
Conference (later to become the WIAC) was held in Madison in 1913
(July). The institutions represented at that meeting were La
Crosse, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens
Point, Superior and Whitewater. Stout joined the conference in
1914, followed by Eau Claire in 1917. Milwaukee left the conference
in 1964. The WIAC is the ninth-oldest conference in the NCAA, which
is comprised of nearly 100 conferences at the Division I, II and
III levels.