Posted: Sep 23, 2013

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Two national champions, five conference scholar-athletes of the year and five All-Americans are among the 2013 UW-Eau Claire Super Six Salute Award winners. The recipients will be honored at the Hall of Fame banquet Saturday, September 28 in the Davies Center on campus.

The winners of the university's highest athletics honor are:

Sarah Bingea (Delano, Minn.) - women's basketball
Aaron Easker (Eland, Wis./Wittenberg-Birnamwood) - men's track & field/cross country
Jeremy Kieser (Verona, Wis.) - men's track & field/cross country
Ashlyn Mauer (Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) - women's track & field/cross country
Erin Schoenfelder (Antioch, Ill./Antioch Community) - women's track & field
Jordan Singer (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) – men's hockey

The Super Six award, in its 27th year of existence, recognizes and honors outstanding athletes who have also demonstrated a high level of proficiency in the classroom. Each year the award honors three female and three male student-athletes. These individuals epitomize the ideals of intercollegiate athletics as an educational experience at UWEC.

To be nominated for the award, the student-athletes must have completed their junior or senior season of eligibility, have attended UWEC for two years, have a cumulative resident grade point average of 3.00 or better, have a declared major, be recommended by their head coach and have demonstrated above average performance in their sport.

This year, a total of 21 student-athletes were nominated for the award which was selected by the coaching staff. "These six student-athletes represent the elite of the student-athletes from our 22 intercollegiate teams," said former Sports Information Director Tim Petermann, who was part of the group that established the award 27 years ago.

"Intercollegiate athletics at UW-Eau Claire has been and will continue to be a classroom outside the classroom," said Petermann. "Participation in intercollegiate athletics can teach life skills that will be valuable in whatever profession these athletes enter. They have learned time management, goal setting, interpersonal communication, discipline, assertiveness, overcoming adversity and motivation among other things."

Sarah Bingea

A four-time letterwinner in women's basketball, Sarah Bingea played in 104 games during her collegiate career, starting all of them.

She was recognized twice on the All-WIAC team as a first team selection in 2012-13 and an honorable mention recipient in 2011-12. Bingea was the team's Rookie of the Year for the 2009-10 season and earned the Captains Award in 2011-12. For the 2012-13 season, she was the team MVP and earned the Blugold and Captains Awards.

Bingea ranks in the top 15 in numerous categories in school history. She is 1st in average minutes played per game (33.4), eighth in free throws made (276), 14th in most points (1,053), 14th in rebounding (563) and 15th in field goals made (387). She reached 1,000 career points February 9, 2013, becoming just the 16th Blugold in program history to reach the milestone.

Bingea was named to the 2012-13 Capital One Academic All-American Division III Women's Basketball third team, as selected by CoSIDA. She also was the WIAC Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete in 2013 while also being named a Jostens Trophy finalist and to the D3hoops.com All-Central Region team.

An elementary education major with a 3.95 GPA, Bingea is student teaching in Woodbury, Minn. and Hudson, Wis. this fall and plans to graduate in December 2013.

Aaron Easker

Competing four years on the men's cross country and track & field teams, Easker was an eight-time letterwinner.

A four-time track & field All-American, he ended his career at the 2013 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship winning the 10,000-meter run title. It was only the second time in his career he ran the 10,000-meter. The only other time he ran it, he set a school record with a time of 29:33.37 April 26, 2013 in Hillsdale, Mich. as he won the Gina Relays. Easker also won a conference title last season, the 5,000-meter run, setting a WIAC record in the process. He was part of the indoor school record distance medley relay team from 2011. In 2013, the men's indoor track & field team finished third in the nation while the outdoor team took second.

In cross country, Easker earned All-American honors at the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship, tying for 26th place. He was one of two All-Americans last season but they were the first Blugolds to receive All-American honors since 1998. His finish helped the team to a 10th-place finish, the best NCAA finish in school history. He holds the second fastest time on an 8,000-meter course in school history, 24:27.20, achieved last season at the NCAA Division III Regional.

He was a team captain for both track & field and cross country during his senior season. Easker received team MVP honors in 2011 while he was the Blugold Award winner for cross country in 2012. He was a two-time recipient of USTFCCCA All-Academic awards.

Easker graduated in May 2013 with a 3.40 GPA and a degree in kinesiology. He is currently working at Gold's Gym as a personal trainer.

Jeremy Kieser

Jeremy Kieser earned six letters during his time as a Blugold, three in cross country and three in track & field.

A two-time All-American, Kieser took 15th at the 2012 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship to earn one All-American honor while winning his second at the 2013 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship by taking fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with the second fastest time in school history (9:02.01). He was one of two cross country All-Americans last season but they were the first Blugolds to receive All-American honors since 1998. In 2013, the men's indoor track & field team finished third in the nation while the outdoor team took second.

Kieser was the cross country team's MVP in 2012 and holds the fourth fastest time in school history, 24:37, which he reached at the NCAA Division III Regional in Winneconne last November. Additionally, his 15th place finish at nationals helped the team to a 10th-place finish, the best NCAA finish in school history.

Kieser was named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-American Division III Track & Field/Cross Country second team, as selected by CoSIDA. He was also named the 2013 WIAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete and was a two-time recipient of the USTFCCCA All-Academic award.

A computer science and physics major, Kieser graduated in May 2013 with a 3.92 GPA. He is currently a Ph.D. student in computer science at the University of Minnesota.

Ashlyn Mauer

During her four-year Blugold career, Ashlyn Mauer earned six letters, three in cross country and three in track & field.

In cross country, she earned her way to the All-WIAC team three times, helping lead her team to WIAC titles each year she competed. The two-time team MVP and captain had the highest individual finish in program history at NCAA nationals, taking sixth place at the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship. The week before nationals, she set a school record with a 6,000-meter time of 21:15 at the NCAA Division III Regional at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne. She competed on teams at nationals that took fifth (2012), 17th (2011) and fourth (2010).

A team captain in track & field, she won three individual WIAC titles, the indoor 5,000-meter run in 2011 along with the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase in both 2011 and 2013. She also earned All-American honors during the 2013 outdoor season, taking fifth at the NCAA Division III Championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She also competed in the 5,000-meter run at outdoor nationals in 2013.

Mauer was named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-American Division III Track & Field/Cross Country third team, as selected by CoSIDA. She was also named the 2012 WIAC Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete and was a four-time recipient of the USTFCCCA All-Academic award.

A communication science and disorders major with a 3.96 GPA, Mauer graduated in May 2013. She is currently attending Western Michigan University, pursing a Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology.

Erin Schoenfelder

A four-time letterwinner in women's track & field, Erin Schoenfelder became the first person in school history to receive an NCAA Elite 89 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 89 championships. She earned the award at the 2013 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship in March.

Schoenfelder earned All-American honors five times during her career, three during the indoor season and two during the outdoor season. She secured three of her All-American titles this past season, taking fifth in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship and followed with two more during the outdoor championship, taking sixth in both the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay.

During her career she also won three WIAC titles, the 60-meter hurdles at the 2013 WIAC Indoor Championship along with the 100-meter hurdles at the 2013 WIAC Outdoor Championship and the 400-meter hurdles at the 2011 WIAC Outdoor Championship.

Schoenfelder holds four school records, the indoor 400-meter hurdles and the outdoor 60-meter hurdles while she was a part of the indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relay school record teams.

She was recognized in 2010 as team Newcomer of the Year and the 2013 Team MVP and captain. Schoenfelder was named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-American Division III Track & Field/Cross Country first team, as selected by CoSIDA. She was also named the 2013 WIAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete and was a four-time recipient of the USTFCCCA All-Academic award.

Schoenfelder graduated in May 2013 with a 3.98 GPA, earning a degree in elementary education. She is currently an assistant teacher in Spain working in an elementary school, helping students with their English language and culture skills.

Jordan Singer

A four-time letterwinner, Jordan Singer helped lead the 2012-13 men's hockey team to national and conference titles.

Singer earned first team AHCA All-American honors this season and was named the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship's most outstanding player after the Blugolds captured the national title in Lake Placid, N.Y. in March. He also earned All-NCHA and All-WIAC honors in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and helped lead the team to their first NCHA and WIAC titles in school history this past season.

Playing in 108 career games, he recorded 100 career points, 15th most in school history, including 55 goals and 45 assists. The 55 goals also ranks eighth most in school history while Singer holds a school record with 11 game-winning goals. In 2012-13 he led the Blugolds and NCHA with 22 goals while also finishing with 36 points.

A 2013 team captain, Singer earned the team Jeff Jaraczewski MVP award in 2011 while he won the 2013 Richard G. O'Brien Academic and Athletic Excellence team award. Singer was named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-American Division III At-Large third team, as selected by CoSIDA. He was also named the 2013 WIAC and NCHA Men's Hockey Scholar-Athlete and was named to the NCHA All-Academic team three times.

Singer graduated in May 2013 with a 3.55 GPA and a degree in business management. He is currently working at his family's appliance store in Mounds View, Minn.

Acronyms
AHCA – American Hockey Coaches Association
CoSIDA - College Sports Information Directors of America
NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCHA – Northern Collegiate Hockey Association
USTFCCCA - United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
WIAC - Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference