MADISON, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Jeremy Kieser has been chosen the recipient of the 2013 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men's Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete Award.
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A senior from Verona, Wis., Kieser boasts a 3.95 grade point average and is majoring in computer engineering/physics with a minor in German. He earned a spot on the 2012 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team. Kieser is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and has been recognized on UW-Eau Claire's Dean's List.
He placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the WIAC championship for the second time in his career. Kieser also was second in 2011 and finished fourth in 2012. In indoor competition, he took third in the 3,000-meter run this year, and fifth in the 5,000-meter run in 2012 and sixth in 2011. As a member of the cross country squad, Kieser claimed All-America honors in 2012 after finishing 15th at the NCAA Division III Championship.
Kieser is a member of Kappa Mu Epsilon Honor Society and UW-Eau Claire's Ballroom Dance Club. He has served as a tutor for the Physics Department and a teaching assistant for the Computer Science Department. Kieser has volunteered for the Eau Claire Express Baseball Hall of Fame Committee and the Eau Claire Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis.
Additional nominees for this year's scholar-athlete award included: UW-La Crosse's Paul Yerhot (Sr., Chaska, Minn.); UW-Oshkosh's John Dewitt (Sr., Oshkosh, Wis./West); and UW-Whitewater's Beau Hering (Sr., Lake Mills, Wis.).
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger, who served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference for 22 years from 1971-93. He oversaw the transition of the conference from NAIA to full NCAA membership. Sparger arrived at UW-Stout in 1959 and served the institution in a variety of capacities, including as an assistant football and basketball coach, head wrestling coach and head football coach. He served as UW-Stout's athletics director from 1969-71.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, he must be in his last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.
