While the 2020-2021 school year will look different for all universities across the nation, it holds special meaning for women's athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as they celebrate 50 years of women's athletics in the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) and later the WIAC.
Though there were Blugold teams prior to 1971, this was the first time that women's athletics had a governing body and started the organizational model that led to what we know today. Throughout the fall semester, the UW-Eau Claire Athletics Department will take a look at the history of Blugold Women's Athletics and share the stories of our women's programs and the people who made it all possible.
Each week will feature a Blugold women's sport as part of "Memorable Mondays" with the first week giving the overall history of women's athletics and note some of the key pioneers that led the way for future Blugolds. Follow the journey of the Blugold women through articles, photos and videos on Blugold Athletics social media.
The women's track and field program at UW-Eau Claire is another sport that has seen consistent success throughout its existence. It's much easier to count the years the program hasn't competed on the national stage than those they have. The program boasts an impressive amount of conference and national champions.
The first outdoor season began in 1975-76, and the following year the Blugolds had both indoor and outdoor seasons. Alice Gansel was the program's first coach while also coaching the cross country team and fulfilling her teaching duties. Like many other sports the track and field squads competed in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). When the organization became defunct in 1982, the Blugolds switched over to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). After a decade, UW-Eau Claire joined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The Blugolds have competed in the WWIAC (and later WIAC) since 1977 which was the first year the conference sponsored an indoor season and fifth season for outdoor. In its 45 years, the indoor and outdoor squads have finished in the top four in the nation six times.
Gansel led Eau Claire to their first national finish of the outdoor season in her final season at the helm (1979-80) where the team placed 17th. This began a seven-year run at the national meet. Blugold pioneer Marilyn Skrivseth took over coaching for a season while also coaching tennis and teaching. Spread too thin, Skrivseth turned the program over to Kirk Elias for two seasons before one-year stints by Mary Allen (1983-84) and Tom York (1984-85) and a two-year stint by John Schultz. Despite the turnover, the Blugolds finished 20th or higher every year but 1985-86. Elias led the team to a fifth place finish in 1981-82 and ninth place finish in 1982-83.
Watch Skrivseth talk about coaching track and field
At the conference level, Skrivseth led the team to second place in both the indoor and outdoor meets, and the Blugolds would finish in the top half of the conference for years.
One of the top athletes in the early years was Deanna (Marchello) Vodacek. Inducted into the Blugold Hall of Fame in 1991, the track and field and cross country alumna was an outdoor All-American in the 200 in 1982 and an indoor All-American in the two mile in 1983. She also held the school indoor record in the 1500 with a time of 4:36.37 that she ran in 1984.
After Schultz, the Blugolds saw more stability, as Mel Lewis coached for five seasons, Jenny Arneson for four and Tracy Yengo for 10 before current head coach, Chip Schneider, took over in 2006.
One of the best student-athletes in the early 1990's was Cheryl (Janowitz) Dieckman. A two-sport athlete who was also an all-conference volleyball player, Dieckman highlighted her track and field career by winning the 1993 NCAA outdoor discus title. She had previously placed at the national meet in 1991 and 1990, giving her three All-American honors in the event. Dieckman also won the WWIAC discus title as a freshman, winning by an impressive 11 feet. In her career, she earned seven more conference medals and also earned All-American honors for the shot put three times. A Blugold Super Six winner, Dieckman was inducted into the Blugold Hall of Fame in 2005.
"It was such an honor to be a Blugold student-athlete and an honor to be part of the WIAC," said Dieckman. "This conference was - and still is - so strong. I remember thinking the conference track meets were a preview to the national track meet. I was lucky enough to be a two-sport athlete at UWEC. I loved the opportunities I had to travel and compete, but more importantly, I loved the relationships that developed and the friendships made over the years. There are very few distances and places that I remember from meets, but I'll never forget the road trips, the games on the bus, the goofing around with teammates and the fun we had. Success is so much sweeter when you have people to share it with! One of my favorite memories was at nationals one year. Several of us from the women's team wrote a little song and sang it for the head coach. I don't remember any of the words, but I think it rhymed, and I can guarantee it was very cheesy! Thank you to all who coached me and supported me. I'm so proud to say I'm a Blugold alum, and it's exciting to see today's female athletes competing, achieving and enjoying every minute of it!"
Another standout athlete, Steph Barnes, dominated the track from 2003-07.
"I loved everything about UWEC: athletics, academics, the hill, the city of Eau Claire, the people that I met and the opportunities available," said Barnes. "I truly cherish my time there. Coming out of high school, I was looking for a university specifically where I could continue to pursue athletics. Of course, academics were important as well, but my soul beat at the time was for track and gymnastics. I am so blessed to have been able to attend UW-Eau Claire. It turned out to be an incredible fit both athletically as well as academically. Looking back, one of the greatest positive forces during my time as a Blugold was the incredible coaching staff who surrounded me. As a whole team and individual athletes, we were guided by coaches who led with such passion, knowledge, drive and a true caring for the athletes on their team. It was contagious and inspiring to compete under them."
Overcoming a broken back her freshman year, Barnes would win numerous awards on a school, conference and national level.
In 2005, Barnes won the NCAA Division III Outdoor Pole Vault Championship and the indoor national title in 2006. She has also placed among the top four at nationals three other times. She owns the school indoor and outdoor records as well as the conference indoor mark. Barnes was the WIAC outdoor champion in the pole vault and was named second team indoor All-WIAC in 2007.
In 2006 and 2007, Barnes was honored as an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V second team selection, and was also named 2007 WIAC Co-Scholar-Athlete for indoor track. She is also the winner of the 2007 Outward Bound and Marmot Scholarship, which honors a student-athlete each year with full tuition for outdoor education classes in Washington State. Barnes was selected based on "her dedication to athleticism, her aptitude for helping people and her enthusiasm for the mission of Outward Bound."
She was also honored at the 17th annual NCAA Women of the Year banquet, as she was among 30 finalists from Divisions I, II and III. Barnes was a two-time Super Six Award winner and also competed for the Blugold gymnastics program for a season.
"Upon graduation, I also pursued coaching track and field at the collegiate level," said Barnes. "I often found myself mirroring what I had experienced with my own coaches. Their impact and influence on my life continued long after I left Eau Claire both on and off the track. One of my fondest memories as a Blugold was when we hosted indoor home meets. I loved the atmosphere that was created from having a split-level track/field. You could hear and see almost everything happening whether you were on the top level (track) or the lower level (field) amplifying the energy of the entire arena. Another favorite memory was running the hill and stairs. It (seriously) was one of my favorite workouts! Plus I always felt like it gave us Blugolds an edge over our competitors, knowing that they probably didn't have such a tough hill to run! I am forever grateful for my time as a Blugold. Those years hold some of my favorite memories!"
Schneider, who coached Barnes in her final year, soon took the Blugolds to new heights, and in his first indoor season led UW-Eau Claire to a third place finish at the national meet, the highest indoor finish in program history. The Blugolds have finished in the top 10 six times and have made national appearances every year. For the outdoor season, Schneider guided the Blugolds to a national runner-up finish in 2014-15, a program best.
Two other highly-decorated Blugold track and field athletes competed for and coached under Schneider, Carly Fehler and Sarah Glidden.
Fehler was a six-time NCAA Division III Champion and a seven-time All-American for the Blugolds. She holds school records in the indoor 60 and 200 and the outdoor 100, 200 and 4x100 relay. The three-time team captain was awarded the 2015 Division III Athlete of the Year and was a nominee for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year. In 2015, she was the NCAA's Outdoor and Indoor National Championships Performer of the Meet after winning four national titles, claiming the 60 and 200 at the indoor national meet and the 100 and 200 at outdoors. Fehler played a crucial role in the team tying for fourth place in the nation that year, which tied for the second highest finish in program's indoor history and as the national runner-up for the outdoor, the highest finish for the program.
"I look back at my time as a Blugold with so much gratitude," said Fehler. "I had an extraordinary experience at Eau Claire, and I believe that's because of the people I was surrounded by day in and day out. Eau Claire has arguably the best coaching staff at any division, and they were instrumental in my success on and off the track. I was fortunate enough to have some of the most talented women to ever come through our program as my teammates. They truly pushed me every single day to be great, and that's why we ended our time together as the national runner-up team at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2015, the highest finish in program history. Some of my favorite memories include getting nervous every year for our team time trials, placing in the top three at the Drake relays, stepping out onto the track at nationals in our notorious all-white uniforms, and watching our men's team celebrate their first national title in program history. I feel lucky to have been a part of all it."
After she finished her running career Fehler served as an assistant coach for the Blugolds while she completed her undergraduate degree. Working with the sprinters for both the men's and women's squads, she helped the men's team win the 2016 national championship. Following her graduation from UWEC, Fehler went on to work as a graduate assistant coach at Southwest Minnesota State. Currently she serves as an assistant coach for the men's and women's track and field/cross country programs at NCAA Division II UW-Parkside.
"The biggest lesson that I learned at Eau Claire was that it takes a village to have a great team, and that serves as a guiding light for me now as a college coach at Division ll," said. Fehler. "It's vital to surround yourself with people who will challenge you, do things the right way, and inspire you to make your best, better."
Fehler's teammate, Sarah Glidden, followed a similar path. After climbing to the top in her event, the pentathlon, she joined the coaching ranks and immediately made an impact.
As an athlete, Glidden was the NCAA Indoor Pentathlon National Champion in 2018 while setting a new school record in the 4x400 relay, placing third and earning All-American honors. That season the Blugolds finished the indoor season fourth in the nation.
Serving as an assistant coach for the Blugolds' men's and women's programs for two years, Glidden received national attention. Last season Glidden was named the National Men's Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). She is just the second woman in the history of the USTFCCCA National Award Program to earn the NCAA Division III honor for coaching men.
Glidden's heptathletes were dominate, owning the top three rankings in the nation, including the top mark set in the WIAC Championship that tied the NCAA DIII record. The other two heptathletes' marks also rank in the all-time top 20. The Blugold men were the favorites to win another indoor national championship in 2020, but the meet was canceled as was the outdoor season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In short, the Blugold Track and Field programs have consistently proven to be a contender on a national level, with the indoor and outdoor squads combining for over 250 conference champions and All-American awards. The Blugolds have succeeded in the classroom as well, earning 35 Super Six awards and 13 WIAC scholar-athletes. In addition, 13 have been inducted into the Blugold Hall of Fame.
The program's future is bright with Schneider at the helm. Winning national Coach of the Year honors three times and leading the Blugold women to top 25 finishes 10 times, the sky is the limit for the Blugolds.
Watch Skrivseth talk about the importance of athletics and advice to future Blugolds
In honor of the 50th anniversary celebration, Dr. Erica Barrette ('99), a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology at OakLeaf Clinic, and her husband, Dr. J. Erik Hendrickson, professor of physics and department chair at UW-Eau Claire, have graciously stepped up to match the first $2,000 donated to the Track and Field Fund.
To donate, visit the UWEC Foundation website.
