EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (www.blugolds.com) - After recording the ninth highest point total in NCAA Division III and the fourth highest program score in the heptathlon, Mitch Stegeman (Sr. - Coleman, Wis./Suring) has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USFTCCCA) Division III male athlete of the week.

Stegeman continued the legacy of combined event athletes at UW-Eau Claire when he captured the decathlon crown at the NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships last year. Now, he cracked the all-time top-10 in NCAA DIII history in the heptathlon with his 5388-point total at the Warren Bowlus Invitational this past weekend. Stegeman is the fourth Blugold athlete on the chart behind record-holder Marcus Weaver with 5533 points, third-ranked Dylan Cooper with 5441 points and seventh-ranked Brandon Zarnoth with 5425 points.

This is the first time since 2020 that a male athlete from UW-Eau Claire has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. That national weekly honor went to Cooper following what was a record-tying, heptathlon effort at the time.