ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference announced the All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship award winners on Wednesday afternoon. To receive an All-Conference honor, an athlete must finish on the podium in an individual event or win a relay at the UMAC Championships, which took place this past weekend. The University of Northwestern Track and Field teams had eight women's athletes recognized as All-Conference.
Alaina Wojtowski (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) continued her dominant start to her collegiate career, concluding her year by being named Outdoor Rookie of the Year after also earning Rookie of the Year honors during the indoor season. Wojtowski captured three UMAC titles in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and as part of the 4x100-meter relay, earning multiple All-Conference honors in her debut outdoor season.
Wojtowski was joined on the 4x100-meter relay by Lidia Castro (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South), Emily Neumann (St. Agusta, Minn./Sauk Rapids), and Katie Shilts (Cameron, Wis./Cameron), who each earned their first outdoor All-Conference honors this season as part of the championship relay team in their first UMAC Outdoor Championships appearance.
Sophomore Lily Hubbard (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) earned All-Conference honors with a standout performance in the high jump. After finishing second in the event on Saturday, she secured her second All-Conference nod in the high jump after winning the event last season.
Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) also added to her All-Conference résumé, earning recognition in the 1500-meter run with a second-place finish. Natalie Van De Riet (Albertville, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) was named to the All-Conference list for the first time in her career after her second-place finish in the 5000-meter run at the Championships last weekend.
Rounding out the honors, Emily Ashton (Camas, Wash./St. Mary's Academy) was recognized with the All-Sportsmanship award in her senior season, highlighting her leadership and commitment to Competing with Purpose.
