University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics

Samantha (Miller) Birman, a 2022 inductee into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame, enjoyed a distinguished track and field career for the Yellowjackets.
 
Birman began fashioning her hall of fame resume from day one. During the 2004 indoor track and field season she placed fourth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in the pentathlon. During the outdoor season she placed sixth in the high jump and eighth in the heptathlon on her way to UW-Superior track and field Rookie of the Year honors.
 
It was in the 2005 season, however, where Birman took her performances to a new level.
 
During the indoor season, Birman reached the podium in four events. She placed second in the high jump, sixth in the pentathlon, eighth in the 55-meter hurdles and was part of the 4-by-200-meter relay team that placed sixth. Her high jump mark for the year was good enough to send Birman to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, where she placed 11th.
 
Birman finished the indoor season by earned All-WIAC second team honors.
 
When the competition shifted to the outdoor season, Birman was a force. She claimed her first WIAC championship, besting the rest of the field in the high jump. She also had a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles and was part of two relay teams that placed eighth. The Yellowjackets totaled 31 points at the conference championships, and Birman accounted for 15 of those.
 
Birman again qualified for the NCAA championships in the high jump, and placed fifth in the nation, clearing the bar at a height of 1.69 meters. She also collected more hardware, being named All-WIAC first team and being named All-American by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Birman was named the Yellowjacket women's track and field team MVP at season's end.
 
Injuries hampered Birman later in her career, but when the dust settled, she held multiple school records in both indoor and outdoor track and field. Today, Birman is still the school record holder in six events – 55-meter hurdles (indoor), 4-by-200-meter relay (indoor), high jump (indoor), pentathlon (indoor – new scoring), 100-meter hurdles (outdoor) and high jump (outdoor).