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Sarah Moravchik HOF

General Jon Garver, Director of Athletic Communications

2024 Hall of Fame Profile - Sarah Moravchik

The word serendipity can be defined as good luck, or a stroke of luck. The word fluke is a synonym. Whichever you choose, there's no denying the arrival of Sarah Moravchik (nee Mortensen) at UW-Superior was serendipitous.
 
A three-sport standout at Becker (Minn.) High School, the Clear Lake native decided she would attend the University of Jamestown in North Dakota upon her graduation, where she would play volleyball and compete in track and field. Her time there was short, however.

"I met my now husband, Jeff, who was a fellow track and field athlete at Jamestown. We met when his work study job was driving the bus for our volleyball team," Moravchik said. "He graduated from Jamestown my sophomore year and asked me to marry him. He got a job in Ashland, so I moved with him.
 
"UW-Superior was the perfect fit for me so even the commute from Ashland to Superior was a challenge with two sports."
 
After leaving Jamestown, Moravchik continued to compete in both volleyball and track and field with the Yellowjackets.
 
"I loved both sports so much I could not decide to quit on either one," she said. "Track and field was the best cross training sport for volleyball. I felt it always put me in the best condition to be super quick, explosive and jump higher."
 
Moravchik's impact on the volleyball program was immediate. In 1999 she was second on the team in kills and fourth in digs. Her .182 attack percentage was tops on the team. The next season Moravchik led the team in kills and digs while finishing third in blocks. She was All-WIAC honorable mention in 2001while leading the team in kills and blocks.
 
It was in track and field, where Moravchik made a significant impact. She still holds the school record in the long jump, both for indoor and outdoor track and field. Moravchik won a conference championship in the long jump and qualified for the NCAA Track and Field Championships six times.
 
"My story wasn't without struggle. I had endured my first track and field season with a severe injury, suffering a grade-three quadricep tear the first week of practice," Moravchik said. "I was stubborn and determined and continued to fight through the pain, and I just missed qualifying for nationals by one place.
 
"The next year UWS hired one of the greatest sprints and jumps coaches I had ever met, Adarian Barr. Coach Barr was such a gift for me to work with."
 
Barr, who was a three-time All-American and two-time USA Track and Field Masters Champion in the long jump and triple jump, took over as the head track and field coach at UW-Superior in 2001 and remained on campus for two seasons.
 
"I was so blessed to learn and grow in the sport with his coaching. In one month, he changed my way of thinking and training. I was powerlifting for the first time in my life and taking off in the weight room with huge gains. I learned so much from him in just a short time from weight training to sprint form to jump mechanics. He was definitely a track and field guru."
 
Under Barr's tutelage, the 2002 season became the high-water mark for Moravchik, who won the WIAC Championship and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the long jump.
 
"It wasn't easy to say the least. It was a tough spring, I was also commuting three hours round trip and just married. UWS was part of the WIAC at that time, so competition was the best in the nation, just for conference," she said. "After a couple indoor meets, I came in ranked as one of the top in the WIAC.
 
"It was absolutely crazy to win a conference title in the long jump with such tough national level competition. Going on to compete at nationals two times that year (indoor and outdoor) was an unbelievable experience. The level of athletes at nationals is absolutely unreal," she said. "Coach Barr prepared me in every way possible to handle the level of competition, and I was able to jump to All-American status and finish in second place in the long jump. I finished second to the athlete that won nationals by breaking the national record right after my last jump.
 
"I was sad to see Coach Barr move back to California the year after I graduated, but I am so thrilled that the program has continued to absolutely flourish under the awesome leadership of head coach Glen Drexler. Will I graduated before he took over, he has always impressed me with his leadership and coaching. Many of our high school athletes have gone to compete under him. He has done a wonderful job with the track and field program with countless UMAC titles."

Today, Moravchik stays busy by teaching physical education at Ashland Middle School and working as the head volleyball coach and assistant track and field coach at Ashland High School. She also has a working beef ranch. You may also see her on campus from time to time, as her daughter competes in volleyball at track and field at UMAC foe Northwestern.
 
"UWS was such a gift to me in so many ways," she said. "The education program is one of the best programs out there. I am so grateful for all of my professors and coaches at UWS."
 
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