Yellowjacket National Champions
1976 Men's Hockey Team • NAIA National Champions
Record: 17-12-1
Head Coach: Wally Akervik
Team Members: Rod Alstead, Steve Anderson, Jeff Bottem, Pat Boychuck, Mark Christianson, Bob DiCasmirro, Gary Fritch, Don Gorowsky, John Hansen, Keith Harkonen, Mike Heinzen, Jerry Laberdie, Fran Nosan, Tom O' Connell, Mark Palmer, Mike Peterson, Dave Selissen, Don Smith, Scott Van Damme, Mark Wellman, Jon Wojciechowski, Ralph Worthing
Making their third consecutive appearance in the NAIA Tournament, the Yellowjackets finally got over the hump and claimed the school's first ever-national championship with 8-5 win over arch-rival St. Scholastica at Wessman Arena February 29. Superior-native Mark Palmer helped the Yellowjackets to the victory, scoring the eventual game-winning goal in the third period. Another Superior native, Scott Van Damme, was named the tournament's most valuable player. Van Damme was joined on the NAIA All-Tournament Team by goaltender Mike Heinzen and defensemen Gary Fritch and John Hansen. The team was inducted into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. Team members Steve Anderson (2004), Gary Fritch (2003), Scott Van Damme (2005), and Ralph Worthing (2009) have also been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Jeff Laube • 1980 - Wrestling • 177-Pound Weight Class
Laube was a dominant wrestler for the Yellowjackets in the late 1970s, coming in as the WSUC Runner-Up in the 177-pound weight class as a freshman (1977) and junior (1979). He won the conference title in 1978 and again in his magical 1980 season. As a senior Laube posted a record of 38-2, with 21 of his victories coming through pins. Laube would advance to the NAIA Championships in Fort Hays, Kansas where he would become the first individual national champion in UW-Superior history, winning the 177-pound weight class by pinning Mike Quinsey of Simon Fraser University of Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. He was named All-American First Team and chosen to compete on the NAIA-AAU International Wrestling Team that traveled to Japan. Laube finished his career with a record of 109-11, with 51 pins. He was inducted into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
Sherri Odlevak • 1981 • Women's Track and Field - Heptathlon
A pioneer of women's sports at UW-Superior, Odlevak was a multi-sport sensation for the Yellowjackets in the late 1970s and early 1980s, collecting all-conference honors in volleyball (1980), basketball (1980, 1981) and track and field (1981). A fierce competitor and dominant player in all sports, Odlevak took things to a new level during her 1981 track and field season. That year Odlevak claimed the WSUC Championship in the heptathlon, setting a conference record that stood until the scoring system for the event was changed. She qualified for the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Championships in 1981 and posted her best collegiate heptathlon performance, posting 4,913 points on the way to the national championship and All-American honors. Odlevak was inducted into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.
Todd Sperling • 1982 • Men's Track and Field - Marathon
Sperling was a distance running superstar at UW-Superior in the early 1980s, a stretch where he was a three-time All-WSUC First Team selection (1980, 1981, 1982) in track and field and claimed the conference championship in the 10,000 meters as a senior in 1982. It seemed the longer the distance, the better he performed, and Sperling advanced to the NAIA Championships in the marathon as a junior, before making a return trip in 1982. That year, Sperling did what he was unable to do the previous year, and this time crossed the finish line first to win the elusive national championship. Sperling finished the race with a time 2:21:38.53, which at the time was the fastest time ever recorded in the event. Sperling's finish was the third-fastest time from 1972 through 2011. Sperling was inducted into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.
2002 Men's Hockey Team • NCAA National Champions
Record: 24-5-5
Head Coach: Dan Stauber
Team Members: Randy Currie, Charlie DePuydt, Ted Eastman, Chris Hackett, Brent Halverson, Carl Hanson, Peter Hughes, Ryan Kalbrener, Colin Kendall, Reed Larson, Dustin LaValley, Bruce Leonard, Josh Liebenow, Shane Lodhar, Dale Lupul, Kip Martin, Beau Moyer, Kyle Nosan, Christian Oppel, Yann Poirier, Ryan Rutz, Tim Schneider, Randall Smisko, Jay Stewart, Milan Tomaska, Rob Whidden, Mike Wiggins, Kris Wilson, Nate Ziemski
The 2001-02 season marked the ninth time in an 11-year period the Yellowjacket men's hockey team qualified for the NCAA Division III Hockey Championship, with the previous eight seeing them come home with anything but first-place hardware. It looked this trip to Middlebury, Vermont would end the same way, as the Yellowjackets trailed Norwich University, 2-1, late in the third period. That changed when Colin Kendall dumped the puck in from center ice, and with 1:26 to play, it deflected off a Norwich defender and into the net to tie the game. Then, 23 seconds into overtime, Kendall ended it, scoring on a rebound to give the Yellowjackets the national title. The team was inducted into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009. Team members Colin Kendall (2013), Dale Lupul (2015), Kyle Nosan (2019), and Nate Ziemski (2012) have also been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
