Punt, Pass & Kick Has 88 Participants

By J. J. Mosher
University Communications

The annual Punt, Pass and Kick competition, sponsored by Kwik Trip Stores, was held at noon on Saturday in between the Chiefs morning and afternoon practices. Partly sunny skies overlooked the event, with a temperature about 70 and a wind from the northwest.

Eighty-eight competitors age 8-13 took the field with their eyes set on taking home a trophy. Girls had two categories, ages 8-10 and ages 11-13, while the boys had a category for each year 8-13.

Photos of the event can be seen here.

The event was a great success, and each participant received a ribbon for their efforts. Chiefs Assistant General Manager Joel Collier talked to the participants after the competition and handed out trophies to the winners. "This is a great opportunity for young people to be able to compete in these types of events," Collier said. "When I was young and my Dad was an NFL coach, I was not allowed to participate in competitions such as this one, and I wish that I would have had the chance to demonstrate my football skills. Thank you for taking advantage of your opportunity to compete and have fun today!" The top three finishers from each category had a photo taken with Collier, KC Wolf and Freddy Falcon.

A special thanks goes to all of the volunteers who helped at the event, especially the students from the Greek organizations at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Three men from Theta Chi, two men from Alpha Gamma Rho and one woman from Sigma Sigma Sigma offered their time to help at the event. Another thank you is owed to the River Falls Parks and Recreation department that supplied the footballs and tees that were used during the competition.

The winners and their total distances are listed below.

Girls age 8-10
1st Place - Micaela Rivera (age 10) of River Falls, Wis. (99'3'')
2nd Place - Kyra Heithoff (age 10) of Carroll, Iowa (74'8'')
3rd Place - Carleigh Roettger (age 9) of Beldenville, Wis. (73'1'')

Girls age 11-13
1st Place - Naomi Gunelson (age 12) of River Falls, Wis. (189'3'')
2nd Place - Madelyne Kulow (age 12) of Baldwin, Wis. (188'7'')
3rd Place - Sydney Squires (age 13) of Hudson, Wis. (187'8'')

Boys age 8
1st Place - Logan Peterson of Hager City, Wis. (163'6'')
2nd Place - Arsenio Black of River Falls, Wis. (137'8'')
3rd Place - Sam Schroeder of Onalaska, Wis. (126'11'')

Boys age 9
1st Place - Nik Blaubach of River Falls, Wis. (183'4'')
2nd Place - Hunter Muhlbauer of Lytton, Iowa (160'6'')
3rd Place - Justin Arthur of Hammond, Wis. (153'1'')

Boys age 10
1st Place - Brian Miller of River Falls, Wis. (198')
2nd Place - Matthew Brandeen of Roberts, Wis. (191')
3rd Place - Roshaun Johnson of River Falls, Wis. (187')

Boys age 11
1st Place - Trey Larson of River Falls, Wis. (225')
2nd Place - Ryan Cotter of Overland Park, Kan. (199'5'')
3rd Place - Dominic Accurso of Leawood, Kan. (197'9'')

Boys age 12
1st Place - John Birkholz of Rosemount, Minn. (259'11'')
2nd Place - Logan Emholtz of River Falls, Wis. (234'8'')
3rd Place - Casey Slowiak of River Falls, Wis. (225'3'')

Boys age 13
1st Place - Dalton Ferguson of Solon, Iowa (332'3'')
2nd Place - Jacob Bauer of Durand, Wis. (283'1'')
3rd Place - Ben Fiers of Apple Valley, Minn. (280'5'')