Wiebelhaus named Mt. Marty’s Male Athlete of the Year
YANKTON, S.D. — Seth Wiebelhaus, a Cedar Catholic graduate of 2018, has become immortalized in Mount Marty athletics.
Wiebelhaus was named the Yankton, S.D., university’s Male Athlete of the Year for 2021-22 for his exploits in cross country and track and field, while also being named the same by the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
Wiebelhaus, who went to Mount Marty to also play baseball – but stopped after a year – participated in the heptathlon and decathlon in track and field.
In the indoor track season, he got fourth place at nationals in the heptathlon, while earning his third All-American rec ognition. In outdoor, Wiebelhaus was fifth and also was named an All-American in the decathlon for the first time.
He also was named Athlete of the Meet at the GPAC conference meet, scoring 22 points.
“There were a lot of good competitors close to me, so I didn’t even think I won it, and when I did, it was a complete surprise,” he said of winning the GPAC award. “Winning Athlete of the Year in the GPAC is pretty cool.”
Wiebelhaus started taking the decathlon and heptathlon seriously as a freshman, and while playing baseball, it became quite the chore.
“It was pretty hectic,” Wiebelhaus said. “Trying to learn all that stuff and play the other sports as well. I found out I was pretty good at it without even practicing, so I decided to drop baseball and just practice that. I got my first All-American the next year.”
He also learned just how motivated he is by the journey into competing against yourself and seeing how far one can go.
“It’s just the environment when you are competing: You aren’t competing against everybody, but just yourself and you are trying to get better,” Wiebelhaus said. “One event for one guy is better than the other, so it’s fun to see who actually wins and comes out on top in the end.
“I have always been an endurance guy and ready for the competition. That’s what helps me get through the multi-events, which is a good asset to have.”
Wiebelhaus earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and will return to Mount Marty to pursue a master’s in coaching.
“I will be a GA (graduate assistant) for the track team,” he said. “I still have one more year of eligibility because of COVID. I don’t know if I will use it or not because doing all those events are taxing on the body. We will see how I feel in the fall, I guess.”
He plans on still staying active by playing amateur baseball in the summer and getting plenty of jogging in.
“I liked the sport in high school and fell in love with it in college, so I won’t step away from it anytime soon,” Wiebelhaus said of his endeavors on the track. “(At the 30th reunion at Cedar Catholic) That’s the goal – (to not get a pot belly). I weigh 30 pounds heavier than I was in high school. It’s a good goal (to weigh the same then as he does today).”