Madison, Wis. - Fifteen members of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team have been named to the 2023 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Team, in a vote by the league coaches.

Six players were voted to the All-WIAC First Team, including senior offensive lineman Mike Bertoia of Lake Zurich, Ill. (H.S.), senior quarterback Keyser Helterbrand of Hudson (H.S.) and senior wide receiver Jack Studer of Eyota, Minn. (Dover-Eyota) to the All-WIAC First Team Offense. 

Senior defensive lineman Jack Kelly of Plover (SPASH) and junior linebacker Tanner Newlin of Savage, Minn. (Prior Lake) were voted to the All-WIAC First Team Defense while sophomore kicker Michael Stack of Oshkosh (West) was named to the All-WIAC First Team Special Teams. 

Helterbrand was named the WIAC Kwik Trip Offensive Player of the Year while Stack was selected the WIAC Kwik Trip Co-Special Teams Player of the Year with UW-Platteville's Andrew Schweigert. Along with being named to the All-WIAC First Team, Helterbrand earned All-WIAC Honorable Mention at all-purpose back. 

UWL head coach Matt Janus was named the WIAC Kwik Trip George Chryst Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Andrew McGlenn has been selected the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Assistant Coach of the Year. 

Senior offensive lineman Noah Coleman of Wilmot (H.S.) and junior offensive lineman Levi Liedke of Fond du Lac (H.S.) were voted to the 2023 All-WIAC Second Team Offense with sophomore defensive back Tate Pitcher of Somerset (H.S.) named to the All-WIAC Second Team Defense.    

Five players were selected to the All-WIAC Honorable Mention Team.  Senior wide receiver Ryan Bartol of Berlin (H.S.) and sophomore tight end Marko Rajkovic of Franklin (H.S.) were named to the honorable mention offense with junior defensive lineman Nate Hietpas of Little Chute (H.S.) and junior defensive back Aaron Schmitz of Mukwonago (H.S.) to the honorable mention defense. Senior punter Ryan Krueger of Marshfield (H.S.) earned All-WIAC Honorable Mention Special Teams accolades. 

Senior wide receiver Tyler Stoltenburg of New Berlin (West) was named to the 2023 All-WIAC Sportsmanship Team, chosen for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season.  It includes one member from each school.

It is Bertoia's third straight selection to the All-WIAC First Team. Starting all 10 games at right tackle, Bertoia has helped UWL average 35.1 points per game, fifth in the WIAC. Coleman has started seven games at center while Liedke has started all 10 games at right guard.  Coleman was also named to the 2022 All-WIAC Honorable Mention squad. The Eagles are averaging 452.3 yards per game this year, including 175.4 rushing and 276.9 passing. UWL had a season-high 562 yards in a 59-14 win over UW-Eau Claire on October 28. The team had a season-high 275 yards rushing a 31-28 win versus UW-Oshkosh on October 21 and season-high 387 yards passing against UW-Eau Claire. This year's average of 452.3 yards of offense are the most since finishing with 474.8 in 2016. 

The Eagles lead the WIAC in fourth-down conversions (65.0) and time of possession (34:41) while ranking third in total offense (452.3) and rushing offense (175.4).   

Helterbrand is the third player in school history to be named the WIAC Offensive Player of the Year, joining Cole Spieker (2019) and Joey Stutzman (2022). The league started the award in 2014. Helterbrand was also named to the 2022 All-WIAC First Team. Starting all 10 games, Helterbrand is 147-of-206 (71.4%) for 2,188 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has at least one touchdown pass in all 10 games, including a career-high five in UWL's 59-14 victory over UW-Eau Claire. Helterbrand also set career-highs in completions (24), attempts (26) and yards (360) in the win while also rushing for a team-high 52 yards on six carries versus the Blugolds. 
 

Helterbrand has accounted for 33 touchdowns this year, leading the Eagles in rushing attempts (125), yards (676) and touchdowns (9). His 2,864 total yards of offense ranks second in single-season school history. He has four games this season with at least 100-yards rushing with a season-high 145 with one touchdown in a 31-28 win over UW-Oshkosh.  Helterbrand is tied for second in the WIAC this season in passing touchdowns (24) while ranking fourth in total offense (2,864) and fifth in rushing yards per game (67.6).

Starting every game at wide receiver, Studer leads UWL in catches (53), yards (1,202) and touchdowns (11). He has six games with at least 100-yards receiving with career-highs in receptions (7) and yards (181) in a 31-6 win at Dakota State University (S.D.) on August 31. Averaging 22.4 yards per reception, Studer tied his career-high with seven receptions for 158 yards and one touchdown in UWL's 59-14 victory over UW-Eau Claire. He also had seven catches in a 21-17 victory at UW-Platteville on October 14. Studer finished with five receptions for 170 yards and three touchdowns in UWL's 45-40 win against UW-Stout on September 30. The three touchdowns set a single-game career-high. His 1,202 yards ranks second in single-season school history, behind Nick Holcomb's school record 1,401 in 2017.

Kelly earns his third all-league recognition, being named to the 2021 honorable mention team and 2022 first team. A starter in all 10 games at defensive end this season, Kelly leads UWL in tackles for loss (8.0), quarterback sacks (3.5) and quarterback hurries (7). He had a season-high four tackles with 2.0 for loss in UWL's 34-31 win at third-ranked UW-Whitewater on October 7. Kelly was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after blocking the potential game-tying field goal in UWL's victory at UW-River Falls on November 4. 

Newlin leads UWL in tackles (49) in 2023 while starting 10 games. He is second with 29 unassisted tackles and tied for second in tackles for loss (4.0). Newlin tied for the team lead with seven tackles at UW-Whitewater, including 1.5 for loss. He had a team-high nine tackles in UWL's 21-17 victory at UW-Platteville on October 14 and a team-leading seven tackles in a 59-14 win over UW-Eau Claire. Newlin also leads UWL with three forced fumbles.  

Stack is 11-of-13 in field goal attempts and 43-of-43 in extra-points this season. He is the second player in UWL history to earn the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Year honor, joining Jake Simuncak in 2021. Stack converted his first career field goal attempt in UWL's 31-6 victory at Dakota State University (S.D.), converting a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter. Stack went 2-for-2 in field goal attempts in the Eagles' 34-3 win at Northern Michigan University on September 16, making attempts from 36 and 28-yards. For his efforts, Stack was named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week. He earned the weekly league honor for the second time after finishing three-of-three in field goals and four-of-four in extra-points in UWL's 37-34 victory at third-ranked UW-Whitewater. He converted a 51-yard field goal on the final play of the game, tying the school record set by Dewey Stendahl and Ryan Beirne. Stack was selected the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week two more times this season, after converting a 40-yard field goal in UWL's 31-28 victory over UW-Oshkosh and making a 27-yard field goal in a 31-28 win at seventh-ranked UW-River Falls.

Pitcher has played in all 10 games, recording 18 tackles and eight pass break-ups. He finished with a season-high four tackles at UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls. 
 

Appearing in eight contests, Bartol is second for UWL in catches (27), yards (355) and touchdowns 7). He has three different games with two touchdown receptions, coming against Dakota State (S.D.), Northern Michigan and UW-Whitewater. Bartol had a team-high seven receptions at UW-Whitewater and a season-high 90 yards versus Northern Michigan. Rajkovic 12 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games this year. He caught a touchdown pass against UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point on November 11. Rajkovic has a season-high two receptions in four different games and a season-high 28 yards receiving against UW-Whitewater. 

Hietpas has started all 10 games, recording 18 tackles. He has 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 quarterback sacks while also having one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. 

Schmitz is third on the team in tackles (39) while playing 10 contests. He has 1.5 tackles for loss and team-leading 31 unassisted tackles. Schmitz had a season-high eight tackles against UW-Oshkosh and has accounted for five tackles in five different games. 

Krueger is averaging 40.1 yards on 30 punts this season with a long of 63-yards. He has five punts over 50-yards and four inside the 20-yard line. Krueger averaged 49.8 yards on five punts with two over 50-yards (career-long 63) in UWL's 45-40 win against UW-Stout. He recorded a 57-yard punt in UWL's 31-6 win at Dakota State University (S.D.). Krueger had a punt of 58-yards in UWL's 37-34 victory at third-ranked UW-Whitewater. 

Stoltenburg leads UWL in kickoff return yards (142) and average (20.3) while tying for the team lead in kickoff returns (7). He finished with four kickoff returns for 82 yards at UW-River Falls with a long of 29-yards. 

Janus has led the Eagles to a 9-1 overall record this season and 7-0 in the WIAC, earning UWL's first outright league title since 2004. It is the Eagles' 35th overall title in school history and second straight under Janus. UWL, ranked fourth on D3football.com, earned an automatic bid to this year's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships. Making its 14th appearance (1983, 1991-93, 1995-96, 1999, 2002-04, 2006, 2021-23) in school history in the NCAA III Championships, UWL hosts the University of Minnesota Morris in the first round Saturday, November 18 at 12 p.m.    

He is 27-6 as head coach after being named UWL's 14th head football coach on February 5, 2020.  A native of Lake Zurich, Illinois, Janus has led UWL to three straight trips to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Eagles finished 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the WIAC last season, falling 14-6 to Wartburg College (Iowa) in the NCAA Division III First Round. UWL went 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the WIAC in 2021, earning a 58-23 win at Albion College (Mich.) in the first round of the NCAA III Championships. It marked UWL's first playoff victory since 2006. The 58 points were the most for UWL in a playoff game. 

Prior to being named head coach, Janus served as UWL's defensive coordinator for three seasons. He worked as an assistant coach at UW-Platteville from 2014-16, serving as co-defensive coordinator for the 2016 season. Janus was the defensive coordinator at Sheboygan Falls (Wis.) High School from June 2011-June 2014. He was a graduate assistant coach at UW-Platteville from May 2010-June 2011. Janus earned his bachelor's (2010) degree in social science and master's (2016) in adult education from UW-Platteville.  He earned three letters for the Pioneers, serving as team captain in 2009.

He is one of four coaches in UWL history to be named the WIAC Coach of the Year, joining Roger Harring (1982, 1989, 1991-93, 1996, 1999), Roland Christensen (1992) and Larry Terry (2002-04). 

McGlenn is the second straight UWL coach to be selected the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Assistant Coach of the Year after offensive coordinator Michael McGuire earned the honor in 2022. In his 11th season as an assistant coach at UWL, McGlenn earned his bachelor's degree from UWL in 2005 and his master's degree from Chadron State College (Neb.) in 2009.  He was a four-year letter winner at UWL, playing right tackle.  McGlenn was named to the 2003 and 2004 All-WIAC First Team and was a member of three league championship teams with the Eagles (2002, 2003, 2004). He served as a team captain in 2004.   

Other coaching experience includes at New Richmond (Wis.) High School, the University of Dubuque (Iowa), Chadron State (Neb.), Hartland (Wis.) Arrowhead High School and La Crosse (Wis.) Central High School.