UMD Athletics

August 3, 2010 was a homecoming of sorts for Paul Nisius as the Duluth native officially signed on as the men's cross country and track coach at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota Duluth. 

In his debut season at the cross country helm, Nisius directed the Bulldogs to a runnerup finish at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships and has placed in the top half in each ensuing league meet (second in 2017, third in 2011, fourth in 2012, 2013 and 2016 and fifth in 2014, 2015 and 2018).

In the fall of 2017, UMD qualified for the NCAA II Championships for the first time since 2004, receiving an at-large bid after taking fourth at the NCAA II Central Regional (its highest finish at that event in 13 years).

On the track side, Jason Beutz, placed second in the pole vault at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, two weeks after he laid claim to the NSIC title in that same event with a conference-record leap of 16'-10", while another Bulldog, John Knebel was the NSIC outdoor 400-meter hurdle champion.

The 2011 Bulldogs broke five school records in 2011, with three indoor occurring in the 1,000 meter-run (Lou Hughes), 4 x 800-meter relay, and the distance medley relay, and two outdoors in the 400-meter hurdles (John Knebel), and pole vault (Jason Beutz). 

In 2012, UMD eclipsed three more school marks.  During the indoor season, it was in 60-meter hurdles (John Knebel) and the 3,000 meters (Kyle Larson), while the 4 x 1600 meter relay (Cole Toepfer, Sam Saccoman, Kyle Larson, Dan Nielsen) was established at the Drake Relays during the outdoor season.  In addition, a NSIC title was claimed by Kyle Larson in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

During the 2013 indoor season, senior Ben Niemann broke the school record in the heptathlon, while the sprint medley relay team eclipsed a 20-year old school mark.  At the NSIC indoors that year, UMD's distance medley relay team was victorious in a conference record-setting time.

Five years ago, senior Cole Toepfer was chosen the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) Central Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after his superb performance at the NSIC meet. Toepfer finished first in the mile, second in the 3,000-meter run, and third in the 5,000-meter run en route to tying for the meet lead in individual points generated with 24 and claiming the league's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year honor. Toepfer (who was voted UMD's Outstanding Male Athlete for 2013-14), along with fellow senior Tyler Stevens, and juniors Phil d'Entremont and Chris Wilson all competed in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. (Toepfer took part in the mile run and joined his three teammates in the distance medley relay -- qualifying in a school-record time of 10:00.03). That May, junior Dan Nielsen represented UMD at the NCAA II Outdoor Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase -- the event he won two weeks earlier at the NSIC outdoors.

In 2015, a pair of Bulldogs -- Nick Moran (hammer throw) and Brendon Pineda (shot put) claimed individual titles and helped lead UMD to a fourth-place finish at the NSIC outdoors. Moran set an outdoor school mark in the hammer throw earlier that spring.

The following year, Cody Sedbrook eclipsed the school's 5,000-meter indoor record and Blake Anderson did likewise in the 10,000-meter outdoor.

Ryan Tolkinen (200-meter intermediate hurdles) and Brian Lee (weight throw) established program records during the 2017 indoor season  and in 2018 a total of five UMD marks fell by the wayside -- 5,000-meter outdoor and indoor (Sedbrook), 200-meter hurdles indoor (Tolkinen), heptathlon indoors (Logan Rubeck) and 4 x 1,600-meter relay indoor (with the No. 1 time in the country). Tolkinen (200-meter intermediate hurdles), David Supinski (600-meter run) and Luke Lahr (5,000-meter run) all became school record holders during he course of the 2018-19 season.

Nisius's track and cross country teams have also excelled in the classroom, earning NCAA Division II All-Academic distinction from the USTFCCCA in each of the past nine seasons. In addition, the cross country Bulldogs have posted the best cumulative overall grade point average of any male Bulldog team every year since Nisius took over the program. In November 2017, senior Grant Pulver made UMD athletic history when he became the Bulldogs' first NCAA Elite 90 award recipient (presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships). The Chippewa Falls, Wis., native and 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-American was also bestowed with a similar honor from the NSIC (Elite 18 award) as both a junior and a senior. Kendall Hill also earned the NSIC Elite 18 Award three times -- in cross country and outdoor track and field in 2018 and indoor track in 2020.

Prior to coming back to UMD, Nisius spent seven years as the head men's and women's cross country and track and field coach at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. During his tenure with the Yellowjackets, he helped produce a pair of NCAA Division III track All-Americans in Samantha Miller (outdoor high jump in 2005) and Matt Kramer (800-meter outdoors in 2006, 2007 and 2008 800-meter indoors in 2008). Nisius's Yellowjackets also set some 42 school indoor records and another 34 outdoor standards while 18 student-athletes attained NCAA Division III national qualifying marks. In addition, UWS was represented by at least one individual at 12 NCAA III national meets, including six straight indoor events.

Nisius taught and coached for the previous 10 years in the Grand Rapids (Minn.) School District. From 2000-02, he was employed as the boy's and girl's assistant cross country at Grand Rapids High School and helped lead the Thunderhawks girls to three straight Minnesota State High School State Meet appearances (including a championship conquest in 2000 and a runnerup finish one year later.) Nisius also did a 10-year track and field coaching stint at Bigfork High School where he accompanied at least one of his Husky athletes to the state meet in each of his final eight seasons.

Nisius is no stranger to Bulldog athletics, having been selected the co-recipient of UMD's Outstanding Male Athlete Award in 1989-90 following a stellar four-year track and field and cross country career. The Duluth Central High School alumnus captained the UMD cross country and track and field teams during his senior year in 1989-90 and was a 1986 and 1988 All-NSIC cross country performer and five-time conference track and field champion (1,500 meter indoors and outdoors in 1989 and 1990 and 1,000 meter indoors in 1989). As a sophomore, he was helped contribute to UMD's conquest of its first-ever NSIC cross country championship. Nisius was also part of four school record relay teams (indoor and outdoor 4 x 800 meter, indoor sprint medley and outdoor 4 x 1,600 meters) during his time with the Bulldogs.

Nisius, who lives in Duluth, earned both a B.S. degree in business administration/finance (1990) and a B.A. degree in teaching social studies (1992) from UMD.