UW-River Falls dual-sport athlete Charlie Theis has had far from the typical college athletics experience.
Theis, who is entering his fifth season as an athlete on the UWRF track & field team, embarked on a new challenge this year in being a member of the inaugural men's soccer team at UW-River Falls. The graduate student from Shakopee, Minn. is one of five seniors on the team, which is made up of 15 freshmen, nine transfers, and three athletes previously enrolled at UWRF.
"I just never thought I'd be able to be a part of something like this," Theis said. "It's something that I'm very fortunate to be a part of. "
Theis began his athletics career at a young age, when soccer was his top sport of choice, and eventually competed in both track and soccer in high school. He was recruited to UWRF to compete on the track & field team, where he has primarily competed in multi-events, hurdles, and jumps. Theis represented UWRF at the 2024 WIAC Outdoor Championships, where he was the team's top finisher in the decathlon. He ranks seventh in the UWRF record book in indoor triple jump (13.34m), 10th in outdoor long jump (6.47m), and sixth in outdoor triple jump (13.44m).
After leaving soccer behind in high school to pursue his track career, Theis figured his days of competitive soccer were behind him. As it turns out, that was not the case.
Throughout his career, Theis competed on the UWRF men's soccer club team, where soccer was only viewed as a hobby. When the university announced the creation of an official sponsored men's soccer program, Theis was one of many club players looking for an opportunity to join the newly created team and earned his way onto the team after an impressive showing at the team's camp workouts.
"Pretty soon after that we offered Charlie a spot because he's strong, he's fast, he's a competitor, he's mature and has experience," UWRF Men's Soccer Coach Evan Sassano said. "He was a great addition, and we feel lucky that he was around and interested in playing soccer as well as track."
While Theis worked to elevate his soccer skills as needed to compete at the collegiate level, he noted the biggest challenges were adjusting to the speed of the game and regaining his touch with the ball.
"With Charlie, it's not only his athleticism, but he also has a great work rate," Sassano said. "Some players that are very athletic don't have the desire to be physical. Charlie likes to be physical and uses his strengths well."
That speed and physicality can be linked to his experience on the track, where Theis has competed in over 15 different events across indoor and outdoor track & field. In addition to his performance on the track and soccer field, both his coaches noted that Theis' leadership style is one that inspires his teammates through actions more than words, a valuable role of an athlete in any sport.
"Charlie is a quiet leader, leading by example, showing up day in and day out giving his best effort to constantly improve," UWRF Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Andy Eggerth said.
"He knows how to manage his time very well. He knows what to put in his body as an athlete, and how to organize your classes and be diligent about the time that you have," Sassano said. "That was something that was very important. We have a lot of freshmen, and we are all relatively new."
The Falcons opened the season with a resounding 3-1 win over Crown College in the program's first ever game. UWRF compiled an overall regular season record of 7-10 and went 3-2 in WIAC play to secure the #3 seed in the conference tournament with home field advantage in the first round. Midway through the season, the Falcons embarked on a four-game winning streak, which included victories over UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point in the program's first official WIAC matches. In the first round of the WIAC Tournament on Nov. 6, the Falcons defeated UW-Stout 3-0 at home to move on to the WIAC Semifinals. Theis has logged 636 minutes this season, including 17 appearances and six starts — he has tallied 17 shots and five shots on goal.
"It's been an amazing season so far. To play some of the harder teams early that are nationally ranked and see those high-intensity teams early in the season was very nice," Theis said. "As the season went on, we were able to pick up wins and experience success, so now we're ready to go into the playoffs and give it our all."
With any new team, there are question marks of how a season will fare on and off the field. For Theis and the members of the UWRF men's soccer team, embracing those challenges has been a key part of this years' experience, and has helped build team camaraderie among a group of athletes who were primarily strangers just four months ago.
"Going through the ups and downs together has been really nice," Theis said. "Being able to meet people from different countries is really cool too."
While Theis knows that his collegiate soccer career will come to an end after this season, he noted that a large part of his role on this year's team was to help build a foundation for success moving forward.
"I think we're headed in a great direction," Theis said. "I think the athletic department did a great job hiring the right coaches for this team and moving forward we're going to be able to keep the ball rolling and keep building."
"I can't say enough to the players that have come in with the understanding that they are looking at something beyond just this year," Sassano said. "I give them so much credit for having the mindset that they are a part of building this program."
As the UWRF soccer season nears a close, Theis will quickly move his focus fully back to track, as the 2024-25 indoor season approaches. The grad student enters track season with the expectation of picking up on positive progress he saw in the back half of last season.
"I'm really excited to keep working on the field events. Last year I figured out a lot late in the season in pole vault and I just wanted the season to be a little bit longer to keep seeing that improvement," Theis said. "I'm excited to get back into those field events and try to pick up where I left off.
"Last season was only Charlie's second season training for the combined events, so he's still very young as far as his training age but this is where you see exponential improvement and Charlie should be set for a fun season," Eggerth said.
When all is said and done, Theis noted that he can look back fondly on his commitment to UWRF athletics, through being a part of both the track & field program and the first-ever men's soccer team.
"It never even occurred to me going into college that I'd be playing two sports in college," Theis said. "I had always looked at it as one or the other, so to look back at this when it's done, I think it worked out perfectly. I think about it a lot, and I wouldn't change one thing."
