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Whether it is on the football field, on the track or in the classroom, senior Justin Sievert is going to give 100 percent in everything he is involved in. Sievert, who came to Union from New Paltz high school earned four varsity letters as a starter at defensive tackle for the football team. Now in his fourth season as a member of the track team, Sievert, who was an honorable mention All-American last year in the shot put, has already provisionally qualified for this season's national meet after only one outing. Expected to be a key factor during this spring's outdoor season, Sievert will look to improve upon the fourth-place finish in last year's NCAA championships that earned him All-American honors.
“Justin was a great leader for us and an outstanding talent,” said head football coach John Audino. “He was one of the better defensive tackles we've had in our program and could have played on any of the great Union teams. Justin consistently had 35 to 40 tackles a year and always has been unheralded because of his position played. Usually the defensive linemen in our scheme do not make the bulk of the tackles because their number one job is to keep the offensive linemen off of our linebackers.”
The 6'2, 265-pound Sievert finished his career with 131 total tackles, 10 quarterback sacks and five fumble recoveries. He was voted to the UCAA All-Conference team each of the last two years and was one of this year's captains.
“He is a hard worker and a solid leader,” said track coach Larry Cottrell. “Justin always sets his goals high and works extremely hard to achieve those goals. Others on the team see his work ethic, how he challenges himself, and that helps raise the bar for everyone.”
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Sievert was voted the Dutchmen's “Most Valuable Performer” for both the indoor and outdoor seasons after his sophomore and junior campaigns and was voted the MVP of the New York State and UCAA Championship Meets last year. The athletic department voted him the 2002 Pike Award winner as Union's “Outstanding Junior Male Athlete.”:
Justin is no slouch in the classroom either. A political science major who is going to attend law school for his JD and MBA, Sievert is applying at Tulane, Miami, Pepperdine, Northeastern, Villanova, and Albany/Union Law School. He has been on the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's All-Academic team throughout his junior and senior years, keeping his cumulative grade point average above the required minimum of 3.2. His thesis is on the political ramifications of baseball on the relationship between the United States and Cuba.
Talented enough to have competed for a Division I college in track, Sievert is more than happy with his four-year experiences at Union.
“Although I could have competed at the Division I level in track and field, Union College has offered me everything I wanted in terms of athletics and, more importantly, afforded me the opportunity to gain a quality education,” he said.
Looking back at his athletic career, Sievert says that starting on one of the best defenses in the country during his freshman year, beating Springfield during his sophomore season, which sent the Dutchmen to the NCAA play-offs, and beating RPI this year in the 100th meeting between the two schools are among his favorite football memories. As for his track experiences, he points to winning his first state championship during his sophomore year by beating an NCAA finalist, and becoming an All- American in his junior year.