Dual Threat: Charlie Theis excels on both the court and the field

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 with the UWRF track and field team, has taken on a new challenge this year by joining the premier men’s soccer team at UW-River Falls. The graduate student from Shakopee, Minnesota is one of five seniors on the team, which includes 15 freshmen, nine transfers and three athletes previously enrolled at UWRF.

“I never thought I could be a part of something like this,” Theis said. “It’s something I’m really happy to be a part of.”

Theis began his athletic career at a young age, when football was his sport of choice, and eventually competed in both track and field and football in high school. He was recruited to UWRF to compete on the track and 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 the indoor triple jump (13.34 m), 10th in the outdoor long jump (6.47 m) and sixth in the outdoor triple jump (13.44 m).

After leaving football behind in high school to pursue his track career, Theis thought his days of competitive football were behind him. As it turned out, that was not the case.

Throughout his career, Theis competed on the UWRF men’s soccer club team, where soccer was seen only as a hobby. When the university announced the creation of an officially sponsored men’s soccer program, Theis was one of several club players seeking an opportunity to join the newly formed team and earned his way onto the team after an impressive performance during the team training camps.

“Pretty soon after that, we offered Charlie a spot because he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s a competitor, he’s mature and he’s experienced,” UWRF men’s soccer coach Evan Sassano said. “He was a great asset and we feel fortunate that he was there and interested in both football and athletics.”

As Theis worked to improve his football skills as needed to compete at the collegiate level, he noted that the biggest challenges were adapting to the speed of the game and regaining his touch.

“With Charlie, it’s not just his athleticism, but he has a great work rate,” Sassano said. “Some players who 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 more than 15 different indoor and outdoor track events. In addition to his achievements on the track and on the football field, both of his coaches noted that Theis’ leadership style is one that inspires his teammates more through actions than words, a valuable role for an athlete in any sport.

“Charlie is a quiet leader who leads by example and does his utmost day in and day out to continually improve,” said Andy Eggerth, Director of Cross Country and Track & Field at UWRF.

“He knows very well how to manage his time. He knows what to put into his body as an athlete, how to organize your classes and be diligent with the time 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 very first game. UWRF compiled a 7-10 overall record in the regular season 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 went on a four-game winning streak, including wins over UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point in the program’s first official WIAC games. In the first round of the WIAC tournament on November 6, the Falcons defeated UW-Stout 3-0 at home to advance to the WIAC semifinals. Theis has played 636 minutes this season, including 17 appearances and six starts; he has tallied 17 shots and five shots on target.

“It’s been a great season so far. It’s been a lot of fun playing against the tougher nationally ranked teams early in the season and seeing those high-intensity teams early in the season,” said Theis. “As the season progressed, we were able to get wins and experience success, so now we are ready to go into the playoffs and give it our all.”

With any new team, there are questions about how a season will fare on and off the field. For Theis and the members of the UWRF men’s soccer team, embracing these challenges has been an important part of this year’s experience, and has helped build team camaraderie among a group of athletes who were strangers just four months ago.

“It was a lot of fun going through the ups and downs together,” Theis said. “It’s also really cool to be able to meet people from different countries.”

While Theis knows his collegiate football career will come to an end after this season, he noted that a big part of his role on this year’s team was to help lay a foundation for success in the future.

“I think we’re going in the right direction,” Theis said. “I think the athletic department has done a great job recruiting the right coaches for this team and going forward we will be able to keep the ball rolling and continue to build.”

“I can’t say enough about the players who came in knowing they’re looking at something beyond just this year,” Sassano said. “I give them so much credit for having the mentality that they are part of building this program.”

With the UWRF football season coming to a close, Theis will quickly shift his focus back completely on track as the 2024-2025 indoor season approaches. The graduate student enters the track season with expectations of making the positive progress he saw in the second half of last season.

“I’m really excited to continue working on the field events. Last year I didn’t get into pole vaulting until late in the season and I just wanted the season to last a little longer to continue to see that improvement,” said Theis . “I’m excited to get back into those field events and try to pick up where I left off.

“Last season was Charlie’s second season training for the combined events, so he is still very young in terms of his training age, but this is where you see exponential improvement and Charlie should be ready for a fun season,” Eggerth said.

Ultimately, Theis noted that he can look back fondly on his commitment to UWRF athletics, having been part of both the athletics program and the first-ever men’s soccer team.

“It didn’t even occur to me when I went to college that I would play two sports in college,” Theis said. “I always thought of it as one or the other, so looking back on this when it’s done, I think it turned out perfectly. I think about it a lot, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”