Upper Iowa University Athletics

Rachael Schmidt was inducted into the Upper Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame as an athlete. Schmidt graduated from Upper Iowa in 2009 with a degree in sports management. Schmidt was half of the combination that put Upper Iowa women’s golf on the national scene under Head Coach Chad Markuson from 2005-09. The Schmidt twins came to Fayette from Elk River, Minnesota. 

Schmidt, along with her sister and Jill (Preeshl) Norton, helped to lead the Peacocks to the NCAA Super Region III Championship and an eighth-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf National Championships. Schmidt was named to the NGCA All-American team four times while qualifying for the NCAA Division II Championships as an individual or as part of the Peacock team in each of her four seasons.

As an individual, she earned 20 tournament wins during her four-year career at Upper Iowa and carried a 78.13 stroke average in her four NCAA Championship appearances placing as high as 10th on the individual leaderboard as a freshman and 15th place as a junior and senior. Following the 2007-08 season, Schmidt was named the NSIC Women’s Golfer of the Year as a junior. She holds the top two season scoring averages in UIU history: 77.30 in 2007–08 and 77.43 in 2008–09.

After spending time on the Symetra professional golf tour, Schmidt began her career as a correctional officer for St. Louis County in Minnesota. She currently resides in Embarrass, Minnesota with her girlfriend Jessica with their two black labs and a cat.