Fall and Winter Athletics

BY DAN DEWITT • COORDINATOR OF SPORTS INFORMATION

MEN’S GOLF

The BLC men’s golf team took fifth place at the UMAC Championship. Jordan Petzel, a senior from Arlington, Minnesota, earned All-Conference First Team honors by finishing in sixth place overall at the three-day championship event. Sam Havnen, a senior from Fairmont, Minnesota, finished in 15th place overall and earned All-Conference Honorable Mention. Nic Meyer, a senior from Litchfield, Minnesota, was the team’s Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Daniel Mundahl, announced that he would retire from coaching after the fall season. He had been the head coach of the Vikings since 2011 and amassed a UMAC record of 221-91. Mundahl led the team to a first place finish at the UMAC Championship in 2013, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Josh Pederson, a 2014 graduate of Bethany, was selected to be the next head coach of the men’s golf program. Pederson played golf for the Vikings and was a captain from 2011-14. Pederson was a member of the team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2013. He currently works at BLC as the Manager of Human Resources.

WOMEN’S GOLF

The BLC women’s golf team finished fifth at the UMAC Championships. Miranda Bresnahan, a freshman from St. Peter, Minnesota, was the top finisher for the Vikings. She tied for 13th place overall and earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors. Mackenzie Manthei, a senior from Belview, Minnesota, also earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.

The highlight of the fall season came at the University of Northwestern Invite when the Vikings captured first place. They finished ahead of Minnesota-Morris, UW-Superior, Martin Luther, and North Central. Bresnahan was the top finisher

for BLC, finishing second overall and Manthei finished third overall.

The women’s golf team also placed three student-athletes on the UMAC Academic All-Conference list including Katelyn Hardtke, Madalyn Hart, and Manthei.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

The Vikings men’s cross country team took fifth place at the UMAC Championships, which is the same finish as 2017. The Vikings finished with a point total of 167 which was 67 points behind fourth place finisher, Martin Luther. The Vikings did not have any all-conference performers this year, but they were led by sophomore Benjamin Tweit who finished in 24th place overall. Senior Stefan Prince was the second team finisher for BLC and finished in 27th place. He also received the Sportsmanship Award for the Vikings.

Nathan Birr, Michael Bless, Ryan McCue, and Jacob Tesch earned UMAC Academic All-Conference honors.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

The Vikings women’s cross country team finished in sixth place at the UMAC Championships. The Vikings finished with 162 points which was 16 points behind fifth place finisher Crown. Morgan Sauer, a senior from Lismore, Minnesota, was the 13th overall finisher which earned her All-Conference Second Team honors. Sarah Presler, a sophomore from Brandon, South Dakota, was the second team finisher for the Vikings and took 14th place overall to earn All-Conference Second Team honors. Brianna Soutthivong, a junior from Mountain Lake, Minnesota, received the team’s Sportsmanship award.

Margaret Degner, Mackenzie Floyd, Presler, and Sauer earned UMAC Academic All-Conference honors.

MEN’S SOCCER

The Bethany Lutheran men’s soccer team finished the season with an overall record of 7-9-3, a six-win improvement over last year. They finished the UMAC in seventh place with a 3-6-3 record. After starting the season 1-2, the Vikings went 4-0-1 over a five-game stretch to make their record 5-2-1 overall which included a 2-0-1 start in UMAC play. Abel Solis, a freshman defender from Marshall, Minnesota, earned All-Conference Second Team honors for BLC. Nikita Pyatetskiy, a freshman from Cambrils, Spain, earned Honorable Mention honors. Antonino Guerrero, a senior from Mankato, received the team’s Sportsmanship Award.

Long-time head coach Rob Pipal concluded his time at the helm of the men’s soccer program. Pipal started as the head coach of the Vikings in 1998 and was the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XIII Coach of the Year in 2002 and the UMAC Coach of the Year in 2010.

Pipal was replaced by Derick Lyngholm who has spent the last 12 years leading the women’s soccer program. Lyngholm finished his time with the women’s program as the winningest coach in history with 99 career victories and six postseason trips. He is a 1997 Bethany alumnus, and is an instructor in Bethany Lutheran’s Communication Department.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

The Bethany women’s soccer team finished the season with an overall record of 10-8 which is three wins better than 2017. The Vikings were 6-6 in UMAC play and finished in sixth place, just missing the postseason tournament. BLC finished tied with the fifth place team Minnesota-Morris, but lost the tiebreaker which determined who would advance to the UMAC playoffs. The Vikings placed three players on the All-Conference Second Team including Bailey Bakken, a freshman from Shakopee, Minnesota, Jessica Berlinger, a senior from Mosca, Colorado, and Madison Perry, a sophomore from Anoka, Minnesota.

Derick Lyngholm finished his 12th season as the head coach of the program and is moving on to take over the reins of the men’s soccer program at BLC. He will be replaced by Emma Morris as the new head coach of the women’s soccer program. Morris comes to Bethany after two seasons as an assistant coach at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, where she helped the Student Princes to an overall record of 17-19-2 during her time. She is originally from England and played collegiately at both Ashford University (Iowa) and Viterbo University (Wisconsin).

VOLLEYBALL

The Bethany Lutheran volleyball team finished the season with an overall record of 11-18 and a UMAC record of 8-8. The Vikings finished in fifth place in the UMAC which put them in the playoffs as the fifth seed. They traveled to fourth-seeded St. Scholastica and lost 3-0. Megan Rutt, a junior from Le Center, Minnesota, earned UMAC All-Conference First Team honors as she finished second in the league in total kills. Kalli Mathiasen, a junior from St. Cloud, Minnesota, received All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The men’s basketball team had another successful season, finishing with an overall record of 18-8 and a UMAC record of 13-3. The 18 wins is a school record for most regular season wins. The Vikings finished the conference season in second place and earned a home playoff game for the third straight year. In the first round of the conference tournament, the Vikings were defeated by St. Scholastica after beating the Saints both times during the regular season. Cire Mayfield, a freshman from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, led the Vikings with 20.0 point per game and earned UMAC Freshman of the Year honors along with All-Conference First Team honors. Trenton Krueger, a junior from Eagan, Minnesota, earned All-Conference Second Team honors and All-Defensive Team honors. Jarred Merchant, a senior from Kimball, Minnesota, earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors after missing last season with an ACL injury and Jared Milinkovich, a sophomore from New Prague, Minnesota, was named to the All-Defensive Team.

INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

The Bethany Lutheran men’s indoor track and field team finished in fifth place at the UMAC Championship meet. Keegan Rich, a freshman from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, had an outstanding first year with the Vikings and was named the UMAC Rookie of the Year. He also earned All-Conference honors and was the UMAC triple jump champion, winning the event at the championship meet. Stefan Prince, a senior from Prior Lake, Minnesota, earned All-Conference honors for the Vikings and won the 800 meter championship. He also received the team’s Sportsmanship Award.

The Bethany Lutheran women’s indoor track and field team finished in fifth place at the UMAC Indoor Championships. The Vikings finished with 47 total points, edging out Crown College. The Vikings placed one individual on the All-Conference Team in Marissa Voss, a sophomore from Fairmont, Minnesota. Voss had a great showing at the championship meet as she took home second place in the high jump. Morgan Sauer, a senior from Lismore, Minnesota, received the team’s Sportsmanship Award.