Sports Roundup

Fall/Winter Scorecard

CROSS COUNTRY

SJU finished third at the 2021 MIAC Championships and ninth out of 31 teams at the NCAA North Regional. Lloyd Young ’24 and Andy Goldsmith ’22 earned All-MIAC honors by finishing third and eighth, respectively, at the MIAC Championships, and were All-Region (top 35) in fifth and 26th two weeks later at the NCAA regional. Young placed 52nd at the NCAA Division III Championships Nov. 20.

FOOTBALL

Saint John’s (11-1, 8-0 MIAC) won its MIACrecord 35th conference title and made its 31st postseason appearance last fall. The Johnnies were ranked No. 8 in the final national polls. Wide receiver Ravi Alston ’21 was named the MIAC Most Valuable Player, the 21st Johnnie to earn the award and the first receiver since Blake Elliott ’03 in 2002 and 2003. Defensive lineman Seth Morem ’21 shared the MIAC’s Most Outstanding Lineman award with Gustavus Adolphus’ Zach Jakes. Morem is the 10th Johnnie to win the award and third consecutive (tackle Ben Bartch ’20 in 2019 and defensive lineman Nathan Brinker ’19 in 2018). The Johnnies tied a school record with 11 student-athletes named to the AllMIAC first team: Alston, Morem, linebacker Erik Bjork ’23, defensive lineman Metoriah Faoliu ’22, offensive tackle Tyler Johnson ’21, linebacker Kyle Kornovich ’21, tight end Alex Larson ’23, wide receiver Matt Mohr ’22, center Nick Neumann ’21, running back Henry Trost ’22 and defensive lineman Michael Wozniak ’22. Head coach Gary Fasching ’81 was named the MIAC John Gagliardi Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season, and fifth time in his nine-year tenure. Safety Mateo Cisneros ’24 was awarded the prestigious MIAC Elite 22 Award, which is given to the studentathlete with the highest GPA among those who played in the MIAC Championship

Game. Alston was named an All-American by the American Football Coaches

Association (second team), Associated

Press (second team) and D3football.com (third team). Neumann also received second-team honors by the AP, while Wozniak was named to the D3football.com All-America first team and Larson was named to the fourth team. Johnson, Trost and Wozniak also earned College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America honors.

GOLF

SJU won its second consecutive conference title (14th overall) at the 2021 MIAC Championships. The win clinched the Johnnies’ 19th appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship. All five Johnnies finished in the top 10 at the MIAC Championships to earn All-MIAC honors. Nate Loxtercamp ’24 finished second, Sam Berger ’24 tied for fourth, Glavine Schugel ’24 placed sixth, Blake Schuler ’24 tied for seventh and Thomas Gutzmer ’23 claimed 10th. Loxtercamp also earned the MIAC’s Elite 22 Award for men’s golf, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA among the All-MIAC honorees.

SOCCER

The Johnnies finished sixth in the MIAC with a 4-6 record (8-9-1 overall) and made their 10th trip to the semifinals in 11 MIAC Playoff appearances. Goalkeeper Evian Siefken ’25

was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region IX third team and midfielder Matt D. Anderson ’23 earned All-MIAC first-team honors. Defender Aidan Becken ’23 was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team.

BASKETBALL

Saint John’s (23-5, 17-2 MIAC) won its second consecutive MIAC regular-season championship (10th overall) and third consecutive MIAC Playoff title (eighth overall). The Johnnies made their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in a row and ended the regular season ranked No. 24 nationally. Post Zach Hanson ’21 returned for the 2021-22 basketball season thanks to the NCAA granting student-athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He earned D3hoops. com and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-Region 9 second-team distinctions and was named to the sixman All-MIAC first team for the second consecutive season. Hanson ended his career 17th in program history with 1,168 career points. Pat McKenzie ’04 was named the MIAC men’s basketball Coach of the Year for the second time. Wing Ryan Thissen ’24 was named to the All-MIAC second team and earned the MIAC Elite 22 Award for men’s basketball, which is presented to the individual with the highest GPA among tstudent-athletes who played in the MIAC Playoff Championship Game. Freshman guard Kooper Vaughn earned All-MIAC third-team honors and was also named to the five-man MIAC All-First Year team. Vaughn broke SJU’s singleseason record for made three-pointers by a freshman (53 by Chris Schwartz ’11 in 2007-08) with 70.

HOCKEY

The Johnnies finished third in the MIAC with a 9-4-1 record (17-8-2 overall) and made their fourth consecutive appearance in the MIAC Playoffs. Mac Berglove ’21 returned for the 2021-22 season and earned CCM/AHCA Division III All-America West Region honors. The 24th Johnnie hockey All-American and the first since fellow goaltender Saxton Soley ’16 in 2012-13, Berglove ended his career third in program history in GAA (2.18) and fourth in save percentage (.924), and posted a 30-169 record and five shutouts. He signed a professional contract with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs March 6. Berglove and four other Johnnies were named to the All-MIAC first team: forward Lewis Crosby ’24, forward Auggie Moore ’23, defenseman Jack Olsen ’24 and defenseman Peter Tabor ’23. Forward Spencer Rudrud ’25 was named to the six-man MIAC All-Rookie team.

SWIM & DIVE

SJU finished second out of six teams at the 2022 MIAC Championships. Eli Grabinski ’25 was named the MIAC men’s Diver of the Year after he won both diving events, while Connor Reed ’23 placed second on both boards. Both divers competed at the NCAA Central Regional in Michigan. Joe Koller ’23 also won two conference titles. He became the first Johnnie to win the 100-yard backstroke since 2012 (Logan Arnold) with a school-record time of 50.88 seconds. He won his second conference championship with a school-record time of 1:51.44 in the 200-yard backstroke. The time shattered the record he set earlier this season by nearly three seconds (1:54.24) to become the first Johnnie to win the MIAC title in the event since Luke Vestrum ’03 in 2000.

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

The Johnnies won four events and totaled 15 All-MIAC performances en route to its first MIAC indoor championship. Maguire Petersen ’23 was named the MIAC men’s Outstanding Field Athlete and head coach Jeremy Karger-Gatzow earned Coach of the Year honors. Petersen won the MIAC heptathlon with a school- and conference meet-record total of 5,118 points, which was deemed the MIAC’s outstanding performance of the meet. He went on to achieve All-America distinction with a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division III Championships. Petersen, Eli Mollet ’23, Lloyd Young ’23, Michael Wallace ’22 and the Johnnies’ distance medley relay (Tommy Allen ’24, Brady Labine ’22, Alexei Hensel ’23, Mitch Grand ’23) earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-North Region accolades. Mollet joined Petersen at nationals and finished 12th in the weight throw. Allen earned the MIAC’s Elite 22 Award.

WRESTLING

A young SJU team finished with an 0-4 dual record in 2021-22 and competed at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional. Ben Gilbertson ’24 led the Johnnies with a 21-14 record (15-9 against Division III competition) between 174 and 184 pounds, while Logan Thorsten ’25 went 16-10 (115 vs. Division III) at 149/157.

Fall/Winter Scorecard

BASKETBALL

The Bennie basketball team wrapped up the 2021-22 season 15-11 overall and 11-10 and in fifth in the MIAC. CSB started the season 6-0, including a big home win over a tough Bethany Lutheran squad early in the season, and hosted a first-round MIAC Tournament game before falling in the MIAC Quarterfinals. Head coach Mike Durbin won his 700th game with the Bennies on Nov. 23 when the team beat UW-Superior 61-54. Point guard Carla Meyer ’24 earned All-MIAC honors after leading the team in scoring all season. She finished in the top 10 in the MIAC in points and assists per game. Madison Doran ’22 earned AllDefensive Team honors, and both Sophia Jonas ’25 and transfer Gabby Martin ’23 were named All-MIAC Honorable Mention.

CROSS COUNTRY

The CSB cross country team competed for the first time since 2019 this past fall, and took advantage of every opportunity on the course. The Bennies finished in the top five at six of the eight meets they competed in, including a fifth-place finish at the 2021 MIAC Championships. Fiona Smith ’24 made history as the program’s third MIAC Champion and MIAC Athlete of the Meet. She broke the program 5K and 6K records, and took fifth at the NCAA Championships to earn All-American honors – the fifth All-American in program history and the first for the Bennies since 2005. Emily Demorett ’23 and Tracy Renier ’22 also moved into the top-10 in program history in the 6K after big meets at the Lewis & Clark Invite in Oregon.

GOLF

Saint Benedict finished in fifth at the 2021 MIAC Championships. Rainy conditions shortened the tournament by nine holes, but that didn’t slow down Emily Renner ’24, who tied for third individually to earn the second All-MIAC honor of her career. She shot a careerbest 74 in the third and final day of the tournament, and teammates Sami Boerboom ’25 and Grace Hillemeier ’22 also shot 77 or better on the final day of competition. The Bennies won the Georgianni Blugold Invite in September thanks to top-15 finishes from Georgia Hinton ’25 and Hillemeier and a tie for first from Renner.

HOCKEY

Saint Benedict reached the double-digit win mark for just the seventh time in program history in 2021-22. The Bennies finished 10-12-1 overall and 6-7-1 and in sixth in the MIAC, and made the conference tournament for the second time in program history.

CSB beat Hamline for the first time since 2015, and went on a four-game winning streak mid-season – the team’s longest since 2008-09. Defender Jenna Timm ’25 earned a spot on the All-MIAC First Team and the All-Rookie Team after finishing eighth in the league in assists and top 20 in points. She is the team’s first FirstTeam honoree since 2016-17. Annika Brodt ’22 and Zoe Culshaw-Klein ’22 earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention.

SOCCER

The Bennies made their first appearance in the MIAC title game since 2013 in November after finishing second in the league. CSB finished the year 11-4-3 overall and 8-1-2 in the MIAC, and wrapped up the year with a 1-0 loss to St. Kate’s in the conference championship game. Roxy Veldman ’22, Ella Young ’24 and Chloe Miller ’23 earned All-MIAC First Team honors – the most first-team honorees for CSB since 2014. Miller later earned United Soccer Coaches All-Region Third Team honors, and Abby Willenbring ’24 was named the MIAC Elite 22 Award winner for maintaining a 4.0 GPA and also contributing as one of the team’s top midfielders.

SWIM & DIVE

The Bennie swim and dive team came out ready to compete in 2021-22, and by the end of the season, set eight school records and recorded 15 other times in the top 10 in program history. Ana Birklid ’22 led the way with four individual CSB records and was also part of three relay records at the MIAC Championships. She earned All-MIAC thanks to a secondplace finish in the 200 backstroke and helped the Bennies finish fifth at the conference meet. Fiona Rosko ’23 set another school record, two other top times in CSB history and earned All-MIAC in both the 400 IM and 200 breaststroke. Lindsay Smutka ’24 took second in the 100 backstroke to earn All-MIAC and Birklid teamed up with Jes Milstroh ’23, Jocie Larson ’24 and Emi Wagner ’24 to take third in the 200 free relay – the program’s first All-MIAC relay team since 2011-12.

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

The CSB track and field team saw records fall throughout the 2022 indoor season. Fiona Smith ’24 added to her total with records in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs, and won conference titles in both events at the 2022 MIAC Championships. She broke the 35-year-old MIAC record in the 3K, and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in both races with times in the top five in Division III. Kate Gallagher ’24 and Maggie Beckmann ’22 both broke records at the team’s final home meet of the year – Gallagher in the 60-meter dash and Beckmann in the weight throw. Gallagher took second in the 60 at conference and Beckmann was third in the weight throw, and both earned All-MIAC accolades. Justus Floren ’25 took second in both the high jump and pentathlon, and Steph Pickthorn ’22 finished third in the pentathlon.

VOLLEYBALL

A young Bennie volleyball team played a tough schedule in 2021 – nine of the team’s first 11 opponents were ranked in Division III. The team finished the year 7-14 overall and 5-6 and in sixth in the MIAC, and earned a spot in the conference tournament. CSB’s biggest win of the year was a 3-1 win at Cal Lutheran – which was receiving votes in Division III at the time – in September on CLU’s home court in California. Outside hitter Gabby Heying ’23 earned AllMIAC First-Team honors after finishing eighth in the league in total kills.