Throughout my four years at St. Thomas, I’ve witnessed some of the best athletes, teams and games that Division III has to offer. I’ve seen seasons close way too soon, and I’ve seen teams unexpectedly rise and conquer the challenges a season has to offer.

Before coming to St. Thomas, I had somewhat of an idea of how proficient Tommie athletics were. It’s not until this week, the last week of my college career, that I realized that I, and probably a lot of other students, took the success of this athletic program for granted. Not just the varsity teams, though – the club sports as well. The dance team captured numerous national championships, while the men’s lacrosse club team took home its second national championship in four years last week.

This past year has been excellent for Tommie sports, arguably the best in my four years here. The year featured history-making performances, national champions and the end of many stellar careers. The list below features seasonal awards for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Team of the year
Men’s Basketball – Under the guidance of Coach Tauer, the team dropped only three games in the regular season and defeated the first, second and fourth ranked teams en route to winning the program’s second national championship. Guards Grant Shaeffer, Cortez Tillman and Taylor Montero and center Ryan Saarela were crucial contributors.

Honorable mentions
Women’s and men’s track and field – Each took home the outdoor MIAC championships, while multiple school and personal records were broken throughout the season.
Men’s Golf- Tied for fifth at nationals, the highest finish in program history.
Softball- Won the MIAC title and captured the regional championship in the national tournament

Male Athlete of the Year
Jordan Roberts, football – A Division I transfer from the University of South Dakota, Roberts made himself known early, with 230 yards and four touchdowns against St. John’s in the third game of the season. He finish the year with 2092 yards, 34 touchdowns and numerous accolades.

Honorable mentions:
Taylor Montero, men’s basketball – Named Most Outstanding Player of the D-III Final Four and was second on the team in scoring.
Mike Lanz, men’s swimming – Placed fifth in nationals, while receiving All-American honors
Pete Sienko, golf – Tied for 16th at nationals and has six top four finishes this season on top of being honored as an All-American

Female Athlete of the Year:
Emma Paulson, swimming – The junior put herself into elite company this season when she was selected as swimming and diving’s nominee for the Class of 2016 Division III Honda Athlete of the Year award. Paulson was St. Thomas’ first national champion swimmer after winning the 50 free, the 100 back and 200 back.

Honorable mentions:
Kaitlin Langer, basketball – Langer led the Tommies in scoring and rebounding while receiving All-American honors.
Tarynn Theilig, soccer – Theilig was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year and member of the all-conference team.
Emily Thul, golf – The MIAC Player of the Year finished tied for third at nationals.

Coach of the Year:
Scott Blanchard, swimming and diving – Blanchard took the reigns of the St. Thomas swimming and diving helm after Tom Hodgson stepped down from his 35-year coaching career. Blanchard delivered the program’s first national champion in Paulson. It was also the first time in the team’s history that both the men and women squads won the conference championship.

Honorable mentions:
John Tauer, basketball – Tauer won his first national championship as a head coach, on top of winning the conference championship.
John Tschida, softball – He guided his team to another conference title and in the midst of nationals, also coached his 1,000 game in the middle of the season.
Joe Sweeney, cross country/ track and field – Women’s cross country finished first at the NCAA regional and 26th at nationals; both men and women’s teams took the MIAC crown.

Most exciting matchup:
Men’s basketball NCAA tournament game vs. Augustana – A win over the No.1-ranked team punched the Tommies ticket to the Final Four. Heading into halftime with a four-point deficit, a strong second half from both Tillman and Shaeffer sealed a 86-76 upset victory in a raucous arena.

Honorable mentions:
Tommie-Johnnie football round 1 – The highly anticipated top 10 matchup that featured an ESPN pregame show and a record-breaking crowd was an amazing formula for another chapter of the teams’ storied rivalry. The game was a 7-7 tie at halftime, but the Tommies outscored the Johnnies 28-7 in the second half.
Women’s hockey vs. Bethel in MIAC championship game – A 1-1 tie in the first period and a scoreless second period led to an intense conclusion. An early third period goal from Megan Juricko sealed the Tommies third-straight MIAC championship.
Men’s hockey vs. Concordia-Moorhead on Feb. 1 – Down 3-0 in the second period to Concordia-Moorhead, Coach Boeser’s squad fired off five goals in a span of 10 minutes in the third period to secure a 5-3 victory.

Best performance:
Katie Stone vs. Loras College in NCAA tournament first round – Heading into the fourth quarter, the senior had nine points, shooting four of 13. In the fourth quarter she shot four of six, including three of five from behind the arc. Regulation ended with both teams knotted up at 63, but Stone continued shooting the ball well, scoring 10 of the team’s 13 overtime points. She would finish with 32 points and the Tommies defeating Duhawks 76-68.

Honorable mentions:
Emma Paulson at nationals – She was named Most Outstanding Swimmer at nationals given the three events she won.
Jordan Roberts vs. SJU – In his Tommie-Johnnie premiere, the junior racked up 230 yards and four touchdowns.
4X800 Women’s outdoor track field – Broke a six-year old school record at the Drake Relays with Kayla Janto, Summer Ellefson, Hannah Helstad and Aimee Junget making up the team.

Best Freshmen:
Kiersten Anderson Glass, softball – Tschida’s top pitcher sports a 29-4 record and leads the conference in wins, strikeouts and ERA. She was named the MIAC Pitcher and Rookie of the Year and Anderson-Glass is an obvious determining factor if the Tommies want to compete for another national championship.

Honorable mentions:
Mackenzie Torpy, hockey – She chalked up 19 wins with a 1.65 GAA and .926 SV percent in helping the Tommies reach the national tournament.
Mallory DeBoom, women’s soccer – DeBoom led the Tommies in goals and points with the team making it to the conference championship game.
Anthony Ekholm, men’s track and field – Ekholm took first in both the 100M dash was part of the 4X100 relay team at the MIAC championship meet.

Biggest Surprise:
Jordan Roberts – It was unknown how much of an impact the transfer would have on this team given that Jack Kaiser was returning to the backfield and through two games he had 28 carries. He wound up leading the nation in rushing touchdowns and a co-leader in rushing.

Honorable mentions:
Men’s soccer competing in conference championship game – Coach Jon Lowery’s team secured the final conference playoff spot in the last regular season game, won in the quarterfinals and semifinals before losing 2-0 to St. Olaf.
Volleyball finishing in the eighth in the MIAC standings – Following a departure of six seniors, the Tommies had their first losing season under coach Thanh Pham and didn’t finish first in the MIAC since 2006.
National tournament appearances – 13 teams have won the conference championship for their respective sport and both the men and women captured the MIAC All-Sports title for the ninth-straight season.

Best Female Graduate:
Emily Gapinski, cross-country/track and field – During her tenure as a cross-country runner, she’s steadily improved in the conference and capped off this year finishing fifth. She concluded her cross-country career by finishing 95th out of 280 runners. She won the national championship in the mile and distance medley relay, along with numerous conference championships and school records.

Honorable mentions:
Bridget Noack, tennis – She was honored as All-MIAC in singles and doubles throughout all four seasons and played either first, second or third throughout her whole singles career.
Megan Juricko, hockey – The captain was a three-time All-American, the first multiple All-American honoree on defense; recorded 54 points in 102 career games.
Erin Dingman, golf – She qualified for nationals in her sophomore through senior year and received All-MIAC honors in those same years, she was honored as MIAC Rookie-of-the-Year her freshman year.
Katie Stone, basketball – Averaged just under 10 points per game, while starting every game since her sophomore year. She was named to the All-West Regional team this season, along with being a two-time All-MIAC team member.

Best Male Graduate:
Mike Lanz, swimming – He wrapped up his Tommie career finishing fifth in the 100 fly, fourth in the 200 fly and 8th in the 800 yard freestyle relay at nationals this past year, which administered his third consecutive All-American honors. He’s a three-time MIAC Swimmer-of-the-Year recipient and won numerous MIAC Championship events during his tenure.

Honorable mentions:
Miles-Stockman Willis, soccer – Named to the All-North Region team this past season. Recorded 71 points and led the team in scoring twice, while starting every game in his three-year Tommie career. A three-time recipient of All-MIAC honors.
Eric Veglahn, baseball – Won the MIAC Pitcher-of-the-Year this season, while gaining his third-straight All-MIAC honors. He led the Tommies in strikeouts the last three seasons, while compiling 24-3 overall record and didn’t drop a regular season start until the middle of last season.
Jacob Gerhartz, cross-country/track and field – He’s both proficient in school and academics, he’s posted a 4.0 GPA during his tenure, while claiming multiple All-MIAC honors in both track and field and cross-country. He just won his second consecutive Elite 22 Award for cross-county.
Brady Rademacher, tennis – He’s received All-MIAC honors all four years, collecting the honor in doubles for four season and singles for three. He posted 64 victories over his career.

Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.