Three Gustavus Adolphus College athletic teams and eight individual student-athletes have been recognized recently by each sport’s respective coaches association for excellence in athletics and academics. Men’s and women’s outdoor track and women’s basketball have all earned team honors, while individual athletes in men’s and women’s outdoor track and field and men’s and women’s golf have received honors.
Outdoor Track and Field
The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s and women’s track and field teams, along with three individuals, have been named to the Division III All-Academic Team by the United State Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their academic and athletic accomplishments during the 2006 outdoor track and field season. To qualify, a team must hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 or above, while an individual must hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.25 and reach a NCAA qualifying standard in their event.
The Gustavus Adolphus men’s team is one of 31 Division III men’s teams with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, while the women’s team is one of 50 Division III women’s teams to have earned that distinction. The Golden Gustie men finished tied for 66th in the team scoring at the NCAA meet and had a cumulative team GPA of 3.327. The Gustavus women finished tied for 19th in the team competition and had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.285.
Tanner Miest (Jr., New London, Minn.) was the only Gustavus male individual honored by the USTFCCCA. Miest, a 2003 graduate of New London-Spicer High School, finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships and has a 3.963 grade-point average. Sari Lindeman (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.) and Shanna Dawson (So., Fairmont, Minn.) were each honored on the women’s side. Lindeman, a 2004 graduate of Cannon Falls High School, provisionally qualified for the national meet in the triple jump with a school-record effort of 37 feet, 8 inches at Hamline’s Meet of the Unsaintly and has a 3.36 grade-point average. Dawson, a 2004 graduate of Fairmont High School, provisionally qualified for the NCAA meet in the pole vault with a mark of 11 feet, 7 inches at the MIAC Outdoor Championships, missing the field by three-quarters of an inch. Dawson has a 3.472 grade-point average.
Women’s Basketball
Gustavus ranks 24th on the 2005-2006 NCAA Division III Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll released by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The Gusties posted a team grade-point average of 3.342, just two-thousandths behind MIAC member Hamline, which finished 23rd. The awards recognize teams throughout the nation that have the highest grade point averages (GPA) for the 2005-2006 season based upon nominations submitted by WBCA-member coaches. Gustavus finished 19-7 overall and placed third in the MIAC.
Women’s Golf
Gustavus Adolphus women’s golfers Kelli Groff (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.), Breanne Staples (Jr., Windom, Minn.) and Kimbra Kosak (Fy., Grand Rapids, Minn.) have been named to the 2006 Division III All-American Scholar Team by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA). The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent of all college athletics. The minimum cumulative grade-point average is 3.50 and student-athletes must have competed in at least two-thirds of the college’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year. A total of 371 student-athletes were honored in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III.
Groff, a two-time NGCA All-American, posted an 18-hole stroke average of 79.7 in 24 rounds of play this season and picked up medalist honors at the Division III Midwest Classic, Wartburg Invitational and the MWCGA Championships. At the Division III Midwest Classic, Groff posted school-record 18-hole (72) and 36-hole (146) scores. Groff finished tied for 13th at the 2006 NCAA Championships, posting a school-record 72-hole score of 326. Groff graduated in May with a degree in management.
Kosak, the 2006 NGCA Division III Freshman of the Year, posted an 18-hole stroke average of 83.3 in 24 rounds of play this season and captured medalist honors at the Cobber Open and in a dual against Wartburg. Kosak finished 23rd at the NCAA Championships and has been selected to represent the United States in the USA China Friendship Cup July 27-29 at Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif. She has not declared a major.
Staples posted an 18-hole stroke average of 84.8 in 24 rounds of play this season with a low round of 76 coming at the MWCGA Championships. Staples, a health fitness major, finished 27th at the NCAA Championships.
Gustavus finished second at the 2006 NCAA Championships, the highest finish in the program’s history.
Men’s Golf
Gustavus Adolphus men’s golfers Jon Hagedorn (Sr., Blue Earth, Minn.) and Erik Tone (Jr., Willmar, Minn.) have been named 2006 Cleveland Golf Division III All-American Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). Only juniors and seniors are eligible to be a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar and must have at least a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average. In addition, Division III golfers must have a stroke average of 79.0 or less to qualify.
Hagedorn posted a 18-hole stroke average of 78.7 in 21 rounds this season, carding a season-low round of 73 during the second round of Gustavus’ Bobby Krig Invitational in April. Hagedorn also competed at this year’s NCAA Championships, finishing tied for 70th.
Tone’s 77.7 stroke average ranked fourth on the team and carded season low rounds of 71 during the first round of both the Twin Cities Classic and the Bobby Krig Invitational. Tone finished tied for 49th at the NCAA Championships.