The Gustavus Adolphus College Athletics Department has announced the 2003-04 Male and Female Athletes of the Year and they are Angie Peterson, a basketball player from Northfield, Minnesota and Luke Benoit, a golfer from Faribault, Minnesota. Peterson and Benoit, who are the fourth annual recipients of the Gustavus Athlete of the Year awards, will be honored at the Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet which will take place on Saturday, October 16 in Alumni Hall on the Gustavus campus.
Peterson, a senior guard, led the team in scoring with an average of 17.5 points per game and set the school record for points in a season with 472. A three-year starter, Peterson finished her career as the second leading scorer in school history with 1,333 points. This past season she was selected First Team All-Conference, First Team All-Region and First Team All-America. She is the first Gustavus women’s basketball player to earn First Team All-America honors. Peterson ranked 15th in Division III in three-point field goal percentage (40.3%) and 53rd in scoring (17.5 ppg) last season. The career record holder in three-point field goals made with 176, Peterson helped the Gusties post a mark of 21-6 last season and 66-17 over her three-year career.
Benoit finished second individually at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships and helped the team claim its first ever national championship. The senior from Faribault, Minn., tied a NCAA record with a seven-under par score of 65 on the final day of the NCAA Tournament to help the team claim the national title. His final round 65 included a double eagle three on the par five 16th hole. A three-time All-American, Benoit also earned First Team All-Conference and First Team All-District honors this pas year. As talented in the classroom as he was on the course, Benoit was a First Team College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America selection as well as earning Golf Coaches Association of America All-America Scholar honors.
Peterson and Benoit were selected from a group of 20 candidates (9 men and 11 women). To be a candidate for the Gustavus Athlete of the Year, an athlete had to have been selected one of nine Athlete’s of the Month selected during the school year or put on the ballot by their head coach as a result of being selected their team’s Most Valuable Player. The winners are selected by a vote of the 15 Gustavus head coaches.
The 11 finalists for Gustavus Female Athlete of the Year included: Beth DeLaRosby of Two Harbors, Minn. (junior, swimming and diving), Samantha Engh of Wayzata, Minn. (sophomore, soccer), Tara Houlihan of Sioux Falls, South Dakota (sophomore, volleyball, tennis), Audrey Lenoch of Pine Island, Minn. (sophomore, softball), Jackie Luehmann of Lewiston, Minn. (senior, track and field), Ingrid Olson of White Bear Lake, Minn. (senior, nordic skiing and softball), Amanda Parker of Ames, Iowa (junior, gymnastics), Kristin Petersen of Hayfield, Minn. (senior, track and field), Andrea Peterson of Vadnais Heights, Minn. (first year, ice hockey), Angie Peterson of Northfield, Minn. (senior, basketball) and Jen Skalko of Eveleth, Minn. (senior, cross country).
The nine finalists for Gustavus Male Athlete of the Year included: Luke Benoit of Faribault, Minn. (senior, golf), Tim Brown of Bloomington, Minn. (senior, basketball), Scott Hagemeyer of Willmar, Minn. (first year, swimming and diving), Tony Konicek of Rochester, Minn. (first year, baseball), Bobby Kroog of Bloomington, Minn. (sophomore, soccer), Andrew Moulton of St. Peter, Minn. (junior, soccer), Ben Sherer of Bismarck, North Dakota (sophomore, baseball), Will Sutor of Fergus Falls, Minn. (junior, swimming and diving) and Erich Ziegler of Crystal Falls, Michigan (junior, nordic skiing).