ST. PAUL, Minn. – After an exciting past two weeks of St. Catherine athletics, the Wildcat athletic department is pleased to recognize the swimming & diving program, specifically Jordyn Wentzel, Amelia Baxley, Maggie Menso, Hannah Svendsen, and Macy Klein as title winners at the 2020 MIAC Championships leading the team to their first MIAC Championship title. The department is also recognizing the entire swimming & diving team for their academic success, the three basketball seniors for their leadership and athletic accomplishments, plus track standout Riley McMahon and first-year tennis student-athlete Kelsey Dorr as the most recent  Fleur-de-lis honorees. This selection period highlights the past two weeks with outstanding athletic performance, leadership, and scholarship. Introduced in the fall of 2017, the Fleur-de-lis award is an honor given to student-athletes who embody the three components of the Wildcat athletic department; sport, scholarship, and service.

The fleur-de-lis is a visual representation of the athletic department's mission. The three petals of the fleur-de-lis represent the tenants of our mission: Scholarship, Athleticism, and Service. The band holding the three pedals together represents leadership and perseverance. Excellence in any of these areas is recognized by the department through this award.
 
The Fleur-de-lis award honors Wildcat student-athletes who have exemplified the department's mission on the field, in the classroom, and through community service. The fleur-de-lis, or "flower of the lily" in English, is a symbol used by the University and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and is proudly incorporated into St. Catherine's shield as a representation of the Sister's French heritage and the seed from which their good works grow.
 
Jordyn Wentzel | So., Swim & Dive, Sport
Sophomore Jordyn Wentzel led the St. Catherine swimming & diving team to their first-ever Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Conference Championship on February 15^th. Wentzel earned MIAC Swimmer of the Year for the second-straight year after setting an NCAA Division III record in the 200-yard breaststroke. Wentzel's time of MIAC 2:11.85 was also a MIAC record, a program record, a lifetime best, and earned her an invitation to the NCAA National Champions. She finished the championship with seven first-place finishes with five program records and seven MIAC records. This is Wentzel's fifth Fleur-de-lis overall with each of her performances at the championship earning MIAC All-Conference recognition.

Amelia Baxley | So., Swim & Dive, Sport
Competing in her first MIAC Championship since transferring to St. Catherine this fall sophomore Amelia Baxley made a name for herself in her debut. Baxley finished the four-day event with five first-place finishes, two individual and three as a member of relay teams. Additionally, Baxley was a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay that finished as runner-up. She also swam five program-record times and was a member of three MIAC records with NCAA B Cut and selection times in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke. This is Baxley's second Fleur-de-lis honor in her time at St. Kate's while also earning her first MIAC All-Conference honors at the championship.

Maggie Menso | So., Swim & Dive, Sport
Earning her seventh Fleur-de-lis award of the season is Maggie Menso following an All-Conference earning week at the MIAC Championships. Menso finished the four-day event with three individual titles and two top-times in relay events. In the 1,650-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, and 200-yard freestyle, Menso finished with the top-time in addition to selection times and NCAA B cut times in each. She was also a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay that finished with a program, MIAC and meet record with a time of 7:29.60 for an NCAA B cut time.

Hannah Svendsen | So., Swim & Dive, Sport
Hannah Svendsen earns the third Fleur-de-lis honor of her career following her All-Conference performance at the MIAC Championships. As a member of the 400-yard medley relay, Svendsen swam a lifetime best split in the 100-yard butterfly helping St. Kate's to a first-place finish, both program and meet records, and an NCAA B cut time. As an individual, Svendsen brought home the first-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley swimming a lifetime best and an NCAA B cut time. She was also the runner-up in the 200-yard butterfly with a lifetime best finish of 2:06.81 and finished third in the 200-yard individual medley.

Macy Klein | So., Swim & Dive, Sport
Macy Klein joins the other four title winners at the MIAC Championships finishing with five first-place times that include two individual and three relay titles. Klein defended her titles in the 50-yard freestyle with an NCAA B cut time of 23.50 and the 100-yard freestyle swimming a lifetime best 51.08 which qualified as NCAA B cut and selection times. She was a member of the 200-yard medley relay swimming a lifetime best split of 23.10 helping St. Kate's to a program-record and NCAA B cut time. She was a member of the 400-yard medley relay that set both programs and meet records, the time trial 200-yard freestyle relay that set a new program record, and the first-place 400-yard freestyle relay team. The MIAC All-Conference swimmer was also part of the second-place 200-yard freestyle relay team and earned a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle with a lifetime best time of 1:53.64.

Swim & Dive Team | Academics
The 2019-2020 St. Catherine swim & dive team was recognized by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) with the honor of Fall Scholar of America team. The Wildcats finished the fall semester with the top Grade Point Average (GPA) among all NCAA Division III programs, both men and women. The team's 3.77 cumulative GPA was also tied with Division I men's program, Harvard University, and Division II women's program Emmanuel College. St. Kate's topped both the Division I women's top program and Division II men's programs.

Basketball Seniors | Leadership and Sport
The St. Catherine University basketball team has been led by seniors Danica Cambrice, Emma Nelson, and Jackie Radford both on and off the court for the past four seasons. The trio led their team to the MIAC Playoffs three-times in the past four seasons, just missing it during their junior season due to a tiebreaker. Both Cambrice and Radford have milestone achievements athletically this season with Cambrice joining the 1,000 career points club as the ninth member and concluding her season with 1,154 points total. Radford earned the 500-career rebounds group as just the sixth player in program history to achieve the accomplishment. She finishes her successful career as the fourth all-time rebounder at 555. Additionally, Nelson had a career season doubling her career-points between January 25^th and February 25^th. With several injuries cursing the starting five, the three seniors took it upon themselves to set-up and lead their team back to the playoffs one last time.

Riley McMahon | Jr., Indoor Track & Field, Sport
Junior track & field standout, Riley McMahon ran the No. 2 mark all-time in the 3K on February 15^th and the No. 3 fastest time in the 1K on February 21^st at the Ole Women's Invite. The All-Conference holds three top-10 times in the MIAC this season just days shy of the indoor championships February 28^th and 29^th. McMahon is 4^th in the 3K, 8^th in the 1K, and 10^th in the Mile, all of which she achieved in the last two weeks.  

Kelsey Dorr | Fy., Tennis, Sport
First-year Kelsey Dorr has had a great start to the spring season playing in the No. 1 singles position and carrying a 3-0 record. Dorr opened her rookie season claiming victories in the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles matches against Martin Luther on February 15^th. Against Minnesota Morris on February 22^nd, Dorr went 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 1 singles match and 8-0 in doubles play. Most recently, Dorr had a convincing victory in the No. 1 singles match downing an undefeated opponent 6-2, 6-3 at Concordia. She also appeared in the No. 1 doubles match edging out the Cobbers 8-5.