ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Catherine University athletic department is excited to announce the 2019-20 department award finalists in preparation for the annual Purple and Gold Awards next Monday, May 18. The Wildcat athletic teams were on track to achieve their best overall finish in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC All-Sports Standings before the halt of the athletic year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Several Wildcat teams and student-athletes made history throughout the year, both on the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and national stage.
This year, the 2020 award ceremony will be held on Monday, May 18, at noon in a virtual format hosted on the department's live streaming platform for all Wildcat student-athletes recognizing letter winners, MIAC Honors and department award winners, including the McCahill Athlete of the Year award and Rookie of the Year award winners. Winners of the Sheila Brown Wildcat Award, the Brady Williams Spirit Award, and the Fleur-de-lis Award will also be recognized at the ceremony.
The McCahill Athlete of the Year award is given to a student-athlete who exemplifies outstanding athletic achievement from the past year as well as academic success, team leadership, and community involvement. This year, the four finalists represent the sports of swimming & diving and track & field as Amelia Baxley, Elsie Lundquist, Maggie Menso, and Jordyn Wentzel were announced as finalists Monday afternoon.
The Rookie of the Year award goes to a student-athlete who competed at the collegiate level for the first time this year and exemplifies athletic achievement as well as academic success, team leadership, and community involvement. This year's finalists for the award include golf's Sydney Brown, swimming and diving's Gillian Durand, soccer's Amanda Elton, and basketball's Bree Glynn.
Meet the finalists for the 2020 Athlete and Rookie of the Year Awards:
McCahill Athlete of the Year Finalists:
Amelia Baxley | So., Swimming & Diving | Minneapolis, Minn. / Southwest
Amelia Baxley had a big year in her first season with the Wildcats setting five program records, claiming five MIAC titles, and finished her campaign as a five-time NCAA All-America selection. Having spent her first season swimming at the University of Vermont, Baxley came to St. Kate's in the fall as another addition to the successful sophomore class. Throughout the season, Baxley reset the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke records which were the longest-standing individual records on the Wildcats leaderboard held by Hall of Fame swimmer Steffanie Jurusik. She set both the program-leading times in the 100-yard backstroke coming in at 56.09 and 200-yard back with a time of 2:02.66 at the 2020 MIAC Swimming Championships. To go along with her two individual titles in the 100 and 200 backstroke events, Baxley finished third overall in the 100-yard butterfly with a lifetime best finish of 57.65. She was also a member of three of the Wildcats' first-place record-setting relay teams adding a total of 36 points to help St. Kate's to their first MIAC championship. Her performance at the conference championships was good for five NCAA Division III Championship selection times and All-America honors in the 2020 NCAA Division III in the 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard medley relay, and the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Elsie Lundquist | Jr., Track & Field | Pine City, Minn.
Elsie Lundquist had another standout track & field season claiming her third MIAC individual title in back-to-back seasons. At this year's indoor MIAC track & field championships, Lundquist claimed her first indoor high jump title in dramatic fashion edging out the competitor from Saint Mary's in a jump-off with a mark of 1.53m. On the same day, Lundquist competed in the long jump finishing sixth overall with a mark of 5.06m, which is the seventh-best performance in program history. On day two of the championships, Lundquist appeared in the triple jump where she finished as the conference runner-up with posting a mark of 11.02m and helping St. Kate's to a ninth-place team finish. Leading up to the championships, Lundquist held the top mark in the conference for high jump at 1.63m just short of her program record of 1.65m. Aside from earning All-MIAC honors in the high jump and triple jump plus honorable mention recognition in the long jump, Lundquist was named to the All-Central Region team for high jump and finished the season ranked No. 41 in Division III. She was also a McCahill Athlete of the Year Finalist in sophomore year in 2019.
Maggie Menso | So., Swimming & Diving | Barrington, Ill.
Maggie Menso played a significant role in leading St. Kate's to their first MIAC Swim & Dive Championship this winter claiming three individual and two relay titles at the four-day event. Coming off of a record-setting debut season last year, Menso carried her success into her sophomore season ranking in the top-10 in eight different events on the Wildcats leaderboard. The distance swimmer finished her remarkable season ranking in the top-20 in Division III in the 200-yard freestyle (19th), the 500-yard freestyle (16th), and was fifth in the country in the 1,650-yard freestyle, all of which she finished first in at the MIAC Championships. Additionally, she helped St. Kate's to two relay titles in the 400-yard freestyle relay and the conference and program record-setting 800-yard freestyle relay. Menso finished the four-day championships tallying an outstanding 60 points for the Wildcats, which is the most an individual can score at the meet.. Aside from her incredible showing at the conference tournament, Menso posted four selection times, three individual and one relay, for the 2020 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships while her times in the 200-yard, 500-yard, and 1,650-yard freestyle plus her performance on the 800-yard freestyle relay garnered her All-America honors. As a first-year, Menso was named St. Catherine University Rookie of the Year in 2019.
Jordyn Wentzel | So., Swimming & Diving | Corcoran, Minn. / Delano
As a two-time MIAC Swimmer of the Year, Jordyn Wentzel put together the best season on record of any swimmer in conference history this year. The sophomore led the conference earning MIAC Athlete of the Week an unprecedented five times throughout the season while holding the top-time in several events in the MIAC. Wentzel's record-setting season included two individual program records adding to her overall total of nine records on the leaderboard in just her second season as a Wildcat. Additionally, she was a member of four relay teams that set program records and etching her name in the leaderboard an astonishing thirteen times. At the conference championships, Wentzel led her team to their first MIAC championship victory adding 60 points to the team's total with three individual top-times and four relay titles. Her highlight performance of the season came in the 200-yard breaststroke where she broke the NCAA Division III record with a time of 2:11.85 surpassing the former national mark of 2:12:20 that stood for nearly four years. Her performances this season overall earned her six selection times to the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships receiving a team-best six All-America Honors. Wentzel was named the St. Catherine University McCahill Athlete of the Year as a rookie in 2019.
Rookie of the Year Finalists:
Sydney Brown | Fy., Golf | Eau Claire, Wis. / North
First-year Sydney Brown had a record-setting debut in the fall finishing with a team-best stroke average of 77 and recording the best fall season of any Wildcat golfer in program history. Appearing in eleven rounds in the fall, Brown finished in the top-ten in three out of five events. At the MIAC championships, Brown finished in 4th place as an individual earning her MIAC All-Tournament Team honors as her 54-hole score of 232 was a program-best finish. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native recorded eight rounds in the 70's in her debut fall season, tallying a team-best 21 birdies. After just one season, Brown is tied for the Wildcats second-best individual low 18-hole score at 72, is third overall for an individual low 36-hole score at 148 and tied for first for the lowest individual round at the MIAC Championships with a score of 76. To go along with her MIAC All-Tournament Team honors, Brown also was named to the MIAC All-Conference team and Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-Central Region Team.
Gillian Durand | Fy., Swimming & Diving | Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Champlin Park
Rookie swimmer Gillian Durand was a key contributor on the Wildcat swim and dive team this season helping St. Kate's to its first-ever MIAC Championship. Through the course of the season, Durand swam eight lifetime best times, four of which are listed on the Wildcats top-10 all-time performance list. At the MIAC Championship, Durand was the runner-up in the 200-yard backstroke earning her MIAC All-Conference honors. The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native finished sixth overall in the 100-yard backstroke and was tenth in the 100-yard butterfly. She finished as the third-ranked first-year at the championship and was 21st overall scoring 20 points for St. Kate's.
Amanda Elton | Fy., Soccer | Cottage Grove, Minn. / Park
Amanda Elton recorded one of the most impressive debut seasons for the Wildcat soccer team in program history. The Cottage Grove, Minnesota native was named MIAC Rookie of the Year after leading all first-year players with eight goals and 20 points against conference action. She also led all MIAC players with a team-high nine total assists for a total of 25 points in her rookie season. She had two multi-goal games, three multi-point games, and a pair of game-winning goals, all of which came against MIAC opponents. Additionally, she is the first Wildcat to earn MIAC individual postseason honors and was named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-North Region Third Team this fall.
Bree Glynn | Fy., Basketball | Blaine, Minn. / Totino-Grace
Bree Glynn averaged 6.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in her first year on the Wildcat basketball team. Glynn started 25 of the Wildcats 26 games as a rookie averaging 31.3 minutes per game. The Blaine, Minnesota native made an immediate impact after joining the starting line-up in the second game of the season ranking in the top-5 on the team in six statistical categories, including minutes per game (31.3), field goals (74), field goal percentage (51.39), free throws (31), free throw percentage (68.89), and points per game (6.9).
