JA N UA RY 202 2
BY K ATIE JO SVE NSON • COORDINATOR OF SPORTS INFORM ATION
DID YOU KNOW? Bethany offers seventeen intercollegiate sports for our students— nine for women and eight for men. The national average at Division III schools is nineteen. Officially, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) offers thirty-seven different championships at the Division III level on 438 campuses for over 197,000 student athletes. The NCAA reports that the national percentage of full-time students at Division III (non-scholarship) institutions like Bethany who participate in at least one varsity sport is around 27%. At Bethany, our average over the past seven academic years is 41.5%. In each of the last two academic years, 223 students at Bethany participated in at least one varsity sport—an all-time high.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY The Bethany men’s cross country team placed fifth in the eight-team field at the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC ) Championships with 116 points. Senior Jakin Anderson (Belle Plaine, Minnesota) finished sixth with a time of 28:09.40, which earned him First-team All-Conference honors. This marked the first All-Conference honoree for the program since 2015.
Jakin Anderson
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY Sophomore Kayla Tobin (Watertown, Wisconsin) was the 2021 individual UMAC cross country champion and earned First-team honors while classmate Jordan Merwin (Isanti, Minnesota) and Kayla Tobin Jordan Merwin junior Cianna Hoppe (Lewiston, Minnesota) earned Second-team honors. Having three conference honorees tied the school record 24
which previously occurred in 2015 and 2016. Tobin became the first individual champion in Bethany program history, and the team’s first All-UMAC First Team finisher since 2016. The sophomore clocked a time of 23:30.5 that was 48 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Her performance helped the Vikings to a third-place team finish.
Cianna Hoppe
MEN’S GOLF The Bethany men’s golf team won the UMAC Championship with a team score of 934. The Nick Hansen V. Daniel Nitardy Vikings defeated three-time defending champions UW-Superior by seven strokes. This marked the third UMAC championship in program history, and first since 2013. Of note, current head coach Josh Pederson, and current assistant coach Andrew Aukes were Gabe Stoesz student-athletes on the 2013 championship squad. With the win, Bethany has qualified for the NCAA Championships May 10-13, 2022. Senior Nick Hansen (Watertown, South Dakota) was the top Viking finisher as he placed third with a 228, to earn All-Conference honors. Senior V. Daniel Nitardy (Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin) and Gabe Stoesz (Waseca, Minnesota) also earned All-Conference honors with their fifth and eighth place finishes, respectively.
