Go Vikings! Athletic wrap ups from fall

BY KATIEJO SVENSON • COORDINATOR OF SPORTS INFORMATION

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.

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 junior Cianna Hoppe (Lewiston, Minnesota) earned Second-team honors. Having three conference honorees tied the school record 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.

MEN’S GOLF

The Bethany men’s golf team won the UMAC Championship with a team score of 934. The 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 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.

WOMEN’S GOLF

Bethany Junior Hayley Thompson (Victoria, Minnesota) fired a final round 78 to win the UMAC Championship individual medalist honor. Thompson broke her own BLC school records in three categories while on her way to earning her third All-Conference honor, the most of any Viking competitor in Bethany history. Thompson shattered multiple records in throughout the tournament: • UMAC Championship 18-hole record (78) • UMAC Championship 36-hole record (164) • UMAC Championship 54-hole record (250) Thompson is the third individual UMAC Champion in program history and first since 2008 (Abigail Lecy).

MEN’S SOCCER

The Bethany men’s soccer team finished the 2021 season with a 14-7 overall record and were 13-1 in UMAC contests, under third-year head coach Derick Lyngholm. The Vikings won their first UMAC regular season championship in program history. BLC qualified for the UMAC Tournament for the third-straight season and were the second seed for the second-straight year.

Junior Max Busch (Odenthal, Germany) led the team with 19 goals and added seven assists for 45 points. He ends his career as the program’s leader in points (140), goals (63), game-winning goals (14), and penalty kicks (7), as he will graduate a year early. Busch became the first student-athlete across all sports at Bethany Lutheran College to repeat with Academic All-American honors as selected by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA).

Tomas Abreu (Lisbon, Portugal), Busch, Quadio Curzio (Lecco, Italy), and Liam Peterson (Port Orchard, Washington) were all named Firstteam All-Conference. Nick Lundberg (Mankato, Minnesota) and freshman Gianluca Trastulli (Rome, Italy) received Secondteam accolades to tie the school record of six total First-and Secondteam honorees. Busch and Peterson were named Secondteam All-Region by the United Soccer Coaches Association. This marks the first time the Vikings have had multiple honorees. Busch previously received this honor in 2019, and this is the first career accolade for Peterson. The duo also swept the UMAC MVP awards this season.

The men's soccer team won their first regular season UMAC Championship in program history.

Photo by David Norris

WOMEN’S SOCCER

The Bethany Lutheran women’s soccer team finished the 2021 season with a 13-6-1 overall record and were 10-3-1 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) contests, under third-year head coach Emma Morris. The Vikings qualified for the UMAC Tournament for the third-straight season and were the third seed, which was their highest seed since 2014.

Senior Maddie Perry (Anoka, Minnesota) led the Vikings with 15 goals and eight assists for 38 points. She ends her career as the program’s career leader in points (135), goals (57), and game-winning goals (18). Perry also ranks third in career assists (21) and sixth in games started (71). Perry was named First-team All-Conference, which was her fifth career accolade, as she took advantage of the COVID eligibility waiver.