2021-22: DI Year I
6/30/2022
DI Year I for St. Thomas could best be summarized as: Historic. Unique. Unchartered. Overachieving. Transformational. Surprising. Game-changing. Fun. Frustrating. Surreal.
Among the positives of DI Year I was witnessing the number of dynamic freshmen that showed exceptional potential and helped their teams compete.
The 2021-22 athletic year proved to be one of many “firsts” for St. Thomas, as we entered our first year of reclassification from Division III to Division I.
In addition to beginning membership and competition across four new conferences (CCHA, Pioneer Football League, The Summit League, and the WCHA), we celebrated some huge victories on-and-off the field as we strive for comprehensive excellence. Follow along below as we highlights some of the top moments from Year I.
Roll Toms!
Women's Soccer ushers in the Division I Era (August 24, 2021)
With a stadium-record crowd of 405 in attendance, Women's Soccer played the first Division I competition in St. Thomas history, hosting the Northern Iowa Panthers. The two teams played to a scoreless tie as the match was contested on a warm Tuesday evening at South Field.
Gallery: Women's Soccer vs. Northern Iowa
Fans inspire Football to a Homecoming victory (Oct. 9, 2021)
In front of a sell-out crowd of 7,443, Football defeated Valparaiso, 20-13, to culminate Homecoming week. With the win, the Tommies improved to 13-0 in Homecoming games under head coach Glenn Caruso. In addition, St. Thomas extended its home regular season winning streak to 31-straight games after a perfect 4-0 home record in 2022.
Men's Cross Country finishes second at the Summit League Championships (Oct. 30, 2021)
Redshirt-sophomore Zach Haire placed fourth in a field of 62 runners to help lead Men's Cross Country to a second place finish at the Summit League Championships.
The Tommies put eight runners in the top 22 and closed out an outstanding first season at the league's meet in Tulsa, Okla. Coach Pete Wareham's young lineup had only one senior among the top-seven runners.
Men's and Women's Hockey face Minnesota State in Mankato as part of Hockey Day Minnesota (Jan. 22-23, 2021)
The Men's game against No. 2 MSU was televised to a regional audience by Bally Sports North and was played through steady snowfall. The crowd in attendance was estimated at above 6,000 spectators.
The Women's team held tough against the Mavericks, even tying the score late in the first, before dropping the HDM contest.
Gallery: MH vs. Minne State (January 22, 2022)
Men's Basketball's seven seniors score 78 points in a send-off win at home (Feb. 26, 2022)
Men's Basketball honored its seven seniors with a win in the final home game, as those seven combined for 78 points, to lift the Tommies to a 95-74 win over Omaha. It marked the team's 10th win of the campaign too.
Anders Nelson led with 20 points, Riley Miller had 17, Parker Bjorklund and Kevin Cunningham both had 14, and Ryan Lindberg scored 10. Burt Hedstrom added three for the team.
Both Miller and Bjorklund have decided to use their final year of eligibility to return to the team in 2022-23.
Softball upsets No. 22 South Florida on the road, 10-4 (March 20, 2022)
The Tommies fired on all phases in a road upset at No. 22 South Florida. USF was held to just three hits over the final four innings of the game.
Freshman pitcher Christina Crawford spun a gem, allowing just three earned runs in seven innings, capturing her second victory of the season.
Four different St. Thomas batters recorded a multi-hit game, including the duo at the top of the order (Brooke Ellestad and Kaitlyn Raymond), who combined for five RBI and each recorded three hits.
Baseball earns St. Thomas' first Division I win against a Power Five conference, blanking Minnesota, 6-0 (April 19, 2022)
Sophomore Kolby Gartner tossed a three-hit shutout in the victory, striking out nine, and allow just three baserunners. It was the first complete game for a Tommie pitcher in the Division I-era.
Kyle Halverson hit a home run and drove in three runs. Shortstop Matthew Enck added a two-hit performance and a pair of RBI.
In addition, the win gave the Tommies a three-game winning streak, their first in Division I history.
St. Thomas Athletics holds its inaugural Tommie Choice Awards (May 9, 2022)
St. Thomas Athletics, assisted by its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), organized the first annual Tommie Choice Awards. The formal, on-campus event was created to recognize and celebrate the many Tommie successes on the field and in the classroom for the 2021-22 school year.
The awards, voted on by St. Thomas student-athletes, included Top Male (Riley Miller, Men's Basketball) and Female (Brooke Ellestad, Softball) Athlete of the Year, Women's (Soccer) and Men's (Hockey) Team Academic Award, and the Team Community Service Award (Softball).
Track & Field shows out in first outdoor Summit League Championships appearance (May 14, 2022)
Graduate transfer Molly Reighard broke school records in the 400 dash (indoors) and 400 hurdles (outdoors) to help Women's Track to sixth-place team finishes at The Summit League Championships. Reighard was the 400m hurdles runner-up outdoors and became the Tommies' first female track & field All-Conference honoree.
The men's team finished fourth of seven teams, while the women's team finished sixth of eight teams, as the Toms made their first-ever Summit League Outdoor Championships appearance. Freshman sprinter Gary Afram took second place in the 100 meters en route to All-Conference honors.
Afram was selected as Newcomer of the Championships, and joined Nate Raddatz and Jack Rosner in securing All-Summit League accolades for St. Thomas.
Gallery: SummitOT (May 14, 2022)
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Imagine the stories these images could tell.
Eight images were gathered to contend for Top Image of DI Year I. These photos show the raw emotion of the student-athletes that don the Tommie purple.
These four pictures made it to the top eight, barely getting edged out in the first round.
The voting continued between four photos, with two being taken out just before the finals.
Katie Goelz and Softball made it to the finals with a post-home run celebration, finishing as the runner-up for the DI Photo of the Year.
Avery Lehman of Baseball earned the DI Photo of the Year with a diving attempt in the outfield!
