Macalester held its annual Athletic Banquet on Friday night (May 1) at the Leonard Center and announced the selection of
Annie Flanagan (Sr., Madison, Wis. / East) from women’s swimming & diving as the M Club Female Athlete of the Year and
Nathan Young (So., Denver, Colo. / Littleton) from men’s swimming & diving as M Club Male Athlete of the Year.
The department also announced its other major awards for the 2008-09 academic season:
George E. Scotton Senior Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year –
Martin Mudry (University Heights, Ohio / University School) – cross country & track
David C. Primrose Junior Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year –
Wade Ekstrom (La Crescent, Minn.) – cross country & track
Dorothy Michel Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year –
Annie Flanagan (Madison, Wis. / East) - swimming & diving
Dorothy Michel Junior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year –
Trina PaStarr (Minneapolis, Minn. / Southwest) - basketball
Three years ago, the Macalester College athletic department began a tradition of selecting female and male athletes of the year for each of the four academic classes. This award is called
“The Athletic Director’s Award.” M Club athletes of the year are not eligible for these honors. Athletic Director Award winners for 2008-09 are:
Senior Female Athlete of the Year –
Jordan Matheson (Vancouver, B.C. / The Nichols School – N.Y.) - golf
Senior Male Athlete of the Year –
Martin Mudry (University Heights, Ohio / University School) – cross country & track
Junior Female Athlete of the Year –
Trina PaStarr (Minneapolis, Minn. / Southwest)
Junior Male Athlete of the Year –
Wade Ekstrom (La Crescent, Minn.) – cross country & track
Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year –
Majra Mucic (Zenica, Bosnia / St. Louis Park - Minn.) – volleyball & basketball
Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year –
Nate Juergens (St. Paul, Minn. / Como Park) – soccer & football
First-Year Female Athlete of the Year –
Karoline Hart (Rexford, N.Y. / Niskayuna) – swimming & diving
First-Year Male Athlete of the Year –
T. Joe Loiselle (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) - football
Macalester’s
Wrean Family Prizes for athletes in the sports of women’s soccer, women’s basketball and volleyball, were presented to:
Wrean Family Prizes
Annie Virnig (Sr., Spokane, Wash. / Lewis & Clark) – Women’s Soccer
Elise Pagel (Sr., Appleton, Wis. / North) – Women’s Basketball
Sonia Muzikarova (Sr., Bratislava, Slovakia / Gymnazium Bilikova) - Volleyball
Macalester Athletic Dept. 2007-08 Awards & Bios
M Club Female Athlete of the Year
Annie Flanagan – Swimming & Diving
Annie Flanagan was named MIAC Diver of the Year after winning the conference championship in both 1-meter diving and 3-meter diving and then closed out her wonderful career at Macalester by earning honorable mention All-America honors on both boards. Flanagan broke her own school record nearly every time she competed this winter and placed ninth at the NCAA Championships in 3-meter diving and 11th in 1-meter diving.
M Club Male Athlete of the Year
Nathan Young – Swimming & Diving
Nathan Young qualified for the NCAA Division III championships after another dominating season for the men’s swimming & diving team. Young placed second in both the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke at the MIAC championships and earned honorable mention All-America status in these two events at nationals.
Athletic Director’s Awards
Senior Female Athlete of the Year
Jordan Matheson – Women’s Golf
Jordan Matheson is one of Macalester’s all-time most successful golfers and after shooting in the 70’s over her last five rounds this spring, has a shot of getting selected for the second year in a row to the NCAA Division III championships, where she placed 13th last year. Matheson won the Carleton Invitational a few weeks ago and then placed fifth at the equally-competitive St. Thomas Invitational. This past fall, she earned her third all-conference certificate.
Senior Male Athlete of the Year
Martin Mudry – Cross Country & Track
Martin Mudry’s senior cross country campaign was one of the best in the program’s history and in October ran to a second-place finish at the MIAC championships. He finished just four seconds behind the conference champ and his time was the fourth best in the program’s history. Mudry then closed out the season by earning all-region honors and just missing out on a bid for nationals.
Junior Female Athlete of the Year
Trina PaStarr – Basketball
Trina PaStarr help the women’s basketball team post its best record in 13 years and was named to the all-conference squad for the second year in a row. One of the MIAC’s top defenders, PaStarr ranked eighth in the league in scoring (13.0 ppg.), fifth in rebounding (7.1 rpg.) and fifth in blocked shots (1.4 bpg.). She will enter her senior season at Mac with 930 career points.
Junior Male Athlete of the Year
Wade Ekstrom – Cross Country & Track
Wade Ekstrom has emerged as one of the program’s top middle-distance runners in years and is expected to be a big factor in next week’s MIAC championships. An all-conference and all-region cross country runner, Ekstrom placed 10th at the MIAC meet and 10th at the Central Region championships, just missing out on a berth into nationals by one spot. In track, he ran the second-fastest time in school history when he won the 1500-meter run at the Macalester Twilight Meet two weeks ago.
Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year
Majra Mucic – Volleyball & Basketball
Majra Mucic put together excellent seasons in the fall in volleyball and over the winter in basketball, and in basketball, was one of the top reserves in the MIAC. Mucic led the volleyball Scots in attack percentage and ranked second in both kills and blocks. In basketball, she contributed eight points a game – third best on the team – despite coming off the bench.
Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year
Nate Juergens – Soccer & Football
Nate Juergens led the Macalester defensive effort and was the squad’s lone representative on the all-conference team. One of the MIAC’s top underclassmen in soccer this past season, Juergens was also the place-kicker for the football team, and often played for both teams on the same day.
First-Year Female Athlete of the Year
Karoline Hart – Swimming & Diving
One of many standout first-years on Mac’s swimming & diving team, Karoline Hart won the MIAC championship in the 100-yard breaststroke in conference record time and just missed out on qualifying for the national meet at the end of the season. Hart picked up a second All-MIAC certificate when she placed third in the 200-yard breaststroke at the conference meet.
First-Year Male Athlete of the Year
T. Joe Loiselle - Football
T. Joe Loiselle joined the starting lineup in Week 2 after an injury to a teammate, and responded with one of the best rushing seasons in school history. Loiselle set a Macalester freshman rushing record with 964 yards in nine starts, and also scored eight touchdowns. The team’s offensive MVP, he rushed for over 100 yards on five occasions and had three games with at least 145 yards rushing.