The pandemic changed the game, but the members of two Saint Mary’s teams were ready to compete.
To commemorate two record-setting seasons, the Saint Mary’s University board of trustees recognized the accomplishments of the Cardinal baseball team and Anna Swanson, a javelin thrower on the track and field team. Baseball coach Nick Winecke and Swanson were honored during the recent Board of Trustees meeting in Winona Oct. 14-15 and presented with the resolution.
It was a season of many accomplishments for Swanson, who fell just one throw short of being a national champion. She had a school-record throw of 46.65 meters, winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship in javelin and earning individual All-MIAC honors in outdoor track and field. She also placed second in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships and earned NCAA Outdoor Track and Field All-American status. The university also named Swanson the 2020-21 Outstanding Female Athlete at its Best in the Nest award ceremony earlier in the fall.
It was also a season of many firsts and records for the Saint Mary’s baseball team. The Cardinals won the university’s first MIAC Baseball Tournament title and earned the first NCAA Division III National Tournament appearance in baseball since 1983. The team also won the most games in a single season in school history, played the most games in school history, and set school records in stolen bases, doubles, innings pitched, and strikeouts.
Their achievements weren’t just athletic, either. For the fifth time in six years, the Saint Mary’s baseball team earned the 2020-21 American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award, which recognizes teams that have earned a grade point average of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale.
