A second place finish at the 2017 NCAA Division II wrestling championships, 158 student-athletes earning Academic All-Conference honors and a long list of community engagement activities were among the multitude of highlights for the St. Cloud State University intercollegiate program in 2016-17.
The following is a list of some of the highlight worthy accomplishments completed by the Huskies over the past academic year:
SUCCESS IN ATHLETICSAustin Goergen
• One of the nation's elite NCAA Division II programs over the past decade, St. Cloud State charted a second place finish at the 2017 NCAA Division II wrestling championships.  The Huskies were 17-1 overall and won their sixth consecutive NSIC championship in 2016-17 with a perfect 8-0 record.  SCSU won the 2017 NWCA Division II National Duals and later captured the top spot at the 2017 NCAA Division II Super 3 Region tournament under the leadership of Coach Steve Costanzo.  A total of four SCSU student-athlete brought home All-America honors from the NCAA championships in 2017.  This group included Austin Goergen (285), Larry Bomstad (157), Brett Velasquez (125) and James Pleski (149).
• SCSU teams to participate in NCAA tournament/playoff/championships competition in 2016-17 include baseball, wrestling, men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, women's cross country, women's indoor track and field and women's outdoor track and field.
• The SCSU baseball team posted a 41-18 overall record 2017 that included a 27-11 record in the always rugged NSIC.  This was the sixth time since 2010 that the Huskies have posted 40-plus wins in a season under the leadership of head coach Pat Dolan.  St. Cloud State also qualified for the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament in 2017, which marked the seventh time since 2010 that the Huskies have gained an NCAA tourney bid.  In the final NCBWA Division II national poll of 2017, St. Cloud State was ranked #20 and the Huskies were ranked #3 in the final NCAA DII Central Region poll for 2017.
• Senior Sam Sunstrom capped an impressive senior season with an All-American finish at the 2016 NCAA Division II Cross Country championships and also an All-American finish at the 2017 NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships in the 10,000 meter run.  Teammate Patience Yalartai was a national qualifier in both indoor and outdoor track and field in the triple and brought home All-American honors from the 2017 NCAA Division II indoor championships, which were held in Birmingham, Ala.
•  The St. Cloud State women's swimming and diving team captured its third consecutive NSIC championship in 2017.  The Huskies went on to place 35th at the 2017 NCAA Division II championships.  In the final day of competition at the NCAA meet, SCSU's 400 yard freestyle relay team of Bridget Opdahl, Emily Tiedemann, Chelsea Gehrke and Andrea Bryson placed 15th with a time of 3:27.28.  The finish provided the Huskies with All-America Honorable Mention status in the event.Â
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Sam Sunstrom
• The Huskies were well represented on Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Under the leadership of head coach Bob Motzko, who also is the head coach for the SCSU men's hockey team, Team USA won first place honors at the 2017 World Championships.  The team's roster include SCSU freshman defender Jack Ahcan and behind the scenes SCSU hockey operations and video coordinator Matt Chapman served as the team's video coordinator.  Of note, Motzko and Chapman are scheduled to lead Team USA at the World Junior Championships once again in 2018.
• Milestone career victories at SCSU were registered by head coaches -- baseball's Pat Dolan (No. 400), and tennis' Jerry Anderson (No. 500 - combined for both the men's and women's programs at SCSU) and men's hockey's Bob Motzko (No. 250).Â
• Swimmer Andrea Bryson and wrestler Brett Velasquez earned 2016-17 NSIC Honor Student-Athlete Award awards.
• Men's basketball's Gage Davis and women's basketball's Betsy MacDonald both earn Division II national player of the week accolades in 2016-17.
• SCSU soccer received a 2016 NSCAA College Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Silver Award.  The award recognize college teams across the country for exhibiting fair play, sporting behavior and adherence to the laws of the game.
• This year's SCSU Senior Student-Athlete of the Year was presented to wrestler Austin Goergen and cross country/track and field athlete Sam Sunstrom.
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM
• The St. Cloud State University student-athletes were also a success in the classroom in 2016-17.  A total of 421 student-athletes at St. Cloud State combined for a grade point average of 3.12 (on a 4.00 scale) in 2016-17.  Nordic ski was the top team with an team grade point average of 3.73, followed by women's swimming and diving (3.46), soccer (3.44) and women's basketball (3.41). Â
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Alexie Portz
• A total of 120 SCSU student-athletes qualified for a spot on the NSIC All-Academic Team in 2016-17. In addition, a total of 24 St. Cloud State men's hockey team members were named to the 2016-17 All-NCHC Academic team.  The Huskies also had five student-athletes gain NCHC Scholar-Athlete award in 2016-17.  The SCSU women's hockey team had 15 student-athletes earn 2016-17 All-WCHA Academic team honors and four of those players gained elite WCHA Scholar-Athlete recognition last winter.
• SCSU's  Rachel Sakry - T&F/CC (Biomedical Sciences); Anna Schmitt - Swim & Dive (Nursing); Julie Schmitt - Swim & Dive Casper (Mass Communications); Benjamin Watters Football (Mechanical Engineering) and Macy Weller - Volleyball (Accounting) – received the prestigious NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic Award for maintaining a 3.75 GPA or above during their college careers.
• Sophomore wrestler Brett Velasquez was named to the CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America At-Large team as a second team pick in 2016-17. Â
• Senior football wide receiver Jameson Parsons was named to the 2016 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America Football team as a second team selection.  He also earned the NSIC's Glen Galligan award in 2016.  The award is given to a student-athlete who participates at his institution for four years and is academically superior while making a positive contribution to the institution.Â
• Junior tennis player Alexie Portz was named an NSIC Elite 18 award winner in 2016-17. The NSIC Elite 18 award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NSIC's 18 Championships.
• The SCSU volleyball team received an American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for 2016-17.  This award is presented to teams with a cumulative team grade point average of 3.30 or better.  The Huskies also met their "Dig Pink" fundraising goals, which is a program established by the AVCA to help raise funds and awareness for the breast cancer research.
• SCSU men's basketball received a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award in 2016-17.  The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize outstanding academic achievement by a team with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better for the 2016-17 season.
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Jameson Parsons
• SCSU swimmer Andrea Bryson and wrestler Brett Velasquez both were named to the 2016-17 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-District 7 At-Large First Team.  SCSU men's hockey player Nathan Widman was named to the CoSIDA Division II Academic All-District 6 Division I First Team.  Jameson Parson was also selected to the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 Division II football first team.
• The St. Cloud State University men's and women's swimming and diving teams both earned Scholar All-America Team status for the recently completed 2016-176 season from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA)...SCSU was well-represented on the 2016-17 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America's 2016-17 Scholar All-American team.  The Huskies honored from SCSU women's swimming and diving team include Lonie Anderson, Andrea Bryson, Chelsea Gehrke , Annie Hart, Bridget Opdahl  and Ashley Wilson.  Anderson and Hart were both Honorable Mention award winners.  Student-athletes from the SCSU men's team honored for their academic excellence include Triston Ferguson (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon H.S.) and Joel Huth (Handen, Haninge, Sweden/Fredrika Bremergymnasium).  Both Ferguson and Huth were Honorable Mention award recipients.
• The St. Cloud State University wrestling team matched its success on the mats this season by being selected as a top 20 team in this year's Division II All-Academic Wrestling Team competition.  The Huskies ranked 20th in the competition standings.  Individually, SCSU placed eight student-athletes on the 2016-17 Division II All-Academic Wrestling Team.  The group was led by first team selections Brett Velasquez and Gabe Fogarty, second team picks Adam Josephson and Larry Bomstad and honorable mention award winners Josh Berg, Brandon Briggs, Travis Holt and Travis Swanson.
• SCSU's Sam Sunstrom and Chrissy Lofgren both gained USTFCCCA Women's Division II All-Academic honors in cross country for 2016.
MAKING IN IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITY
• St. Cloud State University student-athletes continued their long tradition of giving back to the St. Cloud community and the campus.  The Huskies begin each academic year by playing an essential role in the success of the University's residence hall move-in day along with helping out with a variety of activities surrounding the first week of classes at SCSU.
2017 Polar Plunge at Pleasant Lake
•  SCSU's Student Athlete Advisory Council was named the Outstanding Student Organization at the SCSU Department of Campus Involvement's annual Excellence in Leadership awards ceremony in April 2017.  The group was also recognized with the Outstanding St. Cloud Community Building  award for their participation in the Polar Plunge community service event and other community events.  SCSU student-athletes honored with Excellence in Leadership awards were Julie Schmitt, Allison Statz, Anna Schmitt and Ben Watters.
• Throughout the year, SCSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Council helps coordinate several volunteer and community outreach events that make a positive impact.  In the fall, SCSU's SAAC group generated funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation through the sale of "Beat Kato" t-shirts in time for the Huskies' football game vs. rival Minnesota State, Mankato.  Another popular event that saw widespread support from the SCSU student-athletes was the annual Polar Plunge at nearby Pleasant Lake, which helps support the area's Special Olympics program.
• SCSU and SCSU Athletics helped honor the life of Jacob Wetterling and draw awareness to the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center during the University's Fall Celebrate in 2016.
• SCSU Athletics provides training opportunities for numerous youth throughout the summer months by offering a wide-range of sport camps.  These summer youth camps feature expert training provided by St. Cloud State's coaches and student-athletes.
NOTEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• SCSU's men's hockey average attendance was 4,365 in 2016-17, which places the Huskies 16th in the nation for average attendance. Â
• SCSU's Ryan Poehling was selected 25th overall in the 2017 NHL draft by the Montreal Canadiens.  He becomes the second SCSU hockey player selected in the first round of the NHL draft.
• SCSU baseball recruit Trevor Koenig was selected in the 40th round of the major league baseball draft by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017. Â
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Former Husky Matt Cullen helps Pittsburgh win 2017 Stanley Cup
• TownSquare Media of St. Cloud began coverage of St. Cloud State University athletics in 2016-17.  The TownSquare Media group of radio stations provided live coverage over the air and on the web of SCSU football, men's and women's basketball and men's hockey.  SCSU's KVSC FM 88.1 also provided coverage throughout the seasons of SCSU Athletics.
• @scsuhuskies now has over 9,200 Twitter followers and the combined Twitter accounts of SCSU athletic teams have almost 30,000 followers.  On Facebook, SCSUATHLETICS has almost 8,000 likes.  SCSU Athletics' channel on YouTube has reached almost 670,000 views.
• The annual SCSU Sportacular Golf Outing at the scenic St. Cloud Country Club in June 2017 was another success.  A total of 141 golfers participated in this fun-filled event that helps raise funds to support SCSU Athletics.  Beautiful weather and course conditions made for a perfect day on the links.
• The award winning Husky Production crew completed another season of providing live coverage of SCSU men's hockey in 2016-17.  In addition to coverage of home games on Charter Cable throughout the region, SCSU men's hockey also gained national television exposure through coverage on Fox Sports North, the American Sports Network and CBS Sports Network.
• Former SCSU hockey players skating in the NHL this season included Matt Cullen, who helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup in 2017.  Other former Huskies with NHL teams this year included Kevin Gravel (Los Angeles), Nic Dowd (Los Angeles), Jonny Brodzinski (Los Angeles), Kalle Kossila (Anaheim), Charlie Lindgren (Montreal), Nick Jensen (Detroit) and Matt Hendricks (Edmonton).
