NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College Athletic Department held its third annual Golden Ole Awards to celebrate the 2024-25 academic year on Tuesday evening at Skoglund Center.
First held at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, the Golden Oles are a year-end awards night to recognize the accomplishments of St. Olaf's 26 varsity-sport teams and its nearly 600 student-athletes. Before the program, student-athletes and staff enjoyed a social hour with a photo booth, music, and an ice cream truck.
Hosted by Athletic Director
Kelly Mahlum, the program included remarks from President Susan Rundell Singer and a send-off speech from senior
Holden Luetkens. The department handed out a variety of awards, including: the Men's and Women's Highest Team GPA Award, the Ole Pride Points Award, the OLE Spirit Award, the Manager/Student Worker of the Year, the Play of the Year, the Male and Female Newcomer of the Year, the Male and Female Athlete of the Year, the Golden Crutch Award, the Iron Ole Award, the Moment of the Year, the Fighting Heart Award, and the Dave Hauck Award.
This year's award winners are listed below. Senior student-athletes also received their senior blankets at the conclusion of the event. You can watch this year's Golden Oles
on demand here.
Women's Highest Team GPA: Women's Cross Country – 3.71
Men's Highest Team GPA: Men's Golf – 3.68
Ole Pride Points Award: Esme Brandvik and David Kummer
Started in 2023-24, the Ole Pride Points Award recognizes the St. Olaf student(s) who earned the most Ole Pride Points during the academic year. The Ole Pride Points program is a partnership between the St. Olaf Athletic Department and the Office of Student Activities where students earn points redeemable for prizes by attending home athletic events.
OLE Spirit Award: Women's Hockey
The OLE Spirit Award was created to recognize an Ole student-athlete(s) or team who demonstrate outstanding Ole spirit by supporting the department's teams and student-athletes to the highest level.
Manager/Student Worker of the Year: Natalie Kirstein – Women's hockey student manager/ice arena and athletics student worker
The Manager/Student Worker of the Year award honors a manager(s) and/or student worker(s) who do exemplary work throughout the academic year.
Play of the Year: Sean Hartney's final kick to win the mile at the MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships | VIDEO
The Play of the Year was determined by nominations and voting on the @stolafathletics Instagram account. From 14 nominations, the three plays with the most votes in the initial round advanced to the final round of voting.
Female Newcomer of the Year: Olivia Small – Women's Swimming & Diving
Small won the MIAC title in the 200-yard backstroke, was the runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke, and swam on two All-MIAC relays for St. Olaf in her rookie season. She also set the school record in the 100-yard backstroke and posted the program's second-fastest time in the 200-yard backstroke during the season.
Male Newcomer of the Year: Madden Vanderwerf – Men's Tennis
Vanderwerf was named the MIAC Men's Tennis Rookie of the Year and earned All-MIAC honors in singles, as well as a spot on the MIAC All-Playoff Team. In his rookie season, Vanderwerf finished 16-3 overall in singles and was 7-2 in conference play, with his 16 wins tying for the highest single-season total in program history.
Co-Female Athletes of the Year: Alison Bode and Isabel Wyatt – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
Bode earned USTFCCCA All-America honors with a 34th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships after also landing USTFCCCA All-North Region (5th) and All-MIAC (2nd) honors during the fall. She was the conference runner-up in the 3,000-meter run and 5,000-meter run indoors before winning the 5,000-meter run and 10,000-meter run outdoors. Bode currently ranks 17th nationally in the 10,000-meter run, positioning her to qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Wyatt was voted the MIAC Women's Co-Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning both the 800-meter run and 1,000-meter run at the MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, including the conference record in the latter event. She added a third conference title in the 800-meter run outdoors and broke four school records in track and field this season. An All-MIAC and USTFCCCA All-North Region honoree in cross country, Wyatt is positioned to be a national qualifier in the 800-meter run, as she ranks 14th nationally in the event.
Male Athlete of the Year: Connor Kalthoff – Men's Hockey
Kalthoff was named a CCM/AHCA First Team West All-American and was a finalist for the Sid Watson Award, given to the top NCAA Division II-III men's hockey player in the country. He was also selected as the MIAC Defensive Player of the Year and landed his third consecutive All-MIAC accolade after compiling 20 points on five goals and 15 assists from the blue line.
Golden Crutch Award: Alison Bode (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field), Lucas Montera (Men's Soccer)
The Golden Crutch Award is awarded by the St. Olaf Sports Medicine staff and is given to the male and female student-athlete who spent the most time in the athletic training facility, worked hard, brought joy, and inspired those around them.
Iron Ole Award: Jonathan Young (Men's Hockey), Noah Barrett (Football), Grace Lankas (Women's Hockey), Morgan Ryan (Volleyball)
The Iron Ole Award is awarded by the St. Olaf Athletic Performance staff and is given to individuals who embody the spirit of relentless, detailed, and consistent effort each day while also exhibiting outstanding leadership qualities by raising the performance of others around them beyond sets and reps.
Moment of the Year: Cross country teams sweep MIAC titles on home course
Fighting Heart Award: Kadyn Triebenbach – Women's Golf
Created in 2023-24, the Fighting Heart Award is given to someone who has overcome the odds and shown perseverance in their life and/or their sport. In its first year, the award was given to former St. Olaf Athletic Director
Ryan Bowles, who passed away from cancer in June 2024.
Dave Hauck Award
The Dave Hauck Award – the department's top honor – was established in 2010 in honor of longtime head men's and women's swimming and diving coach Dave Hauck. Each year, the award is given to one female and one male senior student-athlete who have demonstrated high levels of academic achievement, community service, and athletic excellence.
Female Recipient: Lily Hubanks – Women's Nordic Skiing
The most decorated skier in the history of the St. Olaf women's Nordic skiing program, Hubanks is a seven-time U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) individual national champion and helped the Oles to USCSA overall team titles in all four of her seasons. She earned All-America honors in all 12 events she competed in at the USCSA National Championships, placing no lower than seventh. As a senior, she also won the women's Classic at the American Birkebeiner – the largest ski race in the United States – and was part of Team USA at the World University Games in Torino, Italy.
An environmental studies major with a 3.87 cumulative grade-point average, Hubanks is a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American ® and a three-time USCSA First Team Scholar All-American. During her time at St. Olaf, she created an independent study at Prairie Creek Community School called Equity of Environmental Education, was an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board for three years, helped with grant writing for Northfield Earth Day Foundation, and student taught at three different local schools.
Male Recipient: Shea Bechtel – Men's Soccer
Bechtel is one of the most decorated players in the history of the St. Olaf men's soccer program. A three-time All-American, four-time All-Region selection, two-time MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, and four-time All-MIAC honoree, Bechtel is the program's all-time leader in goals (42), assists (45), points (129), and games played (93) and is one of of 23 student-athletes in NCAA Division III history to record at least 40 goals and 40 assists in their career. His play helped St. Olaf to three MIAC regular-season titles, three MIAC Playoff titles, the program's first NCAA Division III national championship, and three other NCAA Tournament appearances.
A quantitative economics major with a 3.79 cumulative grade-point average, he is a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American ®, including being a first-team honoree this year, and a three-time Academic All-MIAC honoree. A rare three-year team captain, Bechtel volunteered his time in a variety of ways during his time at St. Olaf, including volunteering over 60 hours teaching English in Milan and visiting a soup kitchen and food banks.
Gallery: (5-13-2025) 2025 Golden Ole Awards
