Years at CSB: Seven
The College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team recorded some of its best individual finishes in the past five years at the 2019 MIAC Championships, and with several key people returning, head coach Dan Eckberg looks to make the move into the top half of the MIAC in 2019-20.
Saint Benedict recorded four individual All-MIAC finishes at the 2019 conference meet – the team’s first all-conference honorees since 2015-16. Four is the most since the 2012-13 season, and a pair of second-place finishes mark the team’s best since that same year.
Junior diver Mallory Jarvi wrapped up her career by making history for the team, becoming the first swimmer or diver to compete for CSB in the postseason since 2002. After recording an NCAA zone qualifying score on the three-meter board at the St. Cloud State Invite in early February and again at the conference meet, and headed to Crawfordsville, Ind., in early March for the NCAA Central Diving Regional. She finished 23rd in the Central Region on the one-meter board and 24th in the three-meter competition.
Jarvi finished second on the three-meter board at the MIAC Championships, and top-eight on the one-meter board.
A pair of first years had big collegiate debuts for CSB. Ana Birklid and Mikayla Von Wahlde left their names all over CSB’s record books in their first seasons with the program. Von Wahlde set a trio of school records in the 100 IM and 100 and 200 backstroke, and finished the year with a pair of All-MIAC honors in the 100 and 200 backstroke. Birklid set school records in the 200 and 400 IM, and earned All-MIAC after taking third in the 400 IM. She also finished top eight in the 200 backstroke and 200 IM.
Jacque Newhouse, Lauren Christiansen and Ashley Groebner all moved up or into the top 10 in program history at the MIAC Championships. Jarvi finished the year with three scores in the top 10 in program history, and first-year diver Kylie Egger recorded two scores in the top 10 in CSB history.
Saint Benedict took sixth at the conference meet for the third straight season. Eckberg – who heads into his seventh season at the head of the program in 2019-20 – has finished in the top six in each of his six seasons.
At the end of the season, CSB earned CSCAA Scholar Team honors for the seventh straight season and eighth time in the past nine seasons.
In six seasons at the helm, Eckberg has coached nine All-MIAC athletes, five Individual Scholar All-Americans and watched nine school records fall. Prior to the sixth-place finishes in 2017 and 2018, Eckberg led CSB to a fourth-place finish in 2013-14 and a pair of fifth-place finishes in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Forty-three of the athletes Eckberg has coached at CSB have recorded times or marks in the top 10 in school history in their college swimming careers.
Eckberg came to CSB prior to the 2013 season from nearby St. Cloud Tech High School where he served as head coach from 2009 to 2012. He worked with both the boys’ and girls’ programs at Tech, and prior to his head coaching duties he was an assistant coach from 2007-09. During his tenure, the Tech athletes recorded 27 school-record swims.
Eckberg has also been a coach and counselor at Stanford University Swimming Camps, working with athletes ranging in age from eight to 18.
Eckberg is a graduate of St. Cloud State University where he graduated with an elective studies degree. He is also a 2005 graduate of nearby St. Cloud Tech High School.
Along with his coaching duties, Eckberg is also the pool coordinator and serves as a strength and conditioning coach at Saint Benedict.
Eckberg and his wife, Mary, live in Monticello, with their daughter.
MIACÂ Finishes
2014: 4th (368)
2015: 5th (304)
2016: 5th (326)
2017: 6th (273.5)
2018: 6th (342.5)
2019: 6th (305)
Coaching Experience
2009-2012: St. Cloud Tech boys' and girls' swimming head coach
2007-2009: Assistant swimming coach at St. Cloud Tech
Coach/Counselor at Stanford University Swimming Camps
Certifications/awards
- Lifeguard instructor
- CPR/First Aid/AED instructor
- Waterfront and waterpark lifeguard instructor
- Level one CrossFit certificate holder
- CSCAA member
