ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Along with softball, the sport in which she has started for four seasons at the College of Saint Benedict, senior Bryn Carlstrom is also passionate about hiking.
 
Carlstrom enjoys getting out on the trail and exploring whatever lies around the next bend.
 
"I love being outside and exploring new places," said Carlstrom, a Rochester Mayo High School graduate. "There's always something you haven't seen yet. There's always another challenge in front of you. I love the feeling of climbing and finally getting to the top."
 
In some ways, that mirrors Carlstrom's approach to softball.
 
"I suppose they are kind of the same in that it's all about the journey," said Carlstrom, a two-time All-MIAC pick who has been successful as both a catcher and an infielder for the Bennies. "In softball, you work as hard as you can all season trying to make it to the top and get to that final game. You're consistently trying to get better and better every time you step on the field."
 
Carlstrom set a high standard from the very beginning of her time at CSB. The former high school and club standout found a home at shortstop as a first-year player in 2021, finishing second on the team with a .347 batting average and earning MIAC Rookie of the Year and All-MIAC first-team honors.
 
In that first season, she recorded 21 RBI and committed just four errors in the field.
 
"I just wanted to contribute however I could," Carlstrom recalls. "I've always been someone who puts their nose to the grindstone and works hard. I know you don't get anything for free. You have to put in the effort. So I was trying to give it my all and prove I belonged. But I had no idea everything would work out the way it did."
 
Carlstrom again earned All-MIAC first-team honors as a sophomore, leading her team in RBI with 28 and finishing second in the MIAC with 14 doubles. She then earned Academic All-District and All-MIAC honors as a junior when she hit .313 with eight multi-hit games.
 
"She has a really high softball IQ," said CSB head coach Rachael Click, who is also a Rochester Mayo graduate. "She has such a great sense of the game, and she does all the little things right.
 
"That carries over to her approach at the plate. She works really hard on her preparation. She watches films of her opponents and I hear her talking about what other pitchers are throwing. She's very mature when it comes to her at-bats," said Click.
 
Carlstrom was also a standout swimmer at Rochester Mayo, where she twice qualified for the Class 2A state meet. She said she looked at other schools when making her collegiate choice, but decided on CSB because of the school's athletic facilities - especially the softball complex which was named the 2021 Netting Professionals/NFCA Field of the Year.
 
The accounting major was also drawn to the strength of the CSB and SJU accounting and finance program.
 
One-hundred percent of last year's senior class of accounting majors already had a job lined up in their field by the end of the summer following their graduation. Already, 93 percent of this year's senior class has found a position – including Carlstrom, who will start as a tax accountant with national firm RSM in the Twin Cities this fall.
 
"From my perspective, Saint Ben's has been the perfect school for Bryn," said Boz Bostrom '95, a professor of finance and accounting at CSB and SJU. "She is a great student – sharp, respectful, conscientious and hard-working — but a bit on the quiet side. Attending a school with small class sizes and a tight community has allowed her to make connections which may not have happened at a large university. Also, being a leader on the softball field has built confidence in her which carries over into the classroom and into the rest of her life," he said.
 
"All of my friends in the accounting and finance department have gotten jobs and it's a big weight off your shoulders to already know what your next step is going to be," Carlstrom added. "It lets you enjoy your senior year as you come down to the end and focus on your classes and other activities."
 
Right now her focus is on softball where Carlstrom and the Bennies advanced to the MIAC title game a year ago before falling to Bethel, and hope to get over the top this season. Through 10 games this season, she is hitting .310 with a .394 on-base percentage.
 
"I've always been a player who's tried to leave it all out there every game and that approach hasn't changed," said Carlstrom, whose team is scheduled to travel to Iowa for nonconference doubleheaders against Wartburg (Friday, March 29) and Central (Saturday, March 30) in advance of its MIAC opener at home against St. Olaf on April 3.
 
"But it is surreal to realize that this is the last season I get to play competitive softball – a sport I first fell in love with as a young girl. It adds to the urgency and makes it that much more important to be sure I'm soaking in every moment I have left," said Carlstrom, who has a career .326 batting average, accumulating 108 hits, 65 RBI and a .385 on-base percentage in 109 games.
 
"I want to lead by example and help instill confidence in our younger players so that I know I'm leaving the program in even better shape than it was when I first got here."