ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Fiona Smith was named the Presidential Award winner and Erin Martin was selected the Dr. LuAnn Reif Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor to highlight the end of the year Bennies Awards ceremony presented by the College of Saint Benedict Athletic Department on Sunday (May 5).

CSB Director of Athletics Kelly Anderson Diercks served as the host at the awards event, which recognized successes and accomplishments in 2023-24 by student-athletes, coaches and teams, In a special award presentation athletic trainer Rachel Hassler was named the Margy Hughes Inspirational Award recipient for 2023-24.  

Smith, a mathematics major and a five-time national NCAA DIII champion in NCAA DIII from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia was given the Presidential Award for excelling in the classroom, in competition and as an inspirational leader in the greater community. Smith was among a group of outstanding senior nominees including Carla Meyer of basketball; Emily Renner of golf, Abby Nelson of hockey, Bryn Carlstrom of softball; Abby Willenbring of soccer, Jocie Larson of swim and dive, Jane Bodensteiner of tennis, and Olivia Thompson of volleyball.

CSB/SJU President Brian J. Bruess, Ph.D., presented the honor to Smith, noting her success in academics, athletics and community engagement.   A member of the CSB track and field team, Smith exemplifies what it means to be a Presidential Award honoree. Smith, who last spring was named the Chi Alpha Sigma National Athlete of the Year, earned a 4.0 GPA in mathematics with minors in computer science and Hispanic studies. 

Her list of academic honors are significant, including USTFCCCA National Scholar Athlete of the Year, College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and All-American. She is a multi-time MIAC academic all-conference honoree and twice has been named the MIAC Elite 22 award winner.

Institutionally, Smith is a trustee's scholarship recipient and has been named to the Dean's list. She is a member of Pi Mu Epsilon, Delta Epsilon Sigma, Phi Beta Kappa and is an Honors Scholar.

During her time at Saint Ben's, she has re-written the record books at CSB, in the MIAC and at the national level. During the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Championships as she became St. Ben's first-ever national champion when she claimed not one but two national titles by winning the 3,000-meters and 5,000-meters events. She has since won three more national championships including the school's first ever cross country title in the fall. This past March (2024), she repeated in the 3,000 and 5,000-meters, becoming the first-ever in MIAC history to accomplish that feat. And, this spring, she set more school records by recording the second fastest 10,000-meters ever in NCAA DIII at the Stanford Invitational and then registering a school and MIAC mark with the fourth fastest 5,000-meters at the Drake Relays. She is the first student-athlete to crack 16 minutes both indoor and outdoors in DIII history.

A 14-time All-American, she has been named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year in cross country and indoor track and field. She has earned five USTFCCCA national athlete of the week honors and was named a Honda NCAA DIII Athlete of the Year finalist. Smith, a 17-time MIAC champion and 12-time All-Region honoree, holds multiple conference and school records and the NCAA DIII mark in the indoor 5,000 meters.

In the community, Fiona has been active in Kids Fighting Hunger, and she has worked with "Around Cloud Tutors" doing online tutoring for youth. Additionally, she served as a volunteer for Casa San Benito and was an Honors Scholars Program speaker. Smith has worked as a member of the subcommittee for improving facilities and student experience at CSB as well as being the captain for the cross country and track and field teams. Smith has also been involved in undergraduate research during her time at CSB which has helped her to develop her creativity and critical thinking skills. She will receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics this week -- and after finishing out her track season at CSB, she will head to North Carolina State to finish her final year of athletic eligibility and complete her master's degree in mathematics.
Martin named Scholar Athlete of the Year

 

.The Dr. LuAnn Reif Scholar Athlete of the Year was presented to Erin Martin, a senior Hispanic studies major (secondary studies minor) from Des Moines, Iowa. Other Scholar Athlete of the Year nominees include Emily Cavanaugh of soccer; Emerson Knapp, track and field; Em Oswald, swim and dive; Megan Pattee, swim and dive; Fiona Smith, track and field and cross country; and Ashley Tarrolly of tennis.

A 4.0 student-athlete, who has been active in competition in her respective sports, and a standout in the classroom. Martin is an Academic All-MIAC honoree in cross country and track and field where she competed in six meets this fall, running her career-best 6K time at this fall's MIAC Championships and her career-best 5K time at the Fall Finale. In Track and Field, Martin specializes in the javelin throw where she has a career-best throw of 108 feet- 2-inches going into the upcoming MIAC Championships. Erin also has been involved in Nordic skiing during her time at CSB.

 

Hassler named Hughes Award honoree
Rachel Hassler was presented the  Margy Hughes Inspirational Award, which is selected by the CSB Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and presented by Hughes who was a professor at St. Ben's for over 35 years. Margy was a leader in the Physical Education department and was instrumental in the development of Blazer and now, Bennie Athletics.

As noted by Hughes at the ceremony, Hassler has "truly put her heart and soul into her work. Whether morning, afternoon or evening she is present and willing to go above and beyond to take care of our Bennie student-athletes."

Due to a staff shortage, Hassler shouldered an incredible load this academic year. From a professional staff standpoint, she single-handedly kept the athletic training room afloat. Whether a student-athlete needed to have an injury evaluated, needed preventative care or just needed someone to talk to, Hassler was available to provide a high level of care to CSB student-athletes.

Hassler, who is in her sixth season as an athletic trainer at the College of Saint Benedict, joined the athletics department prior to the 2018-19 school year after graduating in May 2018 with her Master's degree in advanced athletic training from the University of South Carolina. She received her Bachelor's degree in athletic training from UW-Eau Claire in 2015, and worked as an intern with football and women's basketball at Wofford College – an NCAA Division I school – in the 2015-16 school year. Hassler is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, the innesota Athletic Trainers Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association and the Northland Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. She is certified in CPR/AED/First Aid for Professional Rescuers and Health Care Providers and a CPR/AED Instructor through the Red Cross, as well as maintained certification through the Board of Certification for Athletic Trainers. She also serves as an adjunct professor in the CSB Exercise and Health Sciences Department.
 
Academic Team of the Year – Volleyball
Hoover also announced the top Academic Team of the Year, which was the CSB volleyball team with a 3.740 GPA. She also noted the second best GPA was at 3.705 by the CSB golf team and finishing third was the soccer team at a 3.674 GPA. Overall, every CSB team had a 3.0 GPA or better with eight programs recording 3.5 or better.