National Champions Celebration Is Thursday

A celebration to honor the St. Thomas men’s basketball team, four track and field runners and a swimmer, all of whom are NCAA Division III champions, will be at noon Thursday, March 31, in Schoenecker Arena.

President Julie Sullivan will welcome the gathering, during which videos will be shown and coaches will introduce the student athletes. Cake will be served in the lobby after the event.

Emma Paulson

Emma Paulson

The men’s basketball team won the NCAA Division III title March 19 in Salem, Virginia, defeating unbeaten Benedictine 82-76. It was the second national title in six years for the Tommies, who finished the 2015-16 season 30-3. Read more about the championship game here.

Junior Emma Paulson won three national swimming and diving championships March 16-19 in Greensboro, North Carolina, finishing first in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke. She became the first St. Thomas national champion in swimming and diving in the 33-year history of the women’s program, and was named Most Outstanding Women’s Swimmer at the meet. Read more about her performance here.

track champs

Emily Gapinski, Summer Ellefson, Aimee Junget and Megan Terukina

Senior Emily Gapinski won the mile and anchored the distance-medley relay to a championship at the indoor track and field meet March 18-19 in Grinnell, Iowa. Other seniors on the relay team were Megan Terukina, Summer Ellefson and Aimee Junget. Gapinski and Terukina were on the NCAA distance medley championship team a year ago. Read more about the team’s performance here.