BEMIDJI -- Rachael Norton and Justin Baudry were named Bemidji State’s Female and Male Athletes of the Year for 2018-19 at the Beaver Nation Celebration athletic appreciation banquet Thursday at the Beaux Arts Ballroom. The award winners -- members of the women’s soccer and men’s hockey teams, respectively -- were among a pool of athletes nominated from the school’s 15 sports programs.
Women’s soccer player Megan Dahl and men’s golfer Ian Mackenzie-Olson were honored as the school’s 2018-19 Female and Male Newcomers of the Year. Allyna Storms, Kara Werth, Anna Fobbe, Carolyn Smith, Hannah Peterson, Taylor Nier, and Connor Brown-Maloski received Female and Male Scholar Athlete of the Year honors.
Almost 60 seniors were recognized during the banquet, which also featured the public recognition of BSU’s top academic teams and six Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Myles Brand Academic with Distinction Award winners.
Norton, a two-time All-NSIC First Team selection, a four-time All-NSIC pick, 2018 United Soccer Coaches and D2CCA First-Team All-Central Region selection, as well as two-time All-American, was the NSIC’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2018. She finished the regular season leading the league in points (46), points per game (2.56), goals (19), goals per game (1.06), assists (8), assists per game (0.56), game-winning goals (5), shots (93), and shots per game (5.17). Her career-high and BSU single-season record 49 points and 20 goals scored were good for eighth among NCAA Division II’s top scorers.
The senior forward from Mounds View became just the second BSU player to surpass 100 collegiate points and sits atop BSU’s all-time scoring list with 125 points. Norton’s 49 goals are a program record, while her 15 game-winning goals and 27 assists place her second all-time. She finished as the NSIC's all-time leading scorer.
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Baudry, a Second-Team All-WCHA defenseman, was the Beavers’ top point getter in 2018-19, establishing career-highs in points (31) and assists (22), while equalling his career-best in goals scored (9). The native of La Broquerie, Manitoba, led the Beavers with 13 points on the power play while logging time on a penalty-kill unit that led the WCHA and finished among the top 15 in the country.
The senior captain recorded 68 points in 146 collegiate games to sit 22nd on BSU’s Division I-era scoring list, ranking third among defensemen.
Dahl, a Second-Team All-NSIC selection, started at center back in all 20 matches for BSU and was a member of a defensive unit that posted program marks for goals allowed (11), goals allowed average (0.52) and shutouts (13) while finishing among the nation’s best in all three categories. The freshman from Rosemount also added a goal and an assist as the offense posted a modern-record 48 goals in 2018.
Mackenzie-Olson was the lone freshman selected to the All-NSIC First Team and was named as the league's Newcomer of the Year in 2018. He led the Beavers and was third in the league with a 73.5 scoring average and totaled five top-five finishes. Mackenzie-Olson was the medalist at the BSU Invite and tied for 11th at the NSIC Championships last spring.
In addition, the Wayzata native was selected to compete as an individual at the NCAA Central/Midwest Super Regional in 2018, becoming the first BSU golfer to advance to the tournament since the team qualified in 2012. He tied for 51st.
