Student Athletes Shine

By Matt Thomas

The athletic programs at Gustavus Adolphus College have a rich and successful history that continues to be added upon today. Throughout all the conference championships and national tournament appearances, however, the college has held on firmly to the idea that its student-athletes are students first and athletes second.

Two student-athletes who embody that philosophy today are senior basketball players Jess Vadnais and Trevor Wittwer. Both four year contributors with outstanding statistics on the court, Vadnais and Wittwer have also excelled off the court and have been recognized accordingly this spring.

Both Vadnais and Wittwer have been named finalists for the Jostens Division III Player of the Year Award. Ten finalists are selected for both the men and women and the winners are announced at the NCAA Division III men’s basketball final four in Salem, Va. on Thursday, March 20.

Gustavus is the only institution this year to have both a men’s and women’s player selected to be a finalist.

The Jostens Trophy is a national award created by the Rotary Club of Salem, Va., to honor the most outstanding men’s and women’s Division III basketball players of the year. The award takes into account basketball ability, academic prowess and community service.

Wittwer, a Redwood Falls, Minn., native, is a two-time all-conference selection. He finished his collegiate career this season ranked 21st on the college’s career scoring list with 1,169 points.

He has etched his name in many places in the program’s record book as he ranks first in career field goal percentage (60.3%), fourth in career steals (124), fourth in career blocks (91), and tenth in career free throws made (314).

A captain on this year’s squad, Wittwer helped the Gusties to a second place finish in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) by leading the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg).

A Health Fitness major with a 3.89 grade point average, Wittwer will graduate in June with honors and plans to attend graduate school to become a chiropractor next fall.

He is a three-time academic all-conference selection, a two-time College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/ESPN The Magazine Academic all-district selection, and this year he was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine All-America Team.

In addition to his outstanding work on the court and in the classroom, Wittwer has been very involved in the Gustavus community. He is a three-year member of the Gustavus Wellness Board, which is a group that promotes healthy lifestyles on campus. He helped to organize the basketball team’s trip to Rushford, Minn., where the team helped to rebuild a playground that was destroyed by a flash flood. He was also an organizing member of the Elias Fund, which is a group that raises money to help build schools in Zimbabwe.

Vadnais, a Hudson, Wisc., native, is a three-time all-conference selection and last year’s MIAC Player of the Year. She was also named to both the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and d3hoops.com All-America teams last year.

This year she led the Gusties to their second straight NCAA tournament appearance by recording team highs in points per game (19.1), steals (80), free throws made (154), free throw percentage (86%), three pointers made (57), field goals made (162), and minutes played per game (34.1).

She became the program’s all-time leading scorer early in the regular season, and in the final game of her career she surpassed current men’s head coach Mark Hanson as the school’s all-time leading scorer. Vadnais finished her career with 1,779 points.

Besides being the program’s all-time leading scorer, Vadnais also currently ranks first in career steals (223), career free throws made (481), and career three pointers made (210). She is also fourth all time in career assists with 306.

A Health Fitness major with a 3.25 grade point average, Vadnais was a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection this year.

In the community, she serves on the Student Athlete Advisory Board, is involved in Athletes in Action, and helped organize a basketball clinic for St. Peter area youth.