SIOUX FALLS – Seniors Lexi Hanson of Women's Golf and Teathloach Pal of Men's Basketball have been named the University of Sioux Falls Women's and Men's Student-Athletes of the Year, USF Director of Athletics Pam Gohl announced Tuesday (April 27) during the USF Spirit of Excellence Awards Banquet which was presented by the University of Sioux Falls through a virtual event.
 
Besides the recognition of Hanson and Pal, Frankie Mickelson of the USF Softball Team was selected the recipient of the Gibby Award, while USF Volleyball's Krista Goerger was recognized for receiving the NSIC Elite 18 Award.
 
"Lexi (Hanson) and Teathloach (Pal) have had phenomenal years, which resulted in substantial individual achievement while helping their teams to success on the field," said Gohl. "Both Lexi and Teathloach have achieved at a high level where in competition or in their work and leadership in the classroom. They have had remarkable careers at USF. We are pleased to honor both of them," she said. 

"Frankie (Mickelson) has certainly exhibited resilience, perseverance, spirit and determination to come back from a car accident and not only play softball again but excel as the team's starting center fielder. She represents what is so characteristic of our student-athletes body at USF, who sees challenges as opportunities and remain focused to compete despite any obstacle in their way and take on roles as leaders," Gohl said.

"In addition, Krista Goerger received the NSIC Elite 18 honor and to prove that she is truly a standout student-athlete, who is a leader and a person who thinks team first as she come backs this fall to compete with her teammates," said Gohl. :She is another example of why we are so proud of our student-athletes who not only excel in their area of competition but in the classroom while stepping up in community service. These student-athletes are part of our family and to whom we thank for their efforts, commitment and dedication," she said.

Hanson, Pal Named USF Athletes of the Year

Hanson and Pal were awarded with the highest athletic honor presented by the USF Athletic Department to a student-athlete. Minimum qualifications for the Athlete of the Year award is all-conference recognition in at least one sport. The recipients must distinguish themselves in the competitive arena as premier athletes who are worthy of their teammates' esteem and respect. 
 
Hanson, a native of Chanhassen, Minn., is one of the best golfers in program history. She led the USF Women's Team to a program-best second place team finish at the NSIC Championships on April 25 by finishing a program-best second place individually. And, Monday, she become just the second-ever University of Sioux Falls Women's Golf student-athlete to qualify for three consecutive invites to the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Central Regional Championship. Hanson joins USF Head Coach Tavia Rutherford as the only USF golfer to advance to back-to-back-to-back NCAA DII regional. Rutherford qualified for three straight years from 2013-15.

 

Hanson, who earned All-NSIC Tourney honors on Sunday (April 25), has led the NSIC Women's Golf in scoring average two straight years, another first in the program. Through 17 rounds in 2021, Hanson has the NSIC's top scoring average by a full two strokes. Hanson, who has won three career titles, has a 77.2 scoring average this year.  

A three-time Academic All-NSIC honoree, including twice named to the NSIC Academic Team of Excellence for a grade point average of 3.6 or better, Hanson has twice been named All-NSIC and was the 2021 NSIC Preseason Golfer of the Year. 

Hanson, a psychology/criminal justice/sociology/social sciences major, has 30 top-20, three individual titles and 22 top-10 finishes. This year alone she has placed in the top-five four times.

Hanson had a program and personal-best of 141 (74-67) at the MIAA Fall Preview (Sept. 24-25, 2019). She registered a program-best round of 67 on day two of the MIAA Preview last fall (Sept. 24-25, 2019) when she won her first career tourney. This year, she has had a top round of one-over par 73 at the Augustana Spring Invite, a tournament she won on April 18. Her top two-round total is a four-over par 148 (73-75) on April 17-18. During her stellar career, Hanson has accumulated nine NSIC Athlete of the Week honors, including four in 2021. A recipient of the Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction honor, she is one of two golfers at USF with two top-10 finishes at the NSIC Championships.

Pal, a native of Fridley, Minn., earned an undergraduate degree in business and will graduate with his MBA degree in Organizational Leadership from USF in May. Named first team All-NSIC, Pal, who earned his second straight all-league honor after being named second team in 2019-20, helped lead the Cougars to a 7-5 record in 2021. He is the ninth USF player named to the All-NSIC Team and becomes the sixth first-team selection since USF joined the NSIC in 2012-13.

A starter in 58-of-102 games, Pal accumulated 758 points and 729 rebounds, which ranks ninth on USF's career chart. Pal, who helped lead USF to a four-straight winning seasons, was

a key cog in the Cougars' 2019-20 team that won the NSIC South Division title for the first time with a DII-best 22-8 record, which included a 17-5 mark in the NSIC.

During his tenure at USF, Pal helped lead the Cougars to a 68-34 overall record with a 49-27 NSIC mark. In that time, USF won at least 19 games three times and 20 games twice. Pal made 314-of-578 field goals for 54.3 percent and knocked in 10 three-point shots. Of his 729 rebounds, he had 276 off the offensive glass. Pal also had 107 assists and 109 blocked shots with 79 steals. In 2021, he averaged 14.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, which ranked fourth in the NSIC.

Pal accumulated 35 double-digit scoring games, 21 games in double-digit rebounds and 17 career-double doubles. With 109 career blocks, he ranks third in USF's DII history. In his final game at USF, Pal, who had a career-best 26 points in 2019, had 10 points and a career-best 19 rebounds on Feb. 21 against SMSU.  
 
Krista Goerger – NSIC Elite 18 Award Recipient
  
Krista Goerger was recognized today for earning the NSIC Elite 18 Award for volleyball by maintaining the highest grade point average and most completed credits among the 16 teams in the league. A tough-minded and focused competitor, Goerger, who has led USF to a combined 52-31 record (33-27 in league play) in three seasons, has evolved into one of the leaders on USF's Volleyball Team. 

 

A three-time Academic All-NSIC performer, she ranks among the best to play volleyball at USF.
 Goerger established a USF school record career mark of 2,397 set assists over her first 78 matches.  Goerger has the program's two-top season marks for set assists average with 10.37 (94 sets) in 2019 and 10.36 (102 sets), in 2018. All-time at USF, she ranks second in assists per set at 9.0, third in career service aces with 90, eighth in digs and seventh all-time in digs per set at 1.72. She played a key role in USF's first 20-win campaign in 2018 at the DII level as the Cougars earned regional consideration and advanced to the NSIC Tournament semifinals for the first time in 2018. Additionally, she helped USF earn AVCA top-20 rankings for the first time a year ago (2019) during a 17-11 season. After she concludes volleyball, Goerger plans to attend graduate school and then pursue a career in science with the hope of uncovering discoveries that will benefit mankind.  


Frankie Mickelson receives Gibby Award

In June 2020, Frankie Mickelson of Rochester, Minn., and a standout for USF's Softball team, was in a car accident near Blue Earth Minn.  She was life-flighted to Rochester after sustaining a broken sternum, fractured bone in her neck and a concussion in the accident.  For three months, Mickelson had to wear a neck brace as she slowly started the rehab process. She didn't know if she would be able to play softball again.  

On December 2, 2020, her doctors in Rochester declared her cleared for full softball participation.  Today, Mickelson is the starting center fielder for USF's softball team that has moved into sixth place in the league standings at 13-8 with a 19-16 overall record. 

With nine RBI this season, Mickelson is now sixth all-time at USF with 73. She also ranks third in games played at USF with 188. She also sits fourth in career starts by a USF player with 181. Mickelson is also fifth all-time with 148 hits. A senior center fielder, Mickelson ranks eighth in career home runs at USF with 14.  She has 29 career steals and has 226 putouts, which places tied for first all-time among outfielders (Megan Peterson, 226, 2014-17), with 17 assists on defense. In addition, Mickelson has 32 multi-hit games as well as 18 multi-RBI games. In her past 10 games, Mickelson is hitting .346 with nine hits and three RBI and has been flawless in center field.

A three-time Academic All-NSIC Team of Excellence member (2019 & 2020), Mickelson has led USF to 115 wins including 57 in league play. She was named to the Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar-Athlete Team in 2019 and is a two-time D2 ADA Academic Achievement Recipient.