Four St. John’s Prep Athletes Commit to NCAA

(KNSI) – Four St. John’s Prep seniors will play at the next level this fall.

They are all dual athletes looking to compete collegiately in cross country and track and field. Three will join the Lawrence University Vikings, an NCAA Division III school in Appleton, Wisconsin. Olivia Pauly will race in the Summit League for Division I St. Thomas University.

Pauly was the Minnesota State High School League Class A Cross Country Champion in 2023, winning by 11 seconds. She qualified for the state meet three times in her career. For track and field, Pauly holds the Prairie Conference record in the 1600 and 3200-meter races and is a two-time conference MVP.

Lawrence picks up Henry Buehrer, the current Prairie Conference boy’s track and field MVP, who won the sprints at 100, 200, and 400 meters on May 15th. He was also on the 4×800-meter relay team that finished fifth at the state meet.

Nick Hansen finished in third place at the boy’s 2023 state cross country championship. He was also on the SJP 4×800 team.

Zach Meyer anchored the relay team as his specialties are the 800 and 1600-meter races. He finished in fourth place at the state meet as an individual and was also all-state in cross country.

Head coach Lance Nydeen says all four are a great addition to a college, athletically and academically. “The senior leaders of this team have developed into amazing athletes, role-models, and team leaders. They are self-motivated, but also take to coaching exceptionally well. They listen, practice, and respond with excitement and positivity. They have worked so hard and taken the extraordinary steps to improve and push the bar of success for themselves, each other, and the team at every new level they achieve. They are the quintessential student-athletes!”

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