Gustavus first-year athletes: Faces in the crowd

Eric Jorgenson

Eric Jorgenson

Eric Jorgenson is a first-year from Osseo, Minn. Jorgenson, a three-sport athlete in high school, will continue to participate in cross country, nordic skiing and track and field at Gustavus.

Jorgenson knew that Gustavus athletics would be a little more involved than high school. “I expected it to be more intense, individual and independent. I feel like it’s a lot more of making your own deicsion of how much you want to do,”he said.

Jorgenson has enjoyed his cross country experience so far. “I think just running with the guys and all the crazy cross country traditions have been the most fun,” he said.

Marian Lund

Marian Lund

Marian Lund is a first-year student from Duluth, Minn. and a member of the Gustavus Women’s Cross Country team. She was a three-sport athlete at Duluth East High School.

Her experience at Gustavus so far has been different from high school. “The training has been different, which is probably the main thing,” Lund said. “When we were running our race yesterday, everyone was so encouraging. In high school it was about catching your teammates in the race, but here it’s been about encouraging your team,” she said.

Lund has enjoyed cross country in her limited time with the team. “Just being a part of a team is so much fun. It’s a great team to be around,” she said.

Lance Erickson

Lance Erickson

First-year offensive lineman Lance Erickson is from Pelican Rapids, Minn. and played football and track and field in high school.

Erickson benefits from coming to Gustavus with some knowledge about college football. “Obviously it’s a new game and a different level of play, but it helped that I had friends that I trained with that played at the college level, so I kind of knew what to expect,” he said.

Erickson has enjoyed his Gustavus football experience so far. “Gustavus football creates instant friendships, and [there is] an almost family feel to the team,” he said.

Erickson had only two words for the upcoming season: “Go Gusties.”

Amanda Cartony

Amanda Cartony

Amanda Cartony, a first-year from Stillwater, Minn., joins the Gustavus Women’s Soccer team as a midfielder.

Cartony was a varsity soccer player for four years and was a pivotal part of a soccer team that finished second in the Section 4AA Tournament her senior year.

Cartony played all 90 minutes in a 3-0 loss at UW-Stevens Point for the team’s first game.

Although she is a starter, Cartony understands that there is a learning curve. “People are bigger and more physical,” she said. “The game has a faster pace.”

Cartony hopes to adjust to the challenges of collegiate soccer and repeat the same team success that she experienced in high school.

Leah Brossoit

Leah Brossoit

First-year Leah Brossoit is a defender from Rochester Lourdes High School in Rochester, Minn.

As a senior, Brossoit provided stellar defense and helped lead the Lourdes Eagles to a Section 1A Sate Championship.

Brossoit worked hard this summer to stay in shape for this season by playing club soccer, and her diligence has paid off, landing her a starting spot on Gustavus’s roster.

She contributed 90 minutes of solid play in yesterday’s loss to Stevens Point, but the team is optimistic about this season.

“We’re making progress every time we step on the field,” Brossoit said. “We’re excited for the upcoming season”.

Fasil Adinew

Fasil Adinew

First-year Fasil Adinew is a midfielder for the Gustavus Men’s Soccer Team from Colombia Heights, Minn. and is a native of Ethiopia.

He came to the United States in 2004 as a refugee with the desire to play soccer, and he has encountered differences in the style of play between the two countries. “Here is more aggressive, more physical. Over there, most people take soccer as a mental game,” Adinew said.

New Head Coach Mike Middleton is encouraging Adinew to take the physicality of U.S. collegiate soccer head-on. “Coach Middleton is great. I’ve learned more in this past week than I have in the past three years.”

The Men’s Soccer team is eager to prove that they can play with the best of the MIAC this season. “If they see us as a low team, there’s going to be a surprise coming their way,” he said.

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