MIAC Profiles of Excellence: Patti Clintsman, College of St. Benedict
College Sporting News April 17, 2006
Rich Mies, College Sporting News Columnist
http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=77752
For a student-athlete, being named All-American in their sport is the pinnacle of individual achievement. To earn All-American honors in two sports is an almost-unheard of accomplishment. But Patti Clintsman of the College of St. Benedict has pulled off this rare feat, earning All-America distinction in both soccer and track, while finding time to excel in the classroom and beyond.
“Patti is the type of athlete that possesses all of the traits that you look for in a great leader and student-athlete,” stated CSB Track Coach Robin Balder-Lanoue. “She is a great vocal leader, but she also walks the walk. She doesn't just say ‘work hard,’ she works hard. She doesn't just say ‘you all have to believe in your ability,’ she believes in herself. She doesn't just say ‘pursue your goals with everything you have,’ she pursues her goals with everything she has. Patti demands just as much from herself as she does with everyone around her.”
Patti is the second oldest of eight. “My oldest brother, Lee, graduated from Saint John’s in 2005,” she said. “He played football and ran track. After me comes Annie, who is a sophomore at St. Ben’s and a teammate of mine in both soccer and track. Dusty is a freshman at Saint John’s and plays football. Troy is a senior at Hill-Murray and plays football and runs track. Kurtis is an eighth grader. He’s very athletic and plays hockey. Valerie, who is in sixth grade, also has a lot of athletic ability, Randy, the youngest, is in second grade. He’s going to be good at sports, too.” Ironically, Patti’s parents are both graduates of St. Thomas, the arch-rival of Saint John’s/St. Benedict. The family resides in Maplewood, a suburb of 35,000 on the northeast side of St. Paul.
Like her siblings, Patti attended Hill-Murray High, where she was a multi-sport athlete, playing soccer, hockey, softball and running track. “I played softball as a freshman, and love the game,” she said. “But I wanted to run track the following year and both sports are in the spring. I felt I should do track.”
In track, she ran the 100- and 200-meter sprints, was part of the Pioneers’ 4 x 100-meter relay team and competed in the long jump. She finished third at the Sectional Meet in all four events her sophomore and junior year, narrowly missing a berth at the State Meet, as the top two from each Section qualify for the state. As a senior, Patti finished second in the 100-meter at Section, sending her to the State meet. She captured All-State Honorable Mention honors.
Patti played on the school’s club hockey team until her senior year. “I mostly played center or right wing,” she recalled. For her senior year, Patti played for the Pioneers’ girl’s team. “We did OK as a team,” she said. “But we lost in the early rounds of the playoffs.”
On the soccer pitch, Patti made the varsity as a sophomore, starting at forward that season and the next. She won All-Conference honors both seasons, but the Pioneers were eliminated in the middle rounds of the playoffs. Hill-Murray was not a member of a conference in Patti’s senior year. That season, Patti moved to defense. “We were unbeaten until the payoffs,” she stated. “But we lost in an upset in the first round. The game was tied through the end of overtime and came down to a shoot-out.”
For her athletic achievements, she was named the annual USMC Distinguished Athlete Award winner her senior year.
Away from sports, Patti was a member of the National Honor Society her junior and senior years. She was active in the school’s Peer Minister program both her junior and senior years. “We organized and planned retreats for different groups,” she said. “I led a retreat for a group of freshman.”
She was also a member of the Peer Listener program those two years. “We were there for kids to turn to when they needed to talk to someone about any topic,” she said. “My senior year was the year 9-11 happened, and it seemed like everyone in the school turned to us for emotional support.”
Patti was named Homecoming Queen her senior year.
During her junior and senior years, Patti was recruited heavily by most of the Division II and III schools in the area. “I heard from many of the Division II and III schools in the five-state area and many beyond that,” she said. “I ruled out any that were not in the Midwest.”
She was initially cool on the idea of attending St. Benedict. “I wanted to go out on my own, and with Lee at Saint John’s, I didn’t want to be known as ‘Lee’s sister’ but as myself,” she said. “My parents left the decision completely up to me. They didn’t try to influence my decision one way or another, but they strongly recommended that I choose a Catholic school. I narrowed my choices down to St. Scholastica and UW-Eau Claire. In the spring, I came back up and revisited St. Ben’s and fell in love with the place. I realized it was the right place for me.”
Since arriving at CSB, Patti has been a vital part of the indoor track team, the outdoor track team and the soccer team. As Coach Balder-Lanoue noted, “She is someone who had an impact on our team the first day she stepped onto it.” This carried over onto the soccer field as well.
Patti joined a veteran Blazer soccer team and broke into the starting lineup as a freshman. She started all 19 games, leading the team in minutes played, as CSB rolled to a 9-0-2 MIAC record, sharing the conference crown with St. Thomas. Both teams were invited to the NCAA Division III playoffs and pitted against each other in the opening round. The game ended in a 0-0 tie after two overtimes, but UST prevailed 5-4 on penalty kicks to advance to the next round. St. Benedict closed its season with a 12-3-4 record.
Her sophomore year she helped lead CSB to a 9-0-2 record in conference play, winning the league title outright. They were the top seed in the inaugural MIAC Playoff, and downed Concordia 2-1. The championship game against Macalester ended in a 0-0 tie after two overtimes. The Scots won on penalty kicks (5-4) to advance to the NCAA playoffs. CSB was not invited to the NCAA playoffs despite a 15-2-3 record. Patti notched a pair of goals and two assists for six points while continuing to anchor the St. Ben’s defense.
St. Benedict slipped to 5-5-1 in MIAC play in Patti’s junior year, finishing seventh and missing the playoffs. They were 10-7-1 overall. Patti was voted team Most Valuable Player and was named to the All-MIAC First Team. In league play, she finished tied for twelfth in scoring (with 11 points), goals scored (four) and assists (three). For the season, Patti led St. Benedict’s in scoring.
This fall, Patti was one of the team’s co-captains. CSB improved to 7-4-0 and finished tied for fourth in the MIAC. However, they did not make the MIAC Playoffs, losing out via the tiebreakers. The Blazers posted a 10-5-2 overall record. Patti was a repeat selection on the All-MIAC First Team. Primarily playing defender, she still notched three game-winning goals, which tied her for third in the conference (overall, she had four game-winners). Once again, she led the Blazers in scoring and was voted team MVP. Patti was further honored as she was named to the NSCAA/Adidas All-Central Region Second Team and ESPN: The Magazine’s All-District Third Team.
Her coach, Kate McNeil, stated that “Patti is a tremendous athlete. She gives a 100% effort all the time. She is intense and hard-working. This has earned her the respect of her teammates and inspires them to be as hard-working as Patti. Her speed and jumping ability are assets that enabled us to play her at multiple positions this past season. She isn’t satisfied with being the best, but always wants to improve and puts the effort into improving herself and the team.”
Patti’s hard work and determination carried over into her indoor and outdoor track seasons, as well. As a freshman, Patti finished fifth at the MIAC Indoor Meet in the 200-meter dash. She added sixth place finishes in the 55-meter dash and the long jump and was part of the 800-meter relay team that placed third. In the outdoor season, she competed in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, while placing seventh in the long jump. She was part of the team that established the new St. Ben’s school record in the 4 x 400-meter relay, posting a time of 3:59.98, a record that still stands. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough to make the field for the NCAA Division IIII Meet.
As a sophomore, Patti earned the first of her All-MIAC honors by placing second in the long jump at the MIAC Indoor Meet. She added a fourth place finish in the 200-meter run, a fifth place finish in the 55-meter dash and was part of the CSB 4 x 100-meter relay team that finished sixth. In the outdoor season, Patti placed fourth in the 100- and in the 200-meter dashes and took home fifth in the long jump. She was part of the Blazers’ 4 x 100-meter relay team that captured first place at the MIAC Meet, earning All-MIAC honors. That team also qualified for the NCAA National Meet, giving Patti her first sample of the national stage. The CSB quartet placed 13th in the nation. Individually, she broke the school record in the 200-meter at the UW-La Crosse Qualifier Meet, sprinting the distance in 25.38 seconds but did not make it to Nationals.
Patti’s junior year was a break-out year for her in both indoor and outdoor track. She was named MIAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Week for the week of January 31, 2005, as she tied the school record in the long jump (5.37 meters) and broke the school mark in the 55-meter dash (7.41 seconds). She later shattered her own record in the 55 with a time of 7.26 seconds. Patti was a three-time All-MIAC winner at the Indoor Meet, placing second in the 55-meter and adding third place showings in the 200-meter and the long jump. She added the CSB record in the 200-meter to her resume in a time of 25.95 seconds and was part of the 4 x 400-meter relay team that broke the school record. Her individual performances in the 55-meter dash and the long jump qualified her for the NCAA Division III Indoor Meet, where she finished 14th in the 55-meter and tied for twelfth in the long jump.
In the outdoor season, Patti added four more All-MIAC honors, as she was part of the first place team in the 4 x 100-meter relay and placed second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and third in the long jump. She added the St. Ben’s school records in the 100 (12.37 seconds) and the long jump (5.49 meters) to her portfolio. The 4 x 100 relay team qualified for the National Meet. They finished third, garnering All-American honors. Their time-of 47.55 shattered the CSB school record and was the second-fastest ever run by an MIAC 4 x100 relay team. (The only faster time in MIAC history was by St. Thomas in 1996.) The third place finish tied for the best finish of a relay team or individual for the College of Saint Benedict at the national championship meet.
“Competing at Nationals was such an awesome experience, recalled Patti. “There was a sense of MIAC community and camaraderie. Tonnisha Bell, one of the girls I ran against all season, turned to me and said ‘We’re on the same team now, the MIAC team. Let’s represent the MIAC well.’ It was just a great feeling.”
Patti was named St. Benedict’s Track MVP following her sophomore and junior years. She was voted team captain for her senior season.
This winter, Patti was named MIAC Track/Field Player of the Week twice, the only woman to be named more than once. She was honored for the week of February 6, 2006, when she won both the 55- and 200-meters at the highly-competitive Carleton Invitational. She was honored again for the week of February 27, when she posted the fastest time of the year in the 55-meter by a MIAC runner. Patti notched her tenth CSB school record, adding the record in the 400-meter dash. Patti added her tenth and eleventh All-MIAC honors by finishing second at the MIAC Meet in both the 55-meter and the long jump. She added a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter and was part of the CSB 4 x 400-meter team that took home fifth place.
Patti was one of only three women in the nation to qualify and compete at Division III Indoor Nationals in both a “track event” and a “field event” as she made it to Nationals in both the 55-meter and the long jump. She was the only woman athlete from the MIAC to compete at the National Meet in two events of any kind. She finished 13th in the 55 and 15th in the long jump.
Between Indoor and Outdoor track, she holds ten CSB school records along with 11 All-MIAC honors, with her final Outdoor season just underway. As the 2006 Outdoor season heats up, Patti has her eyes set on returning to the National Meet one last time.
Away from athletics, Patti is in her third year of involvement in the CSB Student Athletic Advisory Committee. The group looks out for the well-being of student-athletes, helps promote support of Blazer athletics and attendance at home games and events. This year, they worked together with the SAAC from Saint John’s on a very special project. The twp groups hosted a semi-formal dinner and dance on February 11. Over 270 CSB and SJU student-athletes attended and the SAACs raised $1,300, which they donated to the Special Olympics of St. Cloud.
Patti also volunteers with a group of CSB and SJU students who staff the Swimming with Special Needs program at the CSB pool. The program is for people from the St. Cloud/St. Joseph area with mental and physical disabilities. “They come to the pool and we make sure they have a fun, safe experience” she said.
Academically, Patti is an Elementary Education major with concentrations in Mathematics and Science. She sports a 3.50 GPA and will graduate this spring. “I’ll walk in the May graduation ceremony, but will do my student teaching in the fall of 2006,” Patti said. She plans to complete her student teaching in the Twin Cities.
After that, “I want to teach Special Education,” Patti stated. “I enjoy working with people who are mentally challenged.”
For Patti, St. Ben’s has proved to be right place for her to spend her college years. “I couldn’t be happier than I am here,” she said, smiling. “I’ve met a lot of great people, received a wonderful education, and have been challenged. Balancing my athletics with academics has been a challenge but a rewarding one.”
She has left her mark on St. Ben’s, a mark that extends far beyond her name in record books. “For me, it has been great getting to know Patti,” stated Coach McNeil. “She is so genuine, and cares so much for her teammates and the teams’ well-being. She finds time to be active in many things on campus and puts her heart into everything she does.”
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