CLEVELAND (csssaints.com) – The College of St. Scholastica had its third highest finish in the 2015-16 Learfield Sports Division III Directors' Cup standings coming in at 76^th out of the 323 institutions that earned points.
 
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup is a program that honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program and achieving success in many sports, both men's and women's. Each institution is awarded points in a pre-determined number of sports for men and women (18 – 9 men's and 9 women's sports for Division III).
 
Points are given to those institutions advancing to the NCAA championships. There are a total of 450 total members in NCAA Division III with 323 members earning Directors' Cup points this year.
 
CSS has finished in the top 100 of the Directors' Cup standings for each of the last five years, including in the top 85 the last four consecutive years. However its all-time best finish of 67^th took place in 2008-09. The Saints have also won seven straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Kruse Awards (All-Sports Trophy).

St. Scholastica had five teams make the NCAA postseason this past year with three teams qualifying in the fall and two in the spring. The women's soccer team made its eighth straight appearance, the football team its fifth straight and the men's soccer team its fourth straight in the fall. This spring, the baseball team made its 12^th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, while the women's tennis team made its second consecutive trip.
 
CSS also had nine individuals qualify for NCAA Championship events. Men's track & field's Kevin Wagner (Cleveland, Minn., Cleveland HS) earned All-American honors at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships. Wagner, Jeremy Peterson (Hermantown, Minn., Hermantown HS) and Nicole Christianson (Coon Rapids, Minn., Coon Rapids HS) qualified for both the indoor and outdoor championships. Casey Hovland (North Branch, Minn., North Branch HS) became the youngest individual to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in program history, while nordic skiing's Reitler Hodgert (Bend, Ore., Summit HS ) and Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash., Liberty Bell HS) qualified for the all-divisions NCAA Skiing Championships.
 
The Saints finished fourth amongst Minnesota Institutions in the standings behind the University of St. Thomas, St. Olaf College and Augsburg College.
 
The 2016-17 St. Scholastica Athletics campaign begins on September 2 in St. Paul and Moorhead. The volleyball team kicks things off against Westminster College (Mo.) at the University of Northwestern Tournament and the women's soccer team opens its season against the University of Wisconsin-Stout at the Cobber Classic.

Past Directors' Cup Finishes

2006-07: 227 of 312 2011-12: 95 of 318 2007-08: 105 of 306 2012-13: 83 of 330 2008-09: 67 of 310 2013-14: 72 of 326 2009-10: 234 of 311 2014-15: 84 of 322 2010-11: 157 of 324