Four St. Michael-Albertville Athletes Ink with Division I Programs on National Signing Day

St. Michael-Albertville superstar wrestler Tommy Thorn continued his family tradition Wednesday in St. Michael, while a pair of North Wright County hockey players from STMA carried on a relatively new team tradition for that program as the Knights had a trio of stars sign letters of intent on National Signing Day.

And a new twist came this year with Kasey Roberts, a Knights swimmer, signing her letter of intent with Iowa State University in the Big 12.  

For Thorn, Wednesday was a formality. Since his first state championship as a freshman, Tommy has been the "next in line" from the Thorn family in terms of wrestling for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He made it official on Nov. 13, signing a letter to follow in his brothers' footsteps. Both Mike and David, accomplished wrestlers with the Knights who have state titles to their names, are wrestling with the Gophers now.

“Tommy’s just one of those kids who comes from a strong tradition there with his family,” said Knights head coach Dan Lefebrve. “He’s willing to put in the work. He has all the tools.”

Alex LaMere is the second straight North Wright County goalkeeper to head to a Division I hockey program. LaMere will join the Ohio State University women's program next fall in Columbus. 

LaMere followed in the footsteps of netminder Amanda Koep, who's currently a backup goalie at the University of North Dakota. Koep, now in her sophomore season, earned her first victory last week. 

Emily Achterkirch is another RiverHawks standout headed to Division I hockey. She signed a letter of intent to play with Princeton in the Ivy League. A solid, two-way player, Achterkirch had a standout season last year with the Section 8-2A champion RiverHawks and was solid in a heartbreaking, quarterfinal loss to Lakeville South last season. 

Jumping into the mix was Kasey Roberts, senior, who has been lighting up the pool for the STMA girls' swimming program for the past three years as State AA level, including a championship in the 200 IM last season and a seeding atop two races (or at least in the top two, based on time) for this season's meets. Roberts, who has a younger sister who is strong in the swim program, will head to Iowa State University in the fall to swim for the Cyclones. 

"She's a team leader and someone who the girls really, day in and day out, can look up to. She puts in the work and that's what makes her so strong, and her teammates can really see that," said her coach, Tom Guillou.