Some say that anytime you have a subject there is always room for debate. Well, that may be true most of the time, but it is not the case when it comes to talking about the 2004-2005 athletic season at Winona State University.

There is no question that the 2004-2005 season is the best, by far, in the history of Warrior athletics. Yes, there were seasons when Warrior teams won national championships. Yes, there were years when more than one team won a conference championship. But there is no season like the one the Warriors had in 2004-2005.

The tone of the season was set in the battle for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships. The Warriors competed for NSIC titles in 13 sports programs -- 4 men's and 9 women's. In the 2004-2005 season the Warrior men’s (football, golf and basketball) programs won three NSIC championships, while the women’s (cross country, soccer, indoor track, tennis, softball and outdoor track) programs captured six NSIC crowns to give WSU nine league championships out of 13 programs. Add the second place in the NSIC tournament by the women’s golf team and the second place by the men’s tennis team and 11 of the 15 WSU varsity athletic programs fared no less than second place in conference competition. Never before has that happened in WSU athletic history.

Although success in conference play is the first step to a successful athletic season, the next step, play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments and competitions, is the move that puts a program among the best in the nation. The Warriors took a major step to reaching that status by placing seven teams (men’s and women’s cross country; men's football, golf, basketball, and tennis; and women's softball) in regional competition by either being selected by committees or qualifying into regional play.

The season began with four conference championships and three entries into NCAA regional competition.

The Warrior men’s golf team captured league honors behind the medalist play of Brett Toftness (Cumberland, WI). That effort qualified the Warriors for NCAA Super Regional play in the spring.

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams ventured into regional competition with the women placing 15th and the men taking 20th. Earlier in the season, the WSU women’s cross country team grabbed the conference championship as Amelia Soto (Victoria, MN) won the individual competition and was named Runner of the Meet. It would be just the beginning of an outstanding athletic season for her.

The WSU football team continued its torrid pace over the past decade by garnering another conference championship. The Warriors went undefeated in league play and finished up the season with a 10-2 mark. The second loss of the season came in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs where the Warriors were trimmed by two-time defending NCAA Division II champion Grand Valley State University, MI, 16-13, at the friendly confines of Maxwell Field at Midwest Wireless Stadium. It marked the fifth straight season the Warriors had competed in postseason football competition.

The fall season set the tempo for the rest of the Warrior athletic year.

During the winter season, the Winona State women’s indoor track and field team earned its first ever NSIC championship thanks in great part to the outstanding effort of Deidra Faber (Plain, WI).

Faber won five individual events (Heptathlon, 55-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 400-meter run, long jump) and ran a leg in the Warriors’ winning 4 x 100 relay team. For her efforts she was named NSIC Female Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. She also would have more excellent performances to come.

As for Soto, she won the 5,000-meter run and would place her name among the leaders of more events to come.

 Men’s basketball got into the championship act and ended up making a trip to Denver, CO to play in the NCAA North Central Region by posting the single-season highest number of wins in WSU history with a 24-11 record. The Warriors captured regular-season league team honors and then received a berth in the region tournament. While at the regional, the Warriors won WSU’s first ever NCAA tournament game by defeating the University of Nebraska-Omaha 64-58 before bowing out to the University of South Dakota in the region semifinal round.

A pair of Warrior gymnasts added a little taste of individual national competition when Amy Bickler (Austin, MN) and Jessie VanDenHeuvel (Wausau, WI) each qualified for the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association national championships that were held down the Mississippi River from Winona State at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

From there the athletic season at WSU rolled into the spring and the Warrior exploits continued.

The Warrior men’s tennis team added more to the plate for Winona State by qualifying for WSU’s first ever NCAA regional play. A late-season push moved the Warriors into the No. 8 seeded spot in regional play before a loss to perennial national qualifier Southwest Baptist University, MO handed the Warriors a 5-1 loss in the opening round. That region match capped off a season for the Warrior netters who moved into a co-op with the North Central Conference where in NCC tournament play the Warriors placed second and Ryan Zilka (Burnsville, MN) came away with No. 6 singles honors.

With the coming of spring, the Warrior men’s golf team was able to get back outside and eventually played in the NCAA Super Region where WSU placed third. Justin Carrier (Rushford, MN) gave it a charge for an opportunity to qualify as an individual in the NCAA national tournament by placing fifth but fell a couple of strokes short of making the nationals.

The team play for Warrior athletics was nearly at an end when the WSU softball team advanced, for the second time in three seasons, to NCAA regional play. The Warrior squad reached another WSU first by becoming the first team to win two games in NCAA regional softball play and finished with the highest standing in postseason softball play by coming in third.

The WSU season continued and it was the running of Soto and Faber that highlighted the women’s outdoor track and field season. The Warriors added the third jewel to the triple crown of running in the NSIC by winning WSU’s first ever NSIC outdoor track and field title. Once again that effort was led by Soto and Faber.

Soto won both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races and was named the league’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. With that effort Soto completed her senior season with four individual league titles and two league Athlete of the Year awards.

Faber came out of the outdoor championships with wins in both the 400-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles to finish her junior season with six individual NSIC titles. More importantly, Faber qualified for the NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field championships in the 400-meter hurdles. Winona State athletic history indicates that a number of women’s track athletes earned All-American status, but Faber became the first to earn NCAA All-American honors when she placed fourth in the 400 hurdle finals at Abilene, TX.

Other Warrior teams had successful NSIC seasons as witnessed by the soccer team winning both the regular season and tournament championships. The women’s tennis team swept all nine championships on the strength of sophomore Michele Bailey’s (Kauspell, MT) second straight No. 1 singles title. She was named the league's most valuable player for a second straight season.

Overall, WSU team success was paramount, but in order for that to happen, individuals had to come to the fore. During the season, over one in four WSU athletes (76) received some type of all-conference honor and there were eight individuals who combined for nine NSIC most valuable player or player-of-the-year honors.

On a national level, there were 22 Warriors who earned some type of all-region or all-district honors, and eventually ten athletes received All-American status.

The 2004-2005 WSU athletic season also marked a breakthrough for the football squad when both Chris Samp (Algoma, WI) and Brian Wrobel (Stoddard, WI) signed professional free agent National Football League contracts with the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks respectively. Never before had two WSU players singed NFL contracts in the same season.

With all the individual accomplishments, Warrior coaches added to the awards with conference Coach of the Year honors going to Mark Bambenek (Men’s Golf), Neal Mundahl (Women’s Cross Country), Ali Omar (Women's Soccer), Tom Sawyer (Football), Mason Rebarchek (Women’s Indoor Track and Field), Mike Leaf (Men’s Basketball), Sean Kangrga (Women’s Tennis) and Greg Jones (Softball).

Is there room for debate as to whether the 2004-2005 season was the best ever in WSU athletic history? Just read the story again.