Natives' Hingtgen commits to St. John's University
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- Published on Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Austin Hingtgen will play for St. John's of the MIAC
Submitted Article
Neepawa Natives media release
The Neepawa Natives would like to congratulate 20-year-old defensemen Austin Hingtgen, who has recently committed to St. John’s Johnnies of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), NCAA Div. III for the 2016-2017 season. Austin is the first graduating player of the Neepawa Natives to move on to the next level this year.
Located in Collegeville, Minnesota, the Johnnies have been MIAC Champions five times, with the most recent championship in 2013. The 2015-2016 season was an exceptional season for St. John’s as they finished one win short of first place with a MIAC record of 10-4-2-1.
Hingtgen was acquired by Neepawa early on in the season, playing an important role in both the community and with the hockey club. Austin said that he's thankful to everyone who assited him in achieving his college goal,
"I would like to thank my family, there's no way I would be where I am today without them.” said Hingtgen. “I would also like to thank the Natives management, teammates, and my billet mom [Mary Ellen Clark] who had given me an opportunity to play great hockey and achieve my goal of playing college hockey.”
Austin, who plans on studying biomedical science, had also expressed his enthusiasm for playing with the Johnnies next season.
“After visits to multiple schools, St. John’s stuck out as the best fit for me. I really liked the atmosphere around the school and the team, and I am excited to contribute to the teams winning tradition.” noted Hingtgen.
St. John's head coach Doug Schueller, expressed much praise for his recent recruit.
“Here at SJU we look for players that are competitive, coachable, and most importantly have character. We felt that Austin showed all those characteristics and we are excited to see what he can accomplish here at SJU.” said Schueller. “We had a great visit with Austin when he visited our campus and I believe he will fit in well with our team.”
Austin accumulated five goals and five assists in 44 games this season for Neepawa. The Williston, North Dakota native is one of the few graduating players from the 2015-2016 roster and played an important role with the organization and the community. The Neepawa Natives would like to wish Austin future success with the Johnnies.
