From looking at the summary pages of Samantha Munson's career at Saint Mary's University, it'd be easy to assume it's been an absolute linear career for Munson's success, but it's been anything but that. For Munson, all these pristine accolades were crafted through the everyday grind, doing all the things no one ever saw, and then being able to showcase that to the crowd.
Munson's soccer career was jump-started right from the get-go, starting at the age of five, when she fell in love with the sport. The continuation all throughout the years, and expanding into college, really just stemmed from the love of the sport. "It's been a passion of mine since I was young, wasn't ready to give it up just yet," said Munson. "I just loved the sport and knew I had the potential to do well on the right collegiate team." What started as just a passion and love for the sport transformed into something so much deeper.
When it came time to start looking at colleges Munson was recruited by Coach Rizzo to come play for the team, as she arrived to tour Saint Mary's for the first time Munson fell in love with what Minnesota had to offer her the bluffs especially, but it was also the close community that felt so welcoming to her "I'm not really from the midwest so when visiting the area the scenery just really pulled me in." During the visit, another recruitment came along with the success of Munson's soccer career her junior year of high school Munson joined track just for the fun of it and Coach Darren Schneider and Coach Taylor Smith saw potential and offered her a recruitment to run track as well, Munson said "I didn't feel right off the bat," but she kept it in mind if the opportunity presented itself.
When Munson first stepped foot on the collegiate stage, she noted a few adjustments that definitely needed to be made. "For sure, the level of communication is much more present…the level of physicality was also noticeable change as well." Munson's path to greatness on the pitch was a slow start, only appearing in 5 games during her freshman year, but that didn't stop her from grinding every day to move up on the depth chart. Munson noted, "It definitely wasn't easy. I for sure had my struggles…I just made the decision to stay dedicated, and honestly, the off-season in the summer is where a lot of work was put just grinding out techniques and lifts before 7 A.M., and that was definitely where I saw a lot of my improvement show up in the fall." Munson's work definitely was worth it as she appeared in 21 games and started 17 of them in the 2024 season, all while putting together 6 goals and 4 assists, but that wasn't the end of Munson's growth. Munson in the 2025 season exploded, appearing in 18, of which 16 were starts. She was a prime member, putting together 10 goals and 5 assists, resulting in 25 total points for the Cardinals. If there's ever a testament of putting in the work, Munson is a clear definition of that, and it paid off, earning the honor of being selected as an All-Conference player in the MIAC.
What drove Munson more than anything to get to this point of success was her desire to be the best. There was always a constant voice of what can I do to get to the top of that depth chart, and Munson emphasized that "I love my teammates, but I want that playing time, I want to be the one scoring those goals, that's really what drove me." That mindset clearly worked, putting over 50 points for the Cardinals, all while complying with well over two thousand minutes on the pitch. That wasn't all that was written for Munson's athletic career, though.
Remember how Munson originally declined to start in both sports, soccer and track, well, that didn't last long. In 2024, Munson made the decision to return to track, and she took off right away, breaking into 7th all-time in the 60M as well as the 100M. Munson was truthful, though with this instant success, "Coming in my freshman season, my times were not that good…I had no idea I was going to be able to achieve, especially with it not being my main sport." Munson didn't stop there, though; she took the 2025 season by storm. Starting with the Indoor season, immediately taking the 3rd all-time slot of the 200M. Munson's hard work in her 2025 season was rightfully recognized in outdoor seasons as she took off right away. Munson didn't just have individual success as Munson, Zari Young, Xara Gin, and Melissa Torres recorded a school record in the 4X200 relay, which had been held for two decades, helping that team all earn MIAC-Honorable Mention.
Munson showed a lot of gratitude to her teammates, but especially the underclassmen. "Getting close with Young was big, and Jossy Saamansen was a part of my success for sure."
Munson's success didn't come to a halt in any fashion come outdoor season. Not only did Munson continue to climb the all-time leaderboard in the 100M all the way to 2nd overall, but that same group that recorded an indoor school record, yeah, they broke another one in the 4x100 one that had been held since 2018.
However, one season that truly encapsulates the work Munson has put in on the track has been the 2026 season. Just 7 days after breaking into the 2nd all-time in the 60, Munson broke another school record in the 200M, one that had been held for over a decade, "Since joining track, I set out to break that record, I knew it was attainable for me." That moment was very special to Munson; however, the satisfaction wasn't enough for her. "As soon as I broke it, I was already thinking what can I do next." That mindset set the course for the rest of her indoor season and beyond. When the MIAC Championships arrived, Munson was honest with this moment: "The previous race I ran, I fumbled it a bit…going into the championship race, my goal was to just get podium," However, she did more than that. Going into this race, she changed her approach; she approached it as a last hurrah and just ran free. Well, that led to her first-ever MIAC Championship 1st place status, that astonishing achievement earned her first All-Conference selection for indoors. This indoor season not only was a one-of-one season, but it propelled her into one of the best outdoor seasons Saint Mary's has seen.
It didn't take long for Munson to find success going into the outdoor season. Not only did she break the record for the outdoor 200M, but two weeks later, Munson, Young, Saamanen, and her sister, Kenzie Munson, broke the record in the 4x100. She credited her teammates for this achievement: "It just clicked for us as a group, having that amount of trust in each other is especially a huge key to our success and having confidence in each other." That, however, wasn't enough for Munson. Munson went back-to-back becoming the Outdoor MIAC Champion in the 200M as she did in the Indoor season this accomplishment meant something more to Munson "It meant a lot considering where I started in my track career…but it really is a testament to my teammates and coaches motivating me throughout practice along the season and for believing in me…everyday my teammates showed up and gave me something to come back to every single day."
There is one thing that was more special than any milestone for Munson, and it wasn't anticipated. When looking at schools, Munson and her sister, Kenzie Munson, wanted to go their own way, but the soccer connection just made sense with Coach Rizzo recognizing this could be a really good duo. It was a great opportunity for Munson as she mentioned, "I would love to play alongside her for four more years…not a lot of people can say they were able to play and compete with each other for as long as we have and it's just really fun for us."
When reflecting on moments that have stuck with her, she recalls for soccer competing against St.Benedict (CSB) at home and just having a field day scoring a bunch with Munson putting in two and her teammate Lauryn Skoruppa putting in three, "It was a really fun day for everyone, the vibes were high for the entire team, and we just had fun out there." For track, she pointed to definitely going back-to-back winning the 200M MIAC Championships; however, the first was a little more special to her "I was just trying to podium, I had zero idea that was coming, I just ran free."
When reflecting on what she hopes her legacy is once she closes this chapter, is that incoming underclassmen look at what she was able to accomplish and want to reach that level and dethrone her, is truly inspiring "I hope a lot of people see that and be like, oh, I wanna be number one. I don't want her to be on the leaderboard anymore; Like I'm tired of seeing her name. So I'm hoping that people see that and try to take me off of it."
Munson's time at Saint Mary's University wasn't purely on athletics, though. All while having a huge amount of success on the pitch and track, she was putting in the work in the classroom, earning six total All-Academic honors across both sports. She came in with the goal of graduating in Bio Pre-Physicians Assistant to go on to a specialty. Munson has decided to take all the experiences in, and she will see what impacts her the most and just take in what speaks to her. That's not all, though. Munson wants to continue to coach to keep those passions alive. "I'm just gonna hopefully be a coach somewhere, like just an assistant coach, just to continue my athletic passions and keep inspiring those around me."
