BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, volleyball, and soccer on Monday. Student-athletes from Augsburg, Bethel, Carleton, Concordia, St. Olaf, and St. Scholastica claimed the Conference's weekly honors for October 3-9, 2022.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the fall season, team sports (football, soccer and volleyball) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (cross country) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.
To view each sport's 2022-23 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2022-23 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Football Offensive Player of the Week
Peyton Mortenson
Concordia College
Sr. | Running Back
Marietta, Minn. | Lac qui Parle Valley
Peyton Mortenson rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns in the Cobbers' 36-7 win over Macalester on 10/8. Mortenson carried the ball 29 times and averaged 5.7 yards per carry. With three receptions in the game as well, Mortenson touched the ball on more than 40 percent of the Cobbers' offensive plays. Mortenson also reached a career milestone, becoming the 27th player in program history to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Jacob Halek
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Safety
Maple Grove, Minn. | Providence Academy
Jacob Halek totaled a career-high 11 tackles (nine solo) and an interception in the Oles' loss at undefeated Carleton on 10/8. The junior picked off a pass with the Knights in St. Olaf territory in the opening quarter to mark his fifth straight game with an interception. His 11 tackles were five more than his previous career-high total.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Trent Ramirez
Carleton College
Sr. | Kicker
Denver, Colo. | George Washington
Trent Ramirez kicked a pair of field goals, added two extra-point conversions, and made a pair of point-saving tackles in the Knights' 26-7 triumph over St. Olaf on 10/8. Ramirez booted field goals of 20 and 26 yards, and collected tackles on a kickoff return and a fumbled snap during a point-after-touchdown try.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Kirstin Cotter
Bethel University
Sr. | Opposite
Duluth, Minn. | East
Kirstin Cotter tallied 32 kills and hit .413 to lead the Royals to a pair of straight-set victories over Carleton and St. Scholastica last week. Against the Knights on 10/7, Cotter had 15 kills on a .448 hitting percentage with nine digs and three block-assists. At St. Scholastica the following day, she added 17 kills on a .382 hitting percentage with two blocks in the win.
MIAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week
Selena Rodriguez
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Defensive Specialist
St. Paul, Minn. | North
Selena Rodriguez reached the 1,000-dig milestone for her career as part of a week that saw her record 67 digs (5.15 per set) across three matches for the Oles. The senior registered a career-high 34 digs in a four-set win over No. 4 Northwestern on 10/5 and added 24 more in a five-set loss to No. 22 Gustavus on 10/8. She also became the 17th Ole in recorded program history to reach the 1,000-dig landmark in the match against the Gusties.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Casey McCloskey
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Forward
Denver, Colo. | Regis Jesuit
Casey McCloskey had two goals and three assists to help lead the Oles to victories against two top teams in the region, including one nationally-ranked opponent last week. McCloskey recorded a goal and an assist in the Oles' 3-0 win over No. 23 UW-Eau Claire on 10/6 before matching his career-high with four points on a goal and two assists in a 3-1 victory against Saint John's on 10/9.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Oscar Herrera
Augsburg University
So. | Goalkeeper
Madison, Wis. | West
Oscar Herrera delivered a pair of shutouts last week, giving him six on the season and 12 in his collegiate career. He had four saves including a diving stop on a penalty kick attempt in Augsburg's 1-0 win over nationally-ranked UW-Eau Claire on 10/4, which had entered the game as one of only four unbeaten and untied teams in NCAA Division III men's soccer. He then had three saves in Augsburg's 3-0 win at Saint Mary's on 10/8.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Sadie Klassen
St. Olaf College
So. | Forward
Eagan, Minn. | Academy of Holy Angels
Sadie Klassen extended her scoring streak to three games by netting the lone goal of the game for the Oles in a 1-0 win over regionally-ranked Saint Benedict on 10/8. Early in the second half, the sophomore scored her third game-winning goal of the season to put St. Olaf in line for the victory and snap the Bennies' six-game win-streak.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Gracie Meagher
The College of St. Scholastica
So. | Goalkeeper
Cloquet, Minn.
Gracie Meagher helped the Saints come away unbeaten in two games last week by collecting 15 total saves in contests against Macalester and Hamline. Meagher tallied seven saves in a scoreless draw with Macalester on 10/4 before adding eight saves in a 3-1 win versus Hamline on 10/8.