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 Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, Macalester, Saint John's, and St. Olaf claimed the Conference's weekly honors for September 26 - October 2, 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
Aaron Syverson
Saint John's University
Jr. | Quarterback
Minnetonka, Minn.
Aaron Syverson set career highs in passing yards (360) and passing touchdowns (5) in the Johnnies’ 35-28 Homecoming win over Concordia on 10/1. Syverson became the third player in SJU history to throw for 300 passing yards in three consecutive games.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Michael Wozniak
Saint John's University
Sr. | Defensive End
New Hope, Minn. | Robbinsdale Armstrong
Michael Wozniak tied for the team lead in tackles with 10 (six solo) and added 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, and two quarterback hurries in the Johnnies' victory over Concordia. The Cobbers lost a collective 14 yards on the 10 tackles Wozniak was a part of.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Hugo Cifuentes
Bethel University
So. | Kicker
Balaton, Minn. | Marshall
Hugo Cifuentes went a perfect 3-for-3 in field goals and added three extra points in the Royals' 30-27 victory at Gustavus. Cifuentes put Bethel on the board by splitting the uprights with a 32-yard field goal on the opening drive. Cifuentes also accounted for all six of the Royals' second-half points. With 9:15 to go in the third, he made a 28-yard field goal attempt before converting a 27-yard field goal with 41 seconds left in the third. Three field goals in a game is the most by a Bethel kicker since at least 1998.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Marlee Turn
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Outside Hitter
Kennedy, Minn. | Kittson Central
Marlee Turn helped the Gusties to a perfect 4-0 week, including victories over MIAC competitors Bethel and Carleton. Turn posted 58 kills in four matches, including a 15-kill, 13-dig double-double and hitting .448 against Bethany Lutheran. Turn added 42 digs in the four matches, posting three double-doubles for a team-leading nine on the season. Turn capped the weekend with a total of three service aces.
MIAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week
Maren Sundberg
Gustavus Adolphus College
Fy. | Defensive Specialist
Eagan, Minn.
Maren Sundberg posted 69 digs across four wins for the Gusties last week, including a 26-dig performance against Bethel on 10/1. Sundberg also chipped in nine service aces over the course of the week and now leads the team with 21 total.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Hans Haenicke
Macalester College
So. | Forward
Lisle, Ill. | Benet Academy
Hans Haenicke scored three goals and assisted on another in a two-win week for the Scots. Haenicke had a goal in a 3-1 victory over Bethel on 9/28, then played a role in all three of Macalester's goals in a 3-0 victory over Hamline on 10/1. Haenicke scored twice and added an assist in the win.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Daniel Linder
Carleton College
Jr. | Goalkeeper
Evanston, Ill. | Evanston Township
Daniel Linder made four saves as the Knights defeated regionally-ranked St. Olaf, 2-1, on 10/1, snapping the Oles’ 14-game MIAC regular-season win streak and handing the crosstown rivals their first regular-season conference loss since 2019. Linder faced 18 shots in the game.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Sadie Klassen
St. Olaf College
So. | Forward
Eagan, Minn. | Academy of Holy Angels
Sadie Klassen scored four goals in the Oles' two games last week, including her first-career hat trick in a 4-1 win over St. Scholastica on 9/27. Against the Saints, the sophomore scored three times in the span of 4:04 in the second half beginning with the game-winning goal in the 64th minute. She also scored the Oles' lone goal in a 3-1 loss at regionally-ranked Carleton on 10/1.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Keya Mookencherry
Carleton College
So. | Goalkeeper
Winnetka, Ill. | New Trier
Keya Mookencherry had a 0.50 goals against average after helping the Knights claim two victories last week, moving Carleton into sole possession of first place in the MIAC standings and extending its overall win streak to seven games. She had five saves in a 3-0 shutout at regionally-ranked Augsburg on 9/27, her third clean sheet of the season to tie for tops among MIAC keepers. She then had three stops in the 3-1 win over crosstown foe St. Olaf on 10/1, with the lone conceded goal coming on a penalty kick.