BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, volleyball, soccer, golf, and cross country on Tuesday. Student-athletes from Augsburg, Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, Macalester, Saint John's, and St. Scholastica claimed the Conference's weekly honors for September 1-5, 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 and golf) 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
Michael Poker
Macalester College
Jr. | Wide Receiver
Brookfield, Wis. | East
Michael Poker caught eight passes for 158 yards and a touchdown in a 45-24 victory at Minnesota-Morris in the Scots' season opener on Saturday. He also threw a 19-yard touchdown pass that gave Macalester a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Michael Wozniak
Saint John's University
Sr. | Defensive End
New Hope, Minn. | Robbinsdale Armstrong
Michael Wozniak totaled five tackles - three solo - including 3.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble in the Johnnies' 24-10 win over then-No. 4 UW-Whitewater. All three sacks came in the second half, as SJU held the Warhawks to four combined yards on its final seven offensive drives of the game.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Hugo Cifuentes
Bethel University
Jr. | Kicker
Balaton, Minn. | Marshall
Hugo Cifuentes did not miss a kick in the Royals' 41-9 victory over Pacific Lutheran last Saturday, with successful conversions on two field goals and five extra points. Cifuentes put Bethel on the board with a 21-yard field goal early before besting that in the third quarter with a career-long 35-yard field goal.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Jessica Remer
The College of St. Scholastica
Sr. | Outside Hitter
Grand Forks, N.D. | Sacred Heart
Jessica Remer led the Saints offensively, averaging 3.89 kills per set as St. Scholastica went 3-1 at the season-opening Pacific Coast Classic over the weekend. Remer recorded double-doubles in all four matches, including 24 kills and 17 digs against the University of Redlands to open the season. The 24 kills matched a career-high.
MIAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week
Alcia Draper
The College of St. Scholastica
Sr. | Libero
Williams, Minn. | Lake of the Woods
Alcia Draper averaged 6.28 digs per set, matched a team-high with eight service aces, and added 11 assists as the Saints went 3-1 at the Pacific Coast Classic over the weekend. Draper, who was named to the PCC All-Tournament Team for her play, recorded at least 24 digs in all four matches, including 38 in the team's season-opening win over the University of Redlands.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Matt D. Anderson
Saint John's University
Sr. | Midfielder
Omaha, Neb. | Creighton Prep
Matt D. Anderson scored a goal in each game - including two game-winners and a game-tying goal - as the Johnnies' went 2-0-1 on the road to start the 2022 season. Anderson tallied the season's first goal just 10:30 into the opener at Minnesota-Morris on 9/1 and scored the game-tying goal 2:45 after halftime in the neutral-site, 1-1 draw against Cal Lutheran on 9/3. He ended the California trip with what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute in Monday's 2-0 shutout of host UC-Santa Cruz.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Wesley Sanders
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Goalkeeper
Urbandale, Iowa | Waukee
Wesley Sanders started all three games without allowing a goal as the Gusties posted a 2-0-1 record to start the season. Sanders is the only goalkeeper in NCAA Division III to have three consecutive shutouts in 270 minutes. He faced 16 shots making six saves and claiming more than 30 crosses with 19 penetrating long ball claims. His distribution was also a 100 percent completion rate in the defensive third.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Cambelle Waldspurger
Gustavus Adolphus College
Fy. | Midfielder
Mahtomedi, Minn.
Cambelle Waldspurger scored both game-winning goals as Gustavus defeated Chapman and Cal Lutheran by scores of 2-1 during the Gusties' season-opening trip to Southern California. Waldspurger scored her first career goal in the 56th minute against Chapman and followed that performance with another game-winner in the 79th minute against Cal Lutheran.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Ashlyn Ryan
Macalester College
So. | Goalkeeper
Seattle, Wash. | Lakeside School
Ashlyn Ryan helped the Scots register three shutouts to open the season. Ryan made three saves in a 2-0 blanking of Lawrence on on 9/3, then made five saves in a 0-0 draw with UW-Oshkosh, which had scored 21 goals in its first two games this season. Ryan also played the first half without making a save in a 5-0 win over Northland in the opener on 9/1.
MIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Mohammed Bati
Augsburg University
Fy.
Dodola, Ethiopia | GAP School (St. Paul Highland Park)
Mohammed Bati was the top overall finisher at the Twin Cities Twilight last Friday, finishing the three-mile race in 14:32.7. Winning the race by more than 20 seconds, Bati became the first Augsburg men's cross country runner to win a collegiate race since 2012.
MIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Maj-Lis Helmer
The College of St. Scholastica
Jr.
Duluth, Minn. | East
Maj-Lis Helmer won the first collegiate meet of her career last Friday at the season-opening Twin Cities Twilight. Helmer won the three-mile race with a time of 18:13, which bested the rest of the field by 38 seconds. Helmer is the first women's cross country runner at St. Scholastica to win a collegiate meet since 2017.
MIAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Week
Conor Schubring
Bethel University
Sr.
St. Louis Park, Minn.
Conor Schubring earned his first career medalist honor taking the top spot at the Augsburg Fall Invite by carding a two-under-par 142. Schubring shot a career-low 71 on both days of the 36-hole event where Bethel placed second as a team. He was in a four-way tie for first after 18 holes before separating himself with 17 pars and a birdie on day two.
MIAC Women's Golf Athlete of the Week
Carter Sichol
Carleton College
Fy.
Winnetka, Ill. | New Trier
Carter Sichol won the season-opening CSB Invite by nine strokes in her collegiate debut and led the Knights to a seven-shot victory over the 13-team field that included two nationally-ranked programs. Sichol played both rounds at Blackberry Ridge Golf Course at even par (72-72=144), finishing the weekend with three birdies, three bogeys, and 30 pars.