BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, basketball, and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Gustavus, Hamline, Saint Benedict, St. Catherine, and St. Olaf claimed the Conference's weekly honors.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the winter season, team sports (basketball and hockey) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (swimming & diving and indoor track & field) 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 2023-24 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2023-24 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Football Offensive Player of the Week
Aaron Ellingson
Bethel University
Jr. | Running Back
St. Louis Park, Minn.
Aaron Ellingson rushed for a career-high 224 yards on 27 carries with three touchdowns to lead the Royals to a 31-7 win over Gustavus in the MIAC Championship game. His first touchdown of the day came on a 4th-and-10 on BU's own 24-yard line where a fake punt led to a 76-yard score on the Royals' opening drive. Ellingson made it 17-0 just before the end of the first quarter with a 17-yard touchdown run before adding a third trip to the end zone with a 14-yard scamper up the middle for BU's final score of the game.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Deonta Thomas
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Defensive Back
Minneapolis, Minn. | Minnehaha Academy
Deonta Thomas had the first two-interception game of his collegiate career in the Oles' 28-7 victory at Hamline on 11/11. Thomas' first interception led to the Oles' second touchdown of the opening quarter and his second came at the St. Olaf 16-yard line in the fourth quarter.
MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Spencer Swanson
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Forward
Waconia, Minn.
Spencer Swanson averaged 23.0 points between two games against a pair of WIAC opponents last week, scoring 21 against nationally-ranked UW-Whitewater on 11/10 and 25 against UW-Platteville on 11/11. Swanson shot 56.7 percent from the field, led the team with 7.0 rebounds per game, and shot 62.5 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Austin Holt
Hamline University
Jr. | Forward
Highlands Ranch, Colo. | Thunder Ridge
Austin Holt opened the season with a double-double, scoring 13 points and collecting 10 rebounds - including eight on the defensive end - to go along with five steals in a 62-57 loss to Northwestern-St. Paul on 11/9.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Sophia Jonas
College of Saint Benedict
Jr. | Guard
Hudson, Wis.
Sophia Jonas averaged 23.0 points to earn Tournament MVP honors at the Bennies' season-opening invitational over the weekend. Jonas scored 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor in a win over UM-Morris on 11/10 before going 9-for-16 with 22 points in a win over Northwestern-St. Paul on 11/11. Jonas connected on nine three-point shots over the two games, bringing her career total to 137 - three shy of the program record.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Emme Golembiewski
St. Catherine University
So. | Forward
Minong, Wis. | Northwood
Emme Golembiewski collected 17 rebounds and blocked six shots in a 1-1 week for the Wildcats. Golembiewski had seven boards and four blocks in a loss to UW-La Crosse on 11/10 before coming down with 10 rebounds and two blocks in a win against Edgewood on 11/11.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Tyler Kostelecky
Bethel University
So. | Forward
Maple Grove, Minn.
Tyler Kostelecky tallied two goals and one assist as the Royals defeated UW-Superior on 11/10 and tied nationally-ranked UW-Eau Claire on 11/11. Against the Yellowjackets, Kostelecky assisted on Bethel's first goal before adding an insurance score in the second for his first multi-point effort of the season. Against the Blugolds, he broke a scoreless tie with just under two minutes to go in the first period with his third goal of the season.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Travis Allen
Bethel University
Sr. | Goaltender
Circle Pines, Minn. | Centennial
Travis Allen led the Royals to a 1-0-1 weekend inside the crease, collecting a combined 63 saves, a 0.969 save percentage, and two goals allowed. Allen started the weekend with a 2-0 shutout win against UW-Superior on 11/10 where he collected 31 saves, including three in the final 40 seconds of regulation. At nationally-ranked UW-Eau Claire, Allen tallied a season-high 32 saves in a 2-2 tie. Allen collected 15 saves in the second period and stopped the Blugolds only shot on-frame in the 3-on-3 overtime period.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Hannah Gray
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Forward
Stillwater, Minn.
Hannah Gray had a career weekend for the Gusties, factoring in five of seven goals scored in a weekend sweep of St. Scholastica. Gray scored the Gusties' second and sixth goals and assisted the third and the fourth scores in a 6-0 win on 11/9. The game marked the first four-point night of her career. On 11/11, Gray scored the only goal of the game 4:42 into the first period, which proved to be the game-winner. Gray also made a diving save in front of a wide-open Gustie goal to keep the St. Scholastica equalizer out of the back of the net in the third period of the game.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Anna Hanson
Bethel University
Jr. | Goaltender
Stacy, Minn. | Chisago Lakes
Anna Hanson led the Royals to a MIAC-opening sweep of St. Olaf last weekend with a combined 54 saves, 0.947 save percentage, and three goals allowed. In BU's 3-2 win on 11/10, Hanson collected 23 saves - 12 of which came in the second period. In the finale in Northfield on 11/11, she tallied 31 saves while allowing one goal, which came on one of the Oles' two power-plays.