BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for basketball and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Macalester, Saint Benedict, St. Olaf, and St. Scholastica 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 Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Kobe Kirk
St. Olaf College
So. | Forward
North Oaks, Minn. | Mounds View
Kobe Kirk averaged 24.0 points per game while going 14-for-14 at the free-throw line in the Oles' two games last week. The sophomore had a game-high 23 points in an 86-82 loss at Macalester on 11/29 night before scoring a game-and season-high-tying 25 points in a 94-84 overtime win over Saint Mary's 12/2. Kirk also averaged 11.0 rebounds per game in the two games, including grabbing a career-high 16 against the Scots.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Noah Shannon
Macalester College
So. | Forward
Northfield, Ill. | New Trier
Noah Shannon helped the Scots win a pair of MIAC games last week. Against St. Olaf on 11/29, Shanon grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to go with 13 points, one block, and three assists in an 86-82 victory. Shannon then tallied nine rebounds - eight on the defensive glass - along with two steals and a career-best 22 points to lead Macalester to a 99-86 win at St. Scholastica on 12/2.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Carla Meyer
College of Saint Benedict
Sr. | Guard
New Brighton, Minn. | Totino-Grace
Carla Meyer averaged 14.0 points and 6.0 assists in a 2-0 week for the Bennies in MIAC play. Meyer scored 17 points and dished out eight assists in a 74-55 win over Saint Mary's on 11/29 before adding another 11 points and four assists in a 77-64 victory over Hamline. She also posted 14 rebounds and three steals for the week.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Chloee Smith
St. Olaf College
Fy. | Forward
Stigler, Okla. | Keota
Chloee Smith averaged a double-double of 12.5 points and 15.0 rebounds while adding five steals and a blocked shot in the Oles' two games last week. Smith had 10 points and 13 rebounds in a 71-57 loss to Macalester on 11/29 before recording 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds with one blocked shot in a 74-64 victory over Saint Mary's on 12/2.
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 took five of the six conference points from Saint John's over the weekend. In a 3-2 win on 12/1, Kostelecky lit up the lamp 42 seconds into overtime and won five of nine faceoffs. In the series finale on 12/2, he had his hand in two of the four unanswered goals in the Royals' 4-2 win. He assisted on BU's first goal that came on the power play before scoring a short-handed goal just over two minutes later, tying the game at 2-2.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Thomas Lalonde
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Goaltender
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Thomas Lalonde stopped 26-of-27 shots and was less than a minute away from a shutout in the Oles' 3-1 win over Augsburg on 12/1. The junior stopped the first 24 shots he faced in his lone start of the week before the Auggies got on the board with just 36 seconds remaining in the game.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Lyndi Schubert
The College of St. Scholastica
So. | Forward
Mantorville, Minn. | Kasson-Mantorville
Lyndi Schubert had two goals and three assists for a five-point weekend as the Saints swept St. Catherine. In a 4-3 road victory on 12/1, Schubert scored late in the second period to tie the game before adding an assist on the game-winner later in the contest. Schubert then scored her third goal of the year and recorded two assists in the Saints' 4-2 home victory on 12/3.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Anna Hanson
Bethel University
Jr. | Goaltender
Stacy, Minn. | Chisago Lakes
Anna Hanson tallied a combined 66 saves with a 0.971 save percentage in the Royals' series with Saint Benedict. Hanson picked up a shutout on 12/1, tallying 25 saves in a 0-0 tie. In the Royals' 3-2 win on 12/2, she stopped 41 shots while allowing two Bennie goals, one of which came on a power play.