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 Augsburg, Bethel, Gustavus, Saint Mary's, 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
Connor Martin
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Guard
Peoria, Ill. | Richwoods
Connor Martin averaged 22.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 60.9 percent (28-for-46) from the field in a 2-1 week for the Oles. Martin started the week with back-to-back 25-point performances in wins over St. Scholastica (1/15) and Macalester (1/17). He shot north of 60.0 percent from the floor in both victories. Martin closed out the week by scoring all 16 of his points in the second half of a last-second loss at Saint Mary's on 1/20.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Austin Jentzen
Augsburg University
Sr. | Forward
Brooklyn Park, Minn. | St. Michael-Albertville
Austin Jentzen averaged 3.5 blocks and 4.0 rebounds per game in a 1-1 week for the Auggies. In a win over St. Scholastica on 1/17, Jentzen recorded five rebounds and five blocks, the most blocks in a MIAC game this season and the most by an Auggie player in any game since 2012. Jentzen finished the week with seven blocks, one steal, and eight rebounds.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Rachel Kawiecki
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Forward
Richfield, Minn. | Holy Angels
Rachel Kawiecki posted a career night in leading the Gusties over Saint Benedict on 1/15. Kawiecki went 11-for-15 from the field for a career-high 23 points in the 77-62 win. Kawiecki added four rebounds and an assist to her stat line in just 25 minutes of play.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Chloee Smith
St. Olaf College
Fy. | Forward
Stigler, Okla.
Chloee Smith averaged 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game for the Oles last week. Smith pulled down at least six rebounds in all three games in addition to logging three blocks and a steal against St. Scholastica on 1/15 and three steals against Saint Mary's in a two-point win on 1/20.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Joe Westlund
Bethel University
Fy. | Forward
Alexandria, Minn.
Joe Westlund helped the Royals secure five of six points in the MIAC standings in the team's series with Concordia on 1/19-20. Westlund tallied his first collegiate hat trick in a 4-4 tie on 1/19 with two power-play goals including the game-tying score 4:11 into the third period. In a 6-0 win on 1/20, Westlund added an assist on one of two third-period goals.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Samuel Vyletelka
Augsburg University
Jr. | Goaltender
Zilina, Slovakia | Grammar School of St. Francis of Assisi
Samuel Vyletelka stopped 70-of-74 shots faced for a 0.946 save percentage in the Auggies' series sweep of Gustavus on 1/19-20. Vyletelka had 34 saves in the Auggies' 3-2 home win on 1/19 and added a rare goalie assist on the team's second goal of the game. He had 36 saves - his 10th game with 30 or more saves this season - in Augsburg's 3-2 road win on 1/20. He added 14 saves in 18 minutes of relief in Augsburg's 4-1 loss to UW-River Falls on 1/16.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Celia Midtbo
Saint Mary's University
Fy. | Defender
Minneapolis, Minn.
Celia Midtbo had a hand in four of the Cardinals' seven goals in a sweep of St. Catherine on 1/19-20. Midtbo picked up a goal and an assist in a 4-0 victory on 1/19 before replicating the performance in SMU's sweep-clinching 3-1 win the following afternoon.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Makenzie Cole
The College of St. Scholastica
So. | Goaltender
Cohasset, Minn. | Grand Rapids
Makenzie Cole stopped 41 of the 42 shots she faced in a 2-1 win over St. Olaf on 1/19. The 41 saves tie for the second-highest single-game total of her collegiate career.