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, Concordia Gustavus, Hamline, Macalester, 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
Caleb Williams
Macalester College
Jr. | Guard
Wild Rose, Wis.
Caleb Williams averaged 35.5 points per game over two MIAC contests last week. In a 92-88 victory at Concordia on 1/24, Williams poured in 51 points while shooting 20-of-28 (.714) from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. The performance ranks second all-time in MIAC game history behind former Augsburg and Los Angeles Lakers forward Devean George's 52 scored against Carleton on 1/16/1999. Williams' 51 is also the second-most points scored by a Scot in any game in program history. Williams followed that performance with 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists against Saint John's on 1/27.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Austin Holt
Hamline University
Jr. | Forward
Highlands Ranch, Colo. | Thunder Ridge
Austin Holt contributed 14 rebounds and four steals in a 1-1 week for the Pipers. Holt had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal in the team's 99-65 win over Saint Mary's on 1/24 before adding 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals in a 71-68 loss to Concordia on 1/27.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Rachel Kawiecki
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Forward
Richfield, Minn. | Holy Angels
Rachel Kawiecki played a key role in the Gusties winning a pair of MIAC games to remain undefeated in conference play. Kawiecki scored a team-high 19 points with six rebounds and three steals in a 73-41 win at St. Olaf on 1/24. In a 101-49 win over St. Catherine on 1/27, Kawiecki posted 14 points with five assists, four steals, and three rebounds. Kawiecki shot 15-for-27 between the two games as the Gusties totaled 174 points.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Kalena Myers
Augsburg University
Sr. | Guard
Burnsville, Minn. | Apple Valley
Kalena Myers helped the Auggies to a 1-1 record last week with 13 total steals, 10 total rebounds, and 21 total points. In a win over St. Olaf on 1/27, Myers finished with nine steals, seven rebounds, and 11 points, the most steals by a MIAC player this season and the third-most in Augsburg program history. Playing against Bethel on 1/24, Myers had four steals, three rebounds, and 10 points.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Hunter Olson
Concordia College
Jr. | Forward
Bemidji, Minn.
Hunter Olson had three goals, including both game-winners and an assist in the Cobbers' sweep over St. Olaf last week. Olson scored two goals in the final 3:02 of the Hockey Day Minnesota game on 1/26 to help the Cobbers come back from a 2-1 deficit and post a 4-2 win. Olson also assisted on the team's first goal in the game. Olson had previously netted the game-winning goal in the series opener on 1/23 at St. Olaf. He recorded the team's fifth goal of the game to help Concordia hold off St. Olaf in a 5-4 win.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Jack Bostedt
The College of St. Scholastica
Sr. | Goaltender
Janesville, Wis. | Janesville-Craig
Jack Bostedt picked up his eighth and ninth wins of the season in the Saints' sweep of Hamline on 1/26-27. Bostedt logged a 32-save effort in a 5-3 win on 1/26 and then registered a season-high 37 saves for the Saints in a 4-3 overtime victory on 1/27.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Solvei Berg-Messerole
St. Olaf College
So. | Forward
Minneapolis, Minn. | Highland Park
Solvei Berg-Messerole tallied four points on three goals and one assist in the Oles' 4-0 win at Concordia on 1/27. The hat trick, which included a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal, was the first of her career. Berg-Messerole also won 58.1 percent (25-of-43) of her faceoffs over the two-game sweep.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Hannah Fritz
St. Olaf College
So. | Goaltender
Woodbury, Minn. | Cretin-Derham Hall
Hannah Fritz went 2-0-0 with a 0.50 goals-against average and .981 save percentage in the Oles' weekend sweep of Concordia. Fritz stopped 51 of the 52 shots she faced over the two games, including making 26 saves in her third shutout of the season on 1/27. The shutout was the eighth of Fritz's career, giving her sole possession of the program record.