BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, volleyball, and soccer on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, Saint John's, Saint Mary's, 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 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.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week archive has complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Football Offensive Player of the Week
Dylan Wheeler
Saint John's University
Jr. | Wide Receiver
St. Paul, Minn. | Mounds View
Dylan Wheeler caught eight passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 76-yard score with 1:46 remaining, in the Johnnies' 38-31 win at Concordia on 10/12. Wheeler leaped over the Cobber defensive back near the sideline to make the catch on the Concordia 46-yard line and sprinted the rest of the way to give SJU its first lead of the game. Wheeler also caught a four-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left in the first half to tie the game at 24 after the PAT conversion. All eight of Wheeler's receptions in the game resulted in either a first down or a touchdown.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Tate Sauerwein
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Linebacker
Holcombe, Wis. | Lake Holcombe
Tate Sauerwein recorded a career-high 12 tackles (six solo), one sack, and forced a fumble in the Oles' 19-13 victory over crosstown-rival Carleton on 10/12. Sauerwein helped the Oles limit the Knights to 57 rushing yards and 2.5 yards per carry in the win.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Elijah Short
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Cornerback
Andover, Minn. | Blake
Elijah Short returned a blocked extra point 88 yards for two points late in the fourth quarter to help the Oles hold off Carleton by a 19-13 margin on 10/12. After the Knights scored to make it 17-13 with 6:18 remaining in regulation, the senior ran the blocked extra point back to make it a six-point game. The play was the difference in the game after the Knights made it into field-goal range in the final minute but needed a touchdown rather than a game-tying field goal. Short also broke up two passes, including one in the end zone on fourth-and-goal, on the final series of the game.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Peyton Howie
Bethel University
So. | Middle Blocker
Blaine, Minn. | Irondale
Peyton Howie paced the Royals' offense to a pair of conference victories by hitting .531 with a combined 37 kills in seven sets (5.29 per set) while tallying a 6.29 points per set average. In a three-set victory at Hamline on 10/9, Howie tallied 13 kills on 24 swings for a .500 hitting percentage while committing just one error. She helped the Royals stay unbeaten in MIAC play with a career-high 24 kills in a four-set win over Saint Benedict on 10/12. Howie added two service aces and five total blocks against the Bennies.
MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week
Maren Sundberg
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Libero
Eagan, Minn.
Maren Sundberg led the Gustie defense through two wins last week, totaling 41 digs to lead the back line. Sundberg tallied 21 digs in a three-set win over St. Scholastica on 10/11 and added 20 digs in a 3-0 victory against Hamline on 10/12. Sundberg also collected a kill, eight digs, and a service ace. She was perfect on the serve reception, without a single error through either match.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Owen Flanagan
Carleton College
Sr. | Midfielder
San Francisco, Calif. | San Francisco University
Owen Flanagan had a career-best five-point game by tallying two goals and an assist in the non-conference victory over Cornell College on 10/12. It was his third career multi-goal performance - and his first since 10/08/22 - and raised his team-leading goal total to seven on the season.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Spencer Skjeldestad
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Defender
Sogndal, Norway | Sogndal Videregående
Spencer Skjeldestad played every minute of two Gustie victories over the weekend, helping the team to wins against Saint John's and UW-Superior. Skjeldestad helped guide Gustavus to its eighth shutout of the season with a 5-0 win over the Johnnies on 10/11 before limiting the Yellowjackets to one goal on four shots on 10/13, holding UW-Superior well below its season average of 4.23 goals per game and 23.6 shots per game.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Lauryn Skoruppa
Saint Mary's University
Jr. | Forward
Littleton, Colo. | Mountain Vista
Lauryn Skoruppa recorded her first career hat trick in the Cardinals' 4-0 win at Bethel on 10/12. The junior scored all three goals in 17 minutes of the first-half action. She also added an assist in the win. Skoruppa tallied another helper in a 2-1 win against UW-Stout on 10/9.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Avery Trapp
Carleton College
So. | Goalkeeper
North Barrington, Ill. | Barrington
Avery Trapp earned her fifth shutout of the season as the Knights handed Augsburg its first conference setback of the season on 10/9. Trapp then had five saves, including two crucial late-game stops, to help Carleton earn a 1-1 draw at regionally-ranked St. Catherine on 10/12.