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 Augsburg, 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. Transitioning to the winter season, team sports (football, soccer, volleyball, 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.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week archive has complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Football Offensive Player of the Week
Tyrone Wilson
Augsburg University
Jr. | Wide Receiver
Ellendale, Minn.
Tyrone Wilson tied the Auggies' single-game program record with four receiving touchdowns, including the go-ahead touchdown in overtime, to end St. Olaf's unbeaten run to start the season with a 35-34 overtime triumph on 10/26. Wilson caught eight passes for 113 yards, with touchdown receptions of nine, 10, 26 and 25 yards. On a fourth-down play in Augsburg's overtime session, Wilson caught a 25-yard touchdown against two defenders on the back line of the end zone.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Hayden Sanders
Saint John's University
Sr. | Linebacker
Brooklyn Park, Minn. | Champlin Park
Hayden Sanders totaled seven tackles - including 3.5 for a loss - one sack, and a forced fumble in the Johnnies' 34-0 shutout of Gustavus on 10/26. Saint John's held the Gusties to 126 yards of offense, including an 8-for-20 showing for 65 passing yards and an interception, and totaled six sacks on the afternoon.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Bri Van Well
Augsburg University
Sr. | Outside Hitter
Woodbury, Minn.
Bri Van Well had 38 kills on .367 hitting as the Auggies extended their winning streak to seven straight matches. Van Well had a season-high 22 kills on .333 hitting, adding ten digs in the Auggies' four-set win over Carleton on 10/23. She then recorded her fifth kill-dig double-double with 16 kills on .419 hitting, adding 14 digs and three block assists, in the Auggies' three-set sweep of Concordia on 10/26.
MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week
Kasie Tweet
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Setter
Adrian, Minn.
Kasie Tweet collected 81 assists in two conference wins, averaging 11.6 assists per set and 40.5 assists per match in victories over St. Olaf (10/25) and Saint Benedict (10/26). Tweet extended her double-double count to 11 by collecting 44 assists and 16 digs against the Oles, followed by a 37-assist, 14-dig performance against the Bennies. She chipped in a pair of service aces against CSB as well.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Shea Bechtel
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Midfielder
Plainfield, Ill. | North
Shea Bechtel registered two goals and an assist to help the Oles clinch a top-two seed in the MIAC Playoffs with a 1-0-1 week in conference play. The senior scored twice, including the game-tying goal early in the second half, in a 3-3 tie at No. 5-ranked Gustavus on 10/23. Bechtel then provided the assist on the game-winning goal in the 88th minute to cap St. Olaf's late rally in a 2-1 win over Saint John's on 10/26 in a game the Oles trailed 1-0 with less than eight minutes remaining.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Leo Kugel
Carleton College
Jr. | Goalkeeper
Silver Spring, Md. | Albert Einstein
Leo Kugel had four saves in posting his sixth shutout of the season as the Knights blanked Saint Mary's on 10/26 to clinch a conference-record 17th consecutive trip to the MIAC Playoffs. Kugel has not allowed a goal in his last four appearances for Carleton.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Jayla Ponce
Augsburg University
Sr. | Forward
Kuna, Idaho
Jayla Ponce recorded the third hat trick of her career and her second of the season in the Auggies' 3-0 win over St. Scholastica on 10/26. Ponce scored a pair of goals on penalty kicks in the 29th and 31st minutes, then scored her 12th goal of the season in the 76th minute.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Anna Peckosh
Saint Mary's University
Jr. | Goalkeeper
Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Washington
Anna Peckosh earned her sixth shutout of the season as the Cardinals held Macalester scoreless on 10/22 after making two saves. Peckosh then recorded a season-high six saves against Carleton on 10/26, including a critical stop with 20 seconds to play, to maintain a scoreless draw and keep Saint Mary's in contention for the conference title.