BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, volleyball, basketball, and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Augsburg, Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, Macalester, 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, 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
Jack Curtis
Carleton College
Jr. | Quarterback
Charlotte, N.C. | Ardrey Kell
Jack Curtis went 28-of-39 for a career-best 469 passing yards and seven touchdowns in the Knights' 51-17 win over Gustavus on 11/9. It was Carleton's first victory over the Gusties since 1996, snapping a 26-game losing streak in the series. Curtis averaged 16.75 yards per completion overall and 24.1 yards per scoring strike as his touchdown passes came on plays of 3, 15, 21, 17, 49, 39, and 25 yards. He also led Carleton with 54 rushing yards for a total of 523 yards of offense in the win.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Matt Jung
Bethel University
So. | Safety
Neenah, Wis.
Matt Jung recorded a pair of pick-sixes and added ten tackles and one sack in the Royals' 49-16 win over Concordia on 11/9. Jung put the Royals up 12-0 in the first with a 31-yard interception before getting his second pick-six on the second half's first play, going 32 yards to the house. With Concordia at third-and-goal from the two-yard line in the first half, Jung dropped the Cobbers' quarterback for a loss of 10 yards, forcing Concordia to settle for a 29-yard field goal.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Marcus Merkelbach
Carleton College
Jr. | Kicker
Seattle, Wash. | Garfield
Marcus Merkelbach made a 33-yard field goal and was a perfect 6-for-6 on PATs in the Knights' 51-17 win over Gustavus on 11/9. Merkelbach averaged 41.0 yards on a trio of punts - one of which landed inside the 20-yard line - and averaged 55.3 yards on nine kickoffs, with two of those being touchbacks.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Lauren Klaith
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Outside Hitter
Rockford, Minn.
Lauren Klaith led the Gustie offense to a 3-1 win over St. Catherine on 11/9, totaling 22 kills - one shy of her season-high - in four sets. Klaith hit .408 on the night, with just two errors on 49 attempts. She added a service ace and a pair of blocks, as well as four digs. The team's 72 kills against the Wildcats were the most for the Gusties in any conference match this season, were one shy of the team's season-high, and rank fourth on the NCAA Division III leaderboard for kills in a four-set match. Klaith's performance helped the Gusties lock up their third consecutive undefeated MIAC season - the first team in recorded conference history to do so - as well as the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and the program's 10th MIAC regular season championship.
MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week
Kasie Tweet
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Setter
Adrian, Minn.
Kasie Tweet directed a Gustie offense that collected a season-high 72 kills with a .265 efficiency in four sets. The fifth-year setter totaled 60 assists, one shy of her season-high. Her 60 assists are the most for any four-set match in Division III this season. She added a pair of set-over kills, a solo block, as well as 13 digs to complete her 12th double-double of the season.
MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Breyton Buysman
Saint Mary's University
Sr. | Guard
Inver Grove Heights, Minn. | Simley
Breyton Buysman led the Cardinals to an 87-80 win over Crown on 11/8 with 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field. Twenty of his 27 points came in the second half. He also had a steal and an assist in the game.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Griffin Rushin
Saint John's University
Sr. | Wing
Baxter, Minn. | Brainerd
Griffin Rushin totaled seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals off the bench in the Johnnies' season-opening 73-62 win over UW-Oshkosh on 10/9. He added ten points and three assists on the offensive end of the court as well.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Peyton Starks
Macalester College
Sr. | Guard
St. Louis, Mo. | John Burroughs School
Peyton Starks averaged 22.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 52.9 percent from the field in two games at the Webster Tip-Off Classic on 11/9-10. Playing in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, Starks tallied 20 points and 13 rebounds in an 84-71 loss to the host Gorloks on 11/9. Starks then helped the Scots rebound on 11/10 with 24 points and seven boards in a 76-59 win over Sewanee.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Izzy Quick
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Forward
Brooklyn Park, Minn. | Champlin Park
Izzy Quick led the Gusties to a pair of season-opening victories over two WIAC opponents on 11/9-10, limiting each to 49 points in both games. Quick collected 11 rebounds against UW-La Crosse on 11/9 for the fifth game of her career with more than ten off the glass. She added two more rebounds against UW-Eau Claire on 11/10. She came away with three total steals against the Eagles and Blugolds. Quick also scored 14 points and tallied five assists while drawing six fouls on the offensive end of the court.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Justin Thompson
Saint John's University
Sr. | Forward
Woodbury, Minn. | Tartan
Justin Thompson made his season debut and recorded four points with two goals and two assists in the Johnnies’ MIAC-opening sweep of St. Scholastica. He tallied a power-play goal and added two primary assists, including a helper on the eventual game-winning tally with 5:02 to play, in a 4-2 win in St. Cloud on 11/7 and then scored the game’s first goal in a 4-1 victory in Duluth on 11/9.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Matthew Malin
St. Olaf College
Fy. | Goaltender
Castle Rock, Colo. | Palo Alto
Matthew Malin stopped 44 of the 45 shots he faced to collect his first collegiate victory in the Oles' 4-1 win at UW-Eau Claire on 11/8. Malin made 12 saves in the first period, 21 in the second, and 11 more in the third.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Ruby Eskin
Augsburg University
Fy. | Forward
Minneapolis, Minn. | Roseville
Ruby Eskin opened her collegiate career with a two-goal, two-assist weekend as the Auggies went 1-0-1 on the road. On 11/8, she scored two goals, including the game-tying goal with 12 seconds left in regulation, as the Auggies tied defending national champion UW-River Falls on the road. On 11/9, she had two assists in Augsburg's 6-0 win at UW-Superior.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Kayla Simonson
Augsburg University
Fy. | Goaltender
Delano, Minn.
Kayla Simonson stopped 23 shots in the Auggies' 6-0 shutout of UW-Superior on 11/9. Simonson made three saves in the first period, 13 in the second, and another seven in the third.