BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, basketball, and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Carleton, Hamline, Saint Benedict, St. Catherine, Saint John'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 (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
Aaron Syverson
Saint John's University
Sr. | Quarterback
Minnetonka, Minn.
Aaron Syverson finished 32-of-44 passing for 419 yards and five touchdowns in the Johnnies’ 41-33 win over Bethel in the MIAC Championship game. The performance served as Syverson’s eighth 300-yard passing game of the season, the third over 400 yards, and the fifth with five touchdowns or more. He is now tied with Jackson Erdmann for the program and MIAC record of 139 career passing touchdowns and also became the Johnnies’ all-time leader in total offense (12,177) in the victory.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Cooper Yaggie
Saint John's University
Sr. | Linebacker
Breckenridge, Minn.
Cooper Yaggie totaled nine tackles (eight solo) - including one for a loss - forced a fumble, and broke up two passes in the Johnnies' 41-33 win over Bethel for the MIAC title. His first pass breakup came on a 4th-and-9 play from the Johnnies’ 28-yard line during the Royals’ first drive of the game. He also made another critical stop on 4th-and-1 from SJU’s 19-yard line on the visitors’ first possession of the second quarter. The forced fumble came after SJU turned the ball over on downs at the BU 28-yard line. The Johnnies scored on the very next play. Yaggie also recovered an onside kick after BU cut the deficit to 41-33 with 1:29 remaining.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Durham Welch
Hamline University
Jr. | Kicker
St. Cloud, Minn. | Sauk Rapids-Rice
Durham Welch scored all nine points for the Pipers in their MIAC Championship Week loss to Carleton. Welch connected on field goals of 45, 25, and 19 yards. His 45-yard boot was the longest of his career. Welch also averaged 45.3 yards per kickoff in the game.
MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Payton Thomsen
Bethel University
Jr. | Guard
Blaine, Minn. | Spring Lake Park
Payton Thomsen averaged 30.0 points, 7.5 assists, 7.0 rebounds and shot 45.9 percent in a pair of non-conference victories for the Royals against Northwestern (11/12) and Buena Vista (11/16). In an 84-73 win at UNW, Thomsen scored 29 points while matching a career-high six threes. He added eight boards and four assists in the win. In a 93-85 victory over Buena Vista, Thomsen put in a double-double performance with a season-high 31 points and a career-high 11 assists. He shot 44.4 percent in the game, knocking down five threes and going 10-for-11 from the charity stripe.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Tobias Averill
Carleton College
Fy. | Wing
Irvine, Calif. | Santa Margarita Catholic
Tobias Averill averaged 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in a 2-0 week for the Knights. Tobias collected eight boards, two steals, and a blocked shot against North Central (MN) on 11/12 before tallying six more rebounds, another steal, and a block against Buena Vista on 11/15.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Peyton Starks
Macalester College
Sr. | Guard
St. Louis, Mo. | John Burroughs School
Peyton Starks averaged 25.5 points and 9.0 rebounds over two victories for the Scots last week. Starks tallied 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a 69-61 win over Martin Luther on 11/12 and then racked up 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field in a 64-62 triumph at previously unbeaten UW-Superior on 11/16. Starks shot 45.9 percent (17-of-37) from the field and was a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line for the week.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Paige Yagodinski
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Forward
Beaver Dam, Wis.
Paige Yagodinski tallied six steals and four rebounds in 23 minutes of action for the Oles in a 66-51 win at North Central on 11/13. Yagodinski's six steals are tied for the most in a game by any MIAC defender this season.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Tyler Braccini
Bethel University
Jr. | Forward
Hanover, Minn. | Buffalo
Tyler Braccini tallied five of Bethel's six goals in a pair of non-conference wins last weekend. Braccini had his first career hat trick in Bethel's 5-3 win over UW-Stout on 11/15, tallying BU's first and last goal. Against UW-Superior on 11/16, Braccini got the Royals on the board at the 8:11 mark in the second before putting them ahead in the third, leading to a 4-3 victory.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Jon Howe
Saint John's University
Jr. | Goaltender
Chanhassen, Minn.
Jon Howe made a career-high 44 saves in the Johnnies’ 3-0 shutout of nationally-ranked UW-River Falls on 11/14 in St. Cloud. The shutout was the first for SJU against UW-River Falls in 42 meetings on the ice. The 44 saves were the most by a Johnnie in a shutout since Andrew Lindgren recorded 44 in a 2-0 win over Gustavus on 2/14/19.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Ana Myers
St. Catherine University
Fy. | Forward
Lino Lakes, Minn. | Gentry
Ana Myers recorded her first collegiate hat trick in the Wildcats' 3-0 defeat of Bethel on 11/16. Myers' three-goal game came one day after collecting an assist in the series opener on 11/15. She finished the weekend +4 with four points as St. Catherine split with Bethel.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Kate Moffat
College of Saint Benedict
Sr. | Goaltender
St. Louis, Mo. | Lindbergh
Kate Moffat helped lead the Bennies to a series sweep of St. Scholastica over the weekend with one shutout win and another in overtime. In 124:33 on the ice, Moffat allowed one goal while stopping 26 shots in a 2-1 overtime win on the road on 11/15. She added 32 saves and did not allow a goal on four power plays in a 5-0 win on 11/16.