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, Carleton, Gustavus, Hamline, Saint Mary's, 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.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week archive has complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Luke Harris
Carleton College
Sr. | Guard
Piedmont, Calif.
Luke Harris averaged 26.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 assists in two games for the Knights last week. He shot .588 overall (20-of-34), including .600 from 3-point range. Harris started the week with a 20-point effort on 9-of-12 shooting in 24 minutes against St. Scholastica in the MIAC opener on 12/4. Three days later, at nationally-ranked Saint John’s, Harris tallied 32 points, one off his career high, and tied for most by a MIAC player in a conference game this season. Harris was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, scored 19 points in the second half, and added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the game.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Myles Barnette
Gustavus Adolphus College
So. | Guard
Maple Grove, Minn. | Wayzata
Myles Barnette helped the Gusties earn a pair of MIAC wins last week with his play on the defensive end of the court. In a 79-72 win over Concordia on 12/7, Barnette collected four steals, blocked a pair of shots, and corralled three rebounds. He added four more boards and another steal in a 97-74 win over Augsburg on 12/4.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Ava Haus
The College of St. Scholastica
Fy. | Guard
St. Michael, Minn. | STMA
Ava Haus scored a career-high 37 points in the Saints' 64-52 win over Saint Mary's on 12/7. Haus was 12-for-23 from the field and 4-for-10 from long range with a 9-for-10 mark at the free-throw line. Haus also turned in a 19-point performance three days earlier in a win at Carleton. Haus shot 6-for-9 from the field and 5-for-8 from beyond the arc against the Knights.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Rachel Kawiecki
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Forward
Richfield, Minn. | Holy Angels
Rachel Kawiecki collected seven rebounds, six steals, and a trio of blocked shots in a pair of Gustie victories last week. Kawiecki helped the Gusties hold opponents to 42 points each in wins over Augsburg (12/4) and Concordia (12/7). Gustavus limited Concordia, which entered the game as the Division III leader in three-point shooting, to a 2-for-10 clip from long range, as well as a season-low 32.0 percent mark from the field.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Carson Simon
Hamline University
Sr. | Forward
Elk River, Minn.
Carson Simon recorded a hat trick plus an assist to guide the Pipers to a 5-4 road win at St. Scholastica on 12/6. Simon scored the first three goals of the game, including a power-play goal in the first period, before registering an assist on the game-winner that came with 37 seconds remaining in regulation.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
AJ Ruskowski
Saint Mary's University
Sr. | Goaltender
Traverse City, Mich.
AJ Ruskowski recorded his first shutout of the year in a 5-0 win over Concordia on 12/6. Ruskowski had 29 saves in the victory. He returned to the ice against the Cobbers on 12/7 and recorded a season-best 44 saves in a 2-2 draw in which he also stopped all three shootout attempts by Concordia to secure an extra point in the conference standings.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Ashlyn Abrahamson
Hamline University
Fy. | Forward
Devils Lake, N.D.
Ashlyn Abrahamson netted a goal in each game of a weekend sweep of St. Scholastica. Abrahamson tallied an insurance goal in a 2-0 win on 12/6 before adding an unassisted score late in a 6-2 win on 12/7.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Kayla Simonson
Augsburg University
Fy. | Goaltender
Delano, Minn.
Kayla Simonson had 70 saves on 73 shots (.959) over the weekend as the Auggies split a conference series with Gustavus in a two-game battle of nationally-ranked teams. Simonson had 31 saves in the Auggies' 2-0 home loss to the Gusties on 12/6, then had a season-high 39 saves in the Auggies' 4-1 road win on 12/7. The goals allowed were her first of the season.