BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for swimming & diving and indoor track & field on Tuesday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, Macalester, 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 Swimming Athlete of the Week
Peyton Richardson
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr.
Crystal Lake, Ill. | Prairie Ridge
Peyton Richardson won a trio of events and took second in three more to help the Gusties earn a meet victory at the UW-Stevens Point Invite. Richardson posted the top time in the 200 IM (1:59.61) and was the only swimmer in prelims to post a sub-two-minute time. He also took first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 51.22 and was also a part of the winning 400 medley relay team that finished in 3:33.05. Richardson added runner-up finishes in the 200 fly (1:59.91), 200 medley relay (1:37.18), and 400 freestyle relay (3:11.96), to go along with a third-place result in the 200 freestyle relay (1:27.73).
MIAC Men's Diving Athlete of the Week
Hans Anderson
Carleton College
Jr.
Watertown, Minn. | Watertown-Mayer
Hans Anderson won both diving competitions during the Knights' dual meet against Saint John’s on 1/25. In the process, he set new lifetime bests in all four competitions and fully qualified for the NCAA Regional Diving meet after earning his second qualifying score on the higher board. Anderson's six-dive score on the 1-meter board was 281.35, and his 11-dive total of 464.15 moves him into third place on Carleton's all-time leaderboard. He tallied a six-dive score of 292.60 on the 3-meter board, and his 11-dive total of 509.20 moved Anderson into second place on the program leaderboard and was only 2.5 points shy of the program record that has stood since 1983.
MIAC Women's Swimming Athlete of the Week
Caroline Chapon
Macalester College
Sr.
Evanston, Ill.
Caroline Chapon won three individual events and swam on a victorious relay to help the Scots defeat Grinnell in a dual meet on 1/25. Chapon opened the meet by anchoring the Scots' 200-yard medley relay team (1:50.78) to a win with a split of 24.78 in the 50 freestyle. In the individual events, Chapon captured the 50-yard freestyle in 25.09, won the 100-yard freestyle in 55.65, and narrowly missed a school record in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:10.93, 0.33 seconds off the program standard.
MIAC Women's Diving Athlete of the Week
Nina Schwab
Carleton College
Fy.
Piedmont, Calif.
Nina Schwab broke two program records and two Thorpe Pool records during the Knights' dual meet against Saint Benedict on 1/25. Schwab won the 3-meter diving competition with a six-dive score of 288.15, while her 1-meter performance established new Carleton standards for six-dive (280.10) and 11-dive scores (462.70). Her six-dive tally bested the previous team record of 268.79 set in 2020, and the 11-dive total surpassed the standard of 454.10 that was set in 2001. Schwab's totals exceeded the previous Thorpe Pool benchmarks of 277.90 (set in 2012) and 459.05 (set in 2020).
MIAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Landen Liu
Bethel University
Jr.
Blaine, Minn. | Centennial
Landen Liu won the 60-meter dash at the University of Minnesota's Jack Johnson Classic on 1/24, crossing the finish line in a time of 6.67. That time is the second-fastest in NCAA Division III history. His victory came against a field that included world champion and Olympian Brandon Carnes and Division I All-American Charles Godfred. Liu is the fifth D-III runner to break the 6.70 barrier and now sits .03 seconds shy of the all-time record.
MIAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
Trent Beseth
The College of St. Scholastica
Sr.
Stanchfield, Minn. | Cambridge-Isanti
Trent Beseth won both the shot put and weight throw at the CSB/SJU Alumni Meet on 1/25. Beseth’s shot put distance of 16.83 meters (55’ 2.75") is his second-best heave of the season and would rank sixth in NCAA Division III. Beseth’s weight throw of 16.62 meters (64’ 6.5") traveled a meter farther than the next-closest competitor. That distance is tied for 46th in the nation this season.
MIAC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Hannah Preisser
Carleton College
Jr.
Chapel Hill, N.C. | Carrboro
Hannah Preisser won the 5,000-meter run at the St. Olaf Invitational on 1/24 with a time of 17:07.74. Preisser’s time ranks tenth in NCAA Division III this season and is the second-fastest time at that distance for her career.
MIAC Women's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
Elle Thorson
Bethel University
Gr.
Red Wing, Minn.
Elle Thorson won the pentathlon at the St. Olaf Invitational on 1/24 with a program-record 3,358 points. Thorson’s score places her seventh on the NCAA Division III honor roll this season. She set MIAC-leading marks by finishing first in the 60H (9.30) and high jump (1.59 meters, 5’ 2.5"). Thorson also finished first in the shot put with a throw of 10.94 meters (35’ 10.75”).