BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for cross country and men's golf on Tuesday. Student-athletes from Augsburg, Carleton, and Concordia 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 fall season, team sports (football, soccer, and volleyball) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (cross country and golf) 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 Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Mohammed Bati
Augsburg University
Sr.
Dodola, Ethiopia / GAP School
Mohammed Bati won his third consecutive race with a 10-second margin of victory at the Blugold Invitational on 10/3. Bati completed the 8K course in 24:39.6, topping the 344-runner field with his 17th sub-25-minute 8K time in his 22 career races. The win was the 16th of his collegiate career.
MIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Claire Vukovics
Carleton College
Fy.
St. Paul, Minn. / Highland Park
Claire Vukovics posted her first collegiate victory at the Blugold Invitational on 10/3, besting the 347-runner field with a time of 21:45.7. Her nine-second margin of victory gave Vukovics the second-fastest 6K time in the MIAC this fall.
MIAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Week
Ryan Engel
Concordia College
Jr.
Twin Valley, Minn. / Ada-Borup-West
Ryan Engel shot a 5-under-par 68 on the final day of the Twin Cities Classic on 10/6 to claim medalist honors by five shots with a three-round score of 212 (-1). Engel entered the third round tied for third place before carding the lowest round by any MIAC golfer in the tournament. Engel's 68 at the Minnesota Valley CC included six birdies and an eagle.
MIAC Women's Golf Athlete of the Week
MIAC Athlete of the Week honors are awarded for regular-season performances only; however, several MIAC women's golfers posted noteworthy performances over the weekend at the 2025 MIAC Women's Golf Championships:
- Carleton senior Carter Sichol broke the MIAC Women's Golf Championship records for 18-hole (69, -3), 36-hole (138, -6), and 54-hole (211, -5) scores, set a new MIAC 54-hole championship career scoring average record (222.75), and tied the conference record for career championship finishes (2nd, 1st, 4th, 1st).
- Sichol, Carleton senior Sarah Zheng, and Macalester senior Bailey Lengfelder each finished among the top 10 individual scorers at the MIAC Women's Golf Championships for the fourth consecutive season, making them among just 12 competitors in recorded conference history to finish among the top 10 at four consecutive MIAC Women's Golf Championships. The All-Championship Team accolade will automatically qualify each of them for their fourth straight All-MIAC distinction in May as well, a feat achieved by only 27 women's golfers in recorded conference history.
- St. Olaf sophomore Anneliese Carlson recorded a hole-in-one on Hole 13 (par-3, 151 yards) on Monday. It was the third hole-in-one in recorded MIAC Women's Golf Championship history, and the first since 2019.