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MIAC announces 2025 fall sport Elite 22 winners

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) recognized some of its best and brightest fall sport student-athletes on Thursday with the announcement of the golf, cross country, soccer, volleyball, and football Elite 22 Awards.
 
Gustavus junior Blake Forrest and Saint Benedict senior Catherine Jance were the recipients of the men's and women's golf Elite 22 awards, with the Macalester duo of senior Tyler Edwards and junior Ingrid Norquist sweeping the honors for men's and women's cross country. Soccer's Elite 22 awards went to Bethel junior Carter Sheard and Macalester senior Hazel Waters, while Bethel junior Tyler Drury was awarded in football, and Saint Benedict juniors Brooke Andries and Kate Stadum shared the honor in volleyball.
 
The MIAC Elite 22 Award recognizes the true essence of the term "student-athlete" by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in their sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among their peers. Modeled after the NCAA Elite Scholar-Athlete Award (formerly Elite 90), the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average (GPA) in each sport who meets similarly high, sport-specific athletic requirements.
 
In all sports with MIAC team postseason tournaments, including volleyball and soccer, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the individual with the highest GPA on the active postseason roster of a playoff-qualifying team. The MIAC Elite 22 Football Award is presented to the individual nominated for the honor with the highest GPA among the top two teams in the final conference standings. For cross country, the honor is bestowed upon the individual with the highest GPA among the top 15 individual finishers at the conference championship meet, while the accolade in golf is presented to the individual with the highest GPA among the top 10 individual finishers at the MIAC Championships. Each winner must be a junior or senior and in at least their second full academic year at their current institution. Ties are broken by the number of credits earned at their institution.
 
Andries (Jr. / Marshall, Minn. / Marshall) played in 99 sets and recorded 177 kills as an opposite hitter for the Bennies this season, and logged a season-high five blocks in CSB's five-set comeback win in the 2025 MIAC Playoff Championship match to clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Andries is a finance major at Saint Benedict; she and teammate Kate Stadum each have 4.0 GPAs with identical credit hours earned, and will both be recognized as Elite 22 honorees for volleyball.
 
Drury (Jr. / Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) saw action in every game this fall for the Royals and collected a season-high four tackles in the team's victory over Saint John's that ultimately earned the conference football title for Bethel. The defensive back has a 4.0 GPA while majoring in mechanical engineering at BU.
 
Edwards (Sr. / Beaverton, Ore. / Oregon Episcopal) earned All-Conference honors after crossing the finish line in 26:05.6 at the 2025 MIAC Men's Cross Country Championships at the Highland 9 in St. Paul. Edwards, who placed 15th out of more than 160 competitors at the conference championship meet, owns a 3.95 GPA while majoring in economics at Macalester.
 
Forrest (Jr. / Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) tied for sixth overall at the 2025 MIAC Men's Golf Championships to earn All-Championship Team honors with an 8-over-par score of 224 (78-73-73) at Edinburgh Golf Course in Brooklyn Park this fall. The financial economics major has a 3.86 GPA at Gustavus.
 
Jance (Sr. / Hopkins, Minn. / Hopkins) placed ninth overall with a career-best 54-hole score of 235 (79-76-80) at the 2025 MIAC Women's Golf Championships at Braemar Golf Course in Edina this fall. Jance is a biology major with a pre-med focus and a GPA of 3.95 at Saint Benedict.
 
Norquist (Jr. / Minneapolis, Minn. / Anoka) cruised to a sixth-place finish at the 2025 MIAC Women's Cross Country Championships on the Highland 9 course in St. Paul, crossing the finish line in 18:10.2. Norquist is majoring in Spanish and psychology at Macalester and boasts a 3.96 GPA.
 
Sheard (Jr. / Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) started all 19 games at forward for the Royals, scoring six goals, assisting on three more, and helping BU to the program's best winning percentage in more than three decades this fall. He is a computer engineering major at Bethel with a 4.0 GPA.
 
Stadum (Jr. / Brainerd, Minn. / Brainerd) has played in 37 sets and posted 52 kills for the Bennies so far in 2025, with her greatest contribution coming in the 2025 MIAC Volleyball Playoff Championship when the outside hitter accounted for 10.0 points in a five-set victory to send CSB to the NCAA Tournament. Stadum is a biology and chemistry double major at Saint Benedict; she and teammate Brooke Andries each have 4.0 GPAs with identical credit hours earned, and will both be recognized as Elite 22 honorees for volleyball.
 
Waters (Sr. / Berkeley, Calif. / Berkeley) played more than 1,200 minutes in 17 starts at defender for the Scots this fall, contributing on a back line that collected five shutouts on the year. Waters is a chemistry major with a 4.0 GPA at Macalester.
 
A physical award will be provided to the winners to commemorate their MIAC Elite 22 Award. The conference also recognizes past honorees on the MIAC Elite 22 Award web page.
 
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