News & Links 11/3/2025 1:00:00 PM MIAC Athletes of the Week - November 3, 2025 BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, volleyball, soccer, and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Gustavus, Hamline, Macalester, Saint John's, Saint Mary's, St. Olaf, 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. Transitioning from the fall to winter seasons, team sports (football, volleyball, basketball, and hockey) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (swimming & diving) 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 Donald West The College of St. Scholastica Sr. | Quarterback St. Paul, Minn. / Woodbury Donald West accounted for 364 yards of total offense and six touchdowns in the Saints' 49-18 victory over Hamline on 11/1. West completed a season-high 76.9 percent of his throws, going 20-for-26 with 306 yards and five scores through the air, in addition to logging 58 yards and another touchdown on the ground. His five passing touchdowns are a career-high. MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week Jason Weaver Macalester College Jr. | Linebacker Roselle Park, N.J. / Pingry Jason Weaver collected 5.0 tackles, an interception, and a strip-sack in the Scots' 27-6 victory over St. Olaf on 11/1. His forced fumble on a fourth-quarter sack led to a Macalester touchdown, while his toe-tapping interception on the sideline with less than a minute remaining in the game ensured no points would be allowed by the Scots' defensive unit on the night. MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week Eli Nowacki Bethel University Jr. | Kicker Blaine, Minn. / Centennial Eli Nowacki connected on a 48-yard field goal in the Royals' road win over Concordia on 11/1. Nowacki's 48-yarder is the longest field goal made by a MIAC kicker since 2019. Nowacki also kicked off ten times in the win, averaging 55.0 yards per kickoff, and booted four punts at a 36.5-yard clip. MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week Kali Olson Saint Mary's University Jr. | Middle Hitter New York Mills, Minn. / New York Mills Kali Olson hit .315 while averaging 3.08 kills per set in three matches for the Cardinals. After recording seven kills in a four-set loss to Wartburg on 10/29, Olson hit .433 with 17 kills and a pair of service aces against St. Olaf on 10/31, and added 16 kills while hitting .394 with three aces in a five-set victory over Bethel on 11/1. Olson accounted for 49.5 points and added ten blocks across the three matches. MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week Sahara Morken Gustavus Adolphus College Fy. | Setter Mabel, Minn. / Mabel Canton Sahara Morken averaged 11.29 assists per set in a 2-0 week for the Gusties. Morken totaled 51 assists and nine digs in a four-set victory over St. Scholastica on 11/1 before adding 28 helpers and five more digs in a sweep of Macalester on 11/1. Her 51 assists are a new career-high. MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week Ronan O'Connor Saint John's University So. | Forward Woodbury, Minn. / Hill-Murray Ronan O'Connor helped the Johnnies to a pair of wins and the team's first playoff appearance since 2023 with nine points in two games last week. O'Connor recorded a hat trick against Saint Mary's on 10/28, scoring the first, third, and fourth goals in a 5-1 win. He also assisted on the game-winner. O'Connor went on to tally the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Hamline on 11/1. The performance enabled him to take sole possession of the program's single-season scoring record with 20 goals, surpassing a Saint John's mark that had stood for 51 years. MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week Thomas Theising Saint John's University So. | Defender Minneapolis, Minn. / Wayzata Thomas Theising backstopped the Johnnies' defense in two wins last week, helping SJU hold its opponents to just one goal and three shots on goal in wins over Saint Mary's (10/28) and Hamline (11/1). Theising also scored the first goal of his collegiate career - a game-winner - against the Cardinals, and added an assist on the lone goal in a 1-0 win at Hamline. MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week Natalie Pfleger St. Catherine University Sr. | Forward Happy Valley, Ore. / La Salle Catholic Natalie Pfleger scored both goals in the Wildcats' 2-0, championship-clinching victory at St. Olaf on 11/1. It was her second multi-goal game of the season, and the first time the Oles had allowed more than one goal to a conference opponent this year. Pfleger has now found the back of the net three times in as many games. MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week Katelyn Olson Gustavus Adolphus College Jr. | Goalkeeper Cloquet, Minn. / Cloquet Katelyn Olson registered an 11-save shutout in a scoreless draw against Saint Mary's in the Gusties' season finale on 11/1. It was her second straight game with 11 saves, and her third double-digit-save performance of the year. Olson finished the season with seven shutouts, including two in her last three appearances. MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week Tyler Kostelecky Bethel University Sr. | Forward Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove Tyler Kostelecky netted a hat trick in his season debut to lead the Royals to a 6-2 victory over Beloit on 11/1. Kostelecky scored three times on five shots, including once on a power play. He also contributed two blocked shots in the win. MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week Ryan Nolan St. Olaf College Fy. | Goaltender Hampton, N.H. / Holderness School Ryan Nolan made 49 saves in the Oles' season-opening split at nationally-ranked St. Norbert on 10/31 and 11/1. Nolan stopped 27-of-29 shots in a 3-0 loss on Halloween night before tallying 22 stops in an overtime victory on 11/1 for the Oles' first win over the Green Knights since 1992. MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week Sophie Martin Bethel University Fy. | Forward Roseville, Minn. / Roseville Sophie Martin totaled three goals and an assist in her collegiate debut for the Royals over the weekend. Martin assisted on one goal in the team's 4-2 season-opening win against MSOE on 10/31 before tallying her first collegiate hat trick the next day. MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week Harper Powell Hamline University So. | Goaltender Two Harbors, Minn. / Two Harbors Harper Powell made 10 saves in a 5-0 shutout win against Aurora on 11/1. Powell has logged double-digit saves in each of her last five starts dating back to last season, and has accumulated a 4-1 record with three shutouts in those games.