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, Saint John's, and St. Olaf 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, hockey, and tennis) 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
Carter Larson
Saint John's University
Sr.
Sartell, Minn. | Sartell-St. Stephen
Carter Larson won all three of his events - the 500-yard freestyle (4:52.22), 1,000-yard freestyle (10:02.00), and as a member of the dual-clinching 200-yard freestyle relay (1:25.05) - to lead the Johnnies to a 150-149 dual victory over Gustavus on 2/1. It was Saint John's first dual victory over the Gusties in 27 years (1/24/1998).
MIAC Men's Diving Athlete of the Week
Eli Grabinski
Saint John's University
Sr.
Sauk Rapids, Minn. | Sauk Rapids-Rice
Eli Grabinski swept the diving events with an 11-dive score of 507.95 in the 1-meter event and a 524.00 on the 3-meter board in the Johnnies’ 150-149 dual win over Gustavus on 2-1. Grabinski’s mark in the 1-meter dive was the second-best in program history, while the 3-meter score was a career-best and good for third on SJU's all-time list.
MIAC Women's Swimming Athlete of the Week
Olivia Small
St. Olaf College
Fy.
Wauwatosa, Wis. | East
Olivia Small broke a pair of Thorpe Pool records in the Oles' dual at Carleton on 2/1. Small led off the Oles' 400-yard medley relay that broke the pool record in 4:02.40 with a split of 58.64 in the 100-yard backstroke. Small's 100-back time represented a new pool record as well. Small also won the 50-yard backstroke (27.51) and 200-yard backstroke (2:11.26), while placing third in the 50-yard butterfly (27.85).
MIAC Women's Diving Athlete of the Week
Nina Schwab
Carleton College
Fy.
Piedmont, Calif.
Nina Schwab broke two program and two Thorpe Pool records as she swept the diving competitions in the Knights' dual with St. Olaf on 2/1. On the 1-meter board, Schwab tallied a six-dive score of 291.25, bettering the program and pool records she had set seven days earlier. When the action moved to the higher height, she totaled 329.25 points, surpassing the previous six-dive program and pool record of 317.10 that had stood since 2002.
MIAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Grant Nelson
Bethel University
Jr.
Minneapolis, Minn. | Providence Academy
Grant Nelson took first place in the 200-meter dash at the Warren Bowlus Open on 1/31, crossing the finish line in a meet-record time of 21.92. The time leads the MIAC and is eighth on the NCAA Division III Honor Roll this season. Nelson then led off the winning 4x400-meter relay team that won in another meet-record time of 3:24.60.
MIAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
Jackson McDowell
Saint John's University
Sr.
Centennial, Colo. | Arapahoe
Jackson McDowell won the high jump with a mark of 2.06 meters (6' 9") at the Mark Schuck Open & Multi on 2/1. McDowell's leap is tops in the MIAC and ranks eighth in NCAA Division III this season.
MIAC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Ariella Rogahn-Press
Macalester College
Fy.
Albuquerque, N.M. | Bosque School
Ariella Rogahn-Press broke her own program record in the 400 meters at the Mark Schuck Open & Multi on 2/1 with a time of 56.67. The time ranks fifth in NCAA Division III this season. Rogahn-Press also ran a 7.94 in the 60-meter dash, which ranks second on Macalester's all-time performance list. Having set another program mark in the 200 meters at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic earlier in January, the first-year sprinter has broken a school record in each of her three meets so far this season.
MIAC Women's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
Megan Geraets
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr.
Mankato, Minn. | East
Megan Geraets recorded an indoor personal best in the long jump with a mark of 5.67 meters (18' 7.25") at the Mark Schuck Open & Multi on 2/1. Her mark ranks first in the MIAC, third in the region, and 11th in Division III this season. She also ran a season-best time of 25.30 in the 200-meter, which ranks 11th-fastest in D-III as well.