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, Concordia, and Macalester 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
Erik Sun
Carleton College
Fy.
Chino Hills, Calif. / The Webb School
Erik Sun posted new collegiate bests in each of his events at the University of Minnesota's First Chance Meet on 2/6-7. Sun swam the 100 backstroke in 54.25 and sliced more than six seconds off his 200 backstroke time, touching the wall in 2:02.13. Sun also set a new collegiate best with a time of 2:04.89 in the 200-yard IM, clocked 22.59 in a 50-yard freestyle time trial, and was part of Carleton's second-place 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished in 3:19.42.
MIAC Men's Diving Athlete of the Week
Hans Anderson
Carleton College
Sr.
Watertown, Minn. / Watertown-Mayer
Hans Anderson won the 3-meter competition at the Dodd Road Diving Invite on 2/3. Anderson posted an 11-dive score of 504.70, securing first place by nearly 100 points.
MIAC Women's Swimming Athlete of the Week
Izzy Uhlhorn-Thornton
Macalester College
Sr.
Mill Valley, Calif. / Tamalpais
Izzy Uhlhorn-Thornton collected a pair of top-eight times at the University of Minnesota First Chance Meet on 2/6-7. Uhlhorn-Thornton placed fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.82 before taking eighth in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:00.01. She also swam the 100 IM in a personal best time of 1:01.50, second-fastest among Division III competitors at the meet.
MIAC Women's Diving Athlete of the Week
Hailey Westrup
Carleton College
Jr.
Sartell, Minn. / Sartell
Hailey Westrup won the 1-meter competition at the Northfield Diving Invite on 2/3. Westrup finished with an 11-dive score of 437.90 to claim the victory by more than eight points. The performance also notched her second NCAA Regional qualifying score.
MIAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Grant Nelson
Bethel University
Sr.
Minneapolis, Minn. / Providence Academy
Grant Nelson racked up a pair of national top-five times at the Mark Guthrie Legacy Invitational on 2/7. Nelson ran the 400 meters in a converted time of 47.33, good for the fifth-fastest time in NCAA Division III this season. He also ran the first leg of the Royals' 4x400-meter relay squad that finished in 3:14.03. That time ranks third in the country this winter.
MIAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
Cooper Folkestad
Concordia College
Sr.
Wadena, Minn. / Wadena-Deer Creek
Cooper Folkestad broke a 29-year-old program record in the shot put at the NDSU Bison Open on 2/7 with a Division III-best throw of 18.57 meters (60' 11.25"). Folkestad surpassed the previous program mark by more than a foot and now leads all of NCAA Division III in the event.
MIAC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Ariella Rogahn-Press
Macalester College
So.
Albuquerque, N.M. / Bosque School
Ariella Rogahn-Press broke the program record in the 400 meters at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on 2/6 with a Division III-leading time of 54.60. That time surpassed her previous school record of 55.97, set in the prelims of last year's NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships.
MIAC Women's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
Anna Speratos
Bethel University
Sr.
Farmington, Minn. / Farmington
Anna Speratos registered a weight throw distance of 17.50 meters (57' 5") at the Mark Guthrie Legacy Invitational on 2/7. That throw broke the program record and ranks eighth in NCAA Division III this season.