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MIAC announces 2026 spring sport Elite 22 winners

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) recognized some of its best and brightest spring-sport student-athletes on Tuesday with the announcement of the baseball, softball, tennis, and outdoor track & field Elite 22 Awards.
 
Bethel junior Carter Sheard and Gustavus senior Allison Szalay received the award for men's and women's tennis, respectively; Gustavus junior Jade Anstine and St. Olaf senior Ashlyn Jore were the recipients in outdoor track & field; Gustavus senior Lauren Lambert received the award in softball, and Saint John's senior Collin Kray received baseball's Elite 22 award.
 
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 his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her 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 playoff tournaments, including tennis, baseball, and softball, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the individual with the highest GPA on the active postseason roster of a playoff-qualifying team. In championship meet sports, including outdoor track & field, the winner is the individual with the highest GPA who was named All-Conference. 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.
 
All six of this spring's Elite 22 honorees have maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout their college careers.
 
Anstine (Jr. / Sioux Falls, S.D. / O'Gorman) picked up a pair of All-Conference honors at the 2026 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, placing third in the men's 100-meter dash (10.55) and helping the Gusties to a third-place finish in the men's 4x100-meter relay (41.98). Anstine, who also received the Elite 22 Award for indoor track & field in March, is a nursing major at Gustavus.
 
Jore (Sr. / Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) was the conference runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 5.60 meters at the 2026 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Jore, who was also the recipient of the Elite 22 Award for indoor track & field in March, is majoring in biology and kinesiology at St. Olaf.
 
Kray (Sr. / Little Falls, Minn. / Little Falls) saw action in 20 games for the MIAC Playoff runner-up Johnnies in 2026, batting 0.375 with three RBI and six runs scored. A chemistry major at Saint John's, Kray also won the Elite 22 Award for baseball in 2025.
 
Lambert (Sr. / Woodbury, Minn. / Tartan) was a 39-game starter at second base for the Gusties in 2026, batting 0.383 with 46 hits and 14 RBI in 120 plate appearances to help Gustavus secure a home playoff game for the first time in three seasons. Lambert is a statistics major at Gustavus.
 
Sheard (Jr. / Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) went 15-5 at No. 1 singles to help Bethel secure its second consecutive playoff berth in 2026. Sheard, who was also the recipient of the Elite 22 Award for men's soccer in the fall, is majoring in computer engineering at Bethel.
 
Szalay (Sr. / Des Moines, Iowa / Dowling Catholic) was undefeated at the fourth and sixth singles positions and posted a record of 14-3 at No. 3 doubles to aid the Gusties in claiming their 32nd regular season title and 10th playoff crown this season. Szalay is majoring in chemistry and physics at Gustavus.
 
Each MIAC Elite 22 Award recipient will receive a plaque to commemorate their achievement. An archive of previous MIAC Elite 22 recipients can be found on the Elite 22 home page.

Following the NCAA's rebranding of the Elite 90 Award to the Elite Scholar-Athlete Award during the 2025-26 academic year, the MIAC's top academic honor will be rechristened as the "MIAC Elite Scholar-Athlete Award" beginning in the fall of 2026.
 
| 2025-26 MIAC Elite 22 Award | Elite 22 Home Page |