BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) recognized the winners of a prestigious conference honor Thursday. Bethel's Ross Groeneweg and Caroline Kivisto, St. Thomas' Paige Gernes and Gabrielle Pepin, Saint Mary's Mike Mezzano and Concordia's Gabe Wright were all honored for their combined athletic and academic achievement with the MIAC Elite 22 Award.
The MIAC Elite 22 Award recognizes the true essence of the 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 89 Award, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average (GPA) in each sport who meet similarly high, sport-specific athletic requirements. The winner must be a sophomore, junior or senior and in at least his or her second season of competition with their current team.
In all sports with MIAC team postseason tournaments (basketball and hockey), the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the individual with the highest GPA on the active roster at the MIAC Playoff championship contest. The indoor track and field MIAC Elite 22 Awards are presented to the individual with the highest GPA and recognized as a member of the All-Conference Team at the 2015 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, which includes the top three individual finishers in each event and each first-place relay team.
Groeneweg (Orange City, Iowa/Unity Christian) received the men's basketball honor thanks to his academic achievements and Bethel's tremendous run to the MIAC Playoff title game. Groeneweg's GPA of 3.9034 was tops among players in the championship game. He is a junior majoring in Business and Entrepreneurship. The Royals defeated Concordia in the quarterfinals, then upset St. Olaf on the road in the semifinals before losing to St. Thomas in the final seconds in the championship game. Bethel finished the season 19-9 overall and 13-7 in the MIAC.
Gernes' (Winona, Minn./Cotter) Elite 22 is the latest honor for the St. Thomas women's basketball team following their amazing, near-perfect. Gernes - a sophomore Biology major - claimed the honor thanks to her perfect 4.0 GPA and the Tommies' MIAC Playoff championships, which included a semifinal win over Augsburg and a title-game victory over Bethel. UST's magical 30-1 season ended in the Elite 8, and the team was a perfect 18-0 in the MIAC while capturing both regular-season and MIAC Playoff titles.
Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.) helped lead Saint Mary's to a remarkable turnaround and a trip to the MIAC Playoff title game, where his GPA of 3.84 resulted in his Elite 22 selection. Mezzano is a sophomore Finance major. The Cardinals scored a dramatic semifinal win over Concordia to reach the title game, where it lost to Hamline. Saint Mary's finished 15-10-2 overall and 9-5-2 in the MIAC with second-place finishes in both the conference regular season and Playoffs.
Kivisto (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) claimed her second MIAC Elite 22 Award after also winning the softball honor in 2014. She helped the Royals pull off road upsets of Saint Mary's and Gustavus to reach the title game as the No. 5 seed, where her GPA of 3.985 gave her the Elite 22 honor. She is a junior Nursing major at Bethel, and she helped the Royals finish 15-10-3 overall and 8-7-3 in the MIAC. The team was the runner-up in the MIAC Playoffs, losing to St. Thomas in the championship game.
Wright (Moorhead, Minn.) claimed the MIAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Elite 22 award thanks to his All-Conference performance and a near-perfect 3.995 GPA. Wright, a junior Math major, earned his All-MIAC honor by finishing third in the heptathlon with 4,233 points, and he also earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in the high jump by clearing the bar at 6-2. He helped Concordia, which hosted the meet, finish sixth with a score of 52 points.
Pepin (Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port) ran to victory in the women's 5,000-meter run and used her tremendous 3.93 GPA to claim the MIAC Women's Indoor Track and Field Elite 22 award. Pepin, a junior majoring in Economics and Math, completed the 5K in 17:26.11 to win the MIAC title and earn All-Conference honors. She also received Honorable Mention All-MIAC accolades for her fifth-place finish in the women's 3,000-meter run (10:12.79) and she helped UST rack up 199.7 points to win the MIAC title by a margin of 112.7 points.
A plaque will be provided to each of the six winners to commemorate their MIAC Elite 22 Award, and they are recognized on the MIAC Elite 22 Award web site, which will archive each of the 22 winners throughout the 2014-15 season. St. Thomas student-athletes have now claimed seven Elite 22 Awards in 2014-15, with Bethel and Concordia each have two and Saint Mary's has one. Saint John's has three and St. Olaf has one as well.
| MIAC Elite 22 Award | 2014-15 MIAC Elite 22 Award Archive |