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MIAC Athletes of the Week
10/19/2009 6:08:14 PM
MIAC Football: Offensive Player of the Week
Saint John's University junior running back Jakob Reding (Eden Prairie, Minn.) led all rushers with 122 yards on 32 carries and added a one-yard touchdown run as Saint John's defeated St. Thomas 20-17 in overtime. The 122 yards was the first 100-yard rushing performance of his career and first for SJU since Mike Patnode's 113 yards against Redlands (Calif.) on Nov. 17, 2007 (a span of 18 games). Reding also led the Johnnies with three receptions for 15 yards in the game. The Johnnies essentially doubled the Tommies' average run defense total (95.2 ypg) with 167 yards (200 without the minus-33 yards on the botched punt attempt) in the contest.
MIAC Football: Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Augsburg College senior defensive lineman Alex Glasenapp (Minneapolis, Minn./South) recorded 10 tackles (six solo), including 2.5 sacks, in Augsburg's 27-20 win at Concordia on Saturday. After Augsburg scored in its overtime session, Glasenapp claimed two sacks against Concordia's offense, including a 16-yard sack on fourth-down-and-10 from the Augsburg 11 on the final play of the game. On the season, Glasenapp leads Augsburg's defensive linemen (fourth overall among Auggie defenders) with 38 tackles, including six tackles for loss and a team-high three sacks.
MIAC Football: Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Bethel University sophomore defensive back David Vavra (Cambridge, Minn./Braham Area) helped lead the Royals in tackles with eight (five solo, three assists), including one for a loss, but it was his two interceptions and a fumble recovery that stopped three Hamline Piper drives in Bethel's 20-17 win on Saturday. Both of Vavra's interceptions came in Bethel territory, with the first coming at the halfway point of the first quarter. He then recovered a fumble early in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 17. The very next Piper possession, he made his second interception of the game and his third of the season. Vavra leads the Royals in pass breakups, is second in interceptions, and third in tackles.
MIAC Football: Special Teams Player of the Week
Gustavus Adolphus College senior kick returner Joe Welch (Hastings, Minn.) made several game-changing plays against Carleton including an 87-yard kick return for a touchdown to help the Gusties beat the Knights 28-21 on Saturday. On the day, Welch returned three kicks for 145 yards and one touchdown including the 87-yard return, a 45-yard return, and a 13-yard yard return. Welch's 45-yard return in the second quarter gave Gustavus the ball at the Carleton 39-yard line and led to a touchdown five plays later. In the third quarter with Gustavus trailing 21-6, Welch's 87-yard TD return sparked the Gusties to 21 straight points and a thrilling 28-21 come-from-behind victory. Welch's TD return was the third longest in school history. He has made 14 returns this season for 321 yards with an average of 22.9 yards per return. His 87-yard return is the longest in the MIAC this season as well as the only kick returned for a touchdown in MIAC play.
MIAC Volleyball: Hitter of the Week
Bethel University first-year middle blocker Amy Werner (Three Lakes, Wis.) helped lead the Royals to a 3-2 week, including a conference win over Gustavus, with their losses coming to #1 UW-Oshkosh and #9 St. Thomas. Against Gustavus, Werner finished with 12 kills on 14 attempts, with only two errors, for a hitting percentage of .714, which is the highest hitting percentage any MIAC hitter has recorded against another MIAC team this season. Werner had a strong weekend at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Tussle where she finished the weekend with a hitting percentage of .308 and averaged 1.0 block/set from the middle hitter position. For the five-match week, Werner was a very efficient .362, averaging 2.72 kills/set and nearly 1.0 block/set (.94). She was named to the 10-person All-Tournament Team at the Titan Tussle - the only freshman so honored.
MIAC Volleyball: Setter/Libero of the Week
Augsburg College senior setter Shanna Reed (Eagan, Minn./Holy Angels) was a key factor in the Auggies two five-set wins over Northwestern and Concordia last week. In those two matches, she averaged 11.0 assists per-set and 2.8 digs per-set. Against Northwestern, Reed posted a career-high 60 assists. Against Concordia, she posted her eighth double-double of the season (50 assists/20 digs) as she led the Auggies to a five-set thriller over No. 18-ranked Concordia in a key MIAC matchup. The victory over Concordia broke a nine-match losing streak and is the first Augsburg win over Concordia since a 3-2 win on Sept. 14, 1999.
MIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Bethel University senior Dan Greeno (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) finished first out of 551 runners at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational on Saturday. Greeno's time of 24:15 on the eight-kilometer course (4:53 per mile pace) was nearly nine seconds ahead of his closest competitor from North Central College, the #1 ranked team in the nation. Greeno ran nearly seven seconds better than his time in the same race a year ago.
MIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Bethel University senior Marie Borner (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) placed second at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational on Saturday. In another back-and-forth battle with rival Ayla Mitchell of UW-Oshkosh, Borner finished second with a new personal best time of 20:35. Borner, the defending NCAA Division III National Champion, and Mitchell, who finished third at nationals last year, will likely square off one more time at the NCAA National Meet in approximately one month. As a team, the #11 Royals, placed sixth out of 34 teams behind four other nationally ranked teams and a Division II team.
MIAC Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week
Carleton College junior forward Wes Elfman (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) scored the Knights' game-winning goal in dramatic fashion with :11.9 seconds left in the second overtime on Wednesday against St. Thomas. With time, and daylight, running out, Tim Wills made a diagonal pass perfectly leading Elfman on his run where he slotted his third game winner of the season as the Knights prevailed 1-0 over the Tommies. Elfman also scored the second goal in Carleton's 2-0 win over Augsburg on Saturday. With that win, Carleton clinched a share of their third-straight MIAC Regular Season Title and a #1 seed in the MIAC Playoffs.
MIAC Women's Soccer Athlete of the Week
Augsburg College first-year goalkeeper Diana Bocklund (Mahtomedi, Minn.) did not allow a goal, while collecting 13 saves, in 155 minutes of play on the week. In the Auggies' 2-1 loss to Bethel on Tuesday, Bocklund recorded three saves while playing in the first half. In Saturday's 0-0, two-overtime tie at MIAC playoff contender Carleton, Bocklund played the full 110 minutes, recording 10 saves for her third collegiate shutout. On the season, Bocklund has played 11 games in goal with three shutouts.
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