BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for basketball, hockey, indoor track and field, baseball, softball, and tennis on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Concordia, Gustavus, Hamline, Saint Benedict, Saint John’s, Saint Mary’s, and St. Thomas claimed the conference’s weekly honors for March 8-14, 2021.
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, Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.
To view each sport’s 2020-21 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the MIAC’s Awards page or visit the 2020-21 Athlete of the Week news archive for complete details on each week’s selections and winners.
MIAC Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week
Emily Beseman
Concordia College
Sr. | Guard
Swanville, Minn.
Emily Beseman had a game-high 22 points and a team-high eight rebounds to lead the Cobbers past Saint Benedict on Mar. 12. Beseman missed only one shot the entire game and was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
MIAC Men’s Hockey Athlete of the Week
Andrew Kangas
University of St. Thomas
So. | Forward
Mahtomedi, Minn.
Andrew Kangas scored the game-winning goal in the final minute of sudden-death overtime to lead the Tommies to a 4-3 win over Saint Mary’s on Mar. 9. That ended a streak of 10 straight overtime games without a win for the Tommies. The victory also secured St. Thomas’ 39th consecutive winning season. Kangas added an assist in the win.
MIAC Women’s Hockey Athlete of the Week
Ary Ziakas
Saint Mary’s University
Sr. | Goaltender
Palatine, Ill.
Ary Ziakas posted a 101-save week for the Cardinals, as the senior goaltender stopped 26 pucks against Bethel on Mar. 10, 31 against Saint Benedict on Mar. 13, and a season-high 44 against St. Thomas on Mar. 14. Ziakas has now appeared in all 10 games for Saint Mary’s this season – including nine straight starts – and leads the conference with 299 total saves and a .952 save percentage on the year.
MIAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Lloyd Young
Saint John’s University
So.
Bloomington, Minn. | Kennedy
Lloyd Young finished second in the 5,000 meters with a personal-best time of 14:49.63 last Friday at Wartburg’s Division III Elite Indoor Championships. The time was the fifth-fastest in program history and good for eighth-best in NCAA Division III this season.
MIAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Joe Martin
Hamline University
Sr.
Lakeville, Minn. | South
Joe Martin hit a new career-best in the shot put, recording a distance of 17.34 meters to place first at the Wartburg Elite Meet on Mar. 12. Martin’s toss ranks third in all of NCAA Division III this season.
MIAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Fiona Smith
College of Saint Benedict
Fy.
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Fiona Smith improved two school records with a pair of top-three finishes at the Wartburg Elite Indoor Championships on Mar. 12. Smith won the 5K and bettered her school record by more than seven seconds with a winning time of 17:23.24 – fourth-fastest in NCAA Division III this season. On Mar. 13, Smith became the first CSB runner to break 10 minutes in the indoor 3,000-meter run, finishing third in the event and all of DIII with a time of 9:55.71.
MIAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Grace Perrenoud
Bethel University
Jr.
Sioux Falls, S.D. | Sioux Falls Christian
Grace Perrenoud surpassed the Bethel program record in the triple jump on three of her six jumps on Mar. 12, setting a lifetime best distance at 11.38 meters to finish fourth at the Wartburg Elite Indoor Championships. That distance ranks 10th in all of NCAA Division III this season. The junior returned on Saturday to post a season-best leap of 5.21 meters in the long jump – fourth-best at the meet.
MIAC Baseball Player of the Week
Ethan Roe
Saint John’s University
Jr. | Catcher
Golden Valley, Minn. | Blake
Ethan Roe batted .455 (5-for-11) with four home runs, a double, and five runs batted in for a slugging percentage of 1.636 as Saint John’s started its 2021 season 3-0 last week. Roe was named to D3baseball.com’s National Team of the Week on March 8 after hitting three home runs – the first of his collegiate career – to tie SJU’s single-game record in the Johnnies’ 13-10 win March 7 over Crown. His 14 total bases, thanks to an eighth-inning double, set a program record. Roe hit his fourth homer of the young season – in just seven at-bats – with two outs in the top of the fourth inning of SJU’s eventual 2-1 win in eight innings against Bethany Lutheran on Mar. 10.
MIAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Andrew Tri
University of St. Thomas
Sr. | Right-handed Pitcher
Hastings, Minn. | St. Thomas Academy
Andrew Tri opened his 2021 season last Thursday and the Tommies’ right-hander struck out a career-high 15 batters in a one-hit, 3-0 shutout of Northwestern-St. Paul. Tri allowed a two-out double in the first inning then set down 18 of the next 20 batters for his first career shutout. In three starts so far over the last two seasons, Tri is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 21 innings.
MIAC Softball Player of the Week
Katie Carlson
College of Saint Benedict
Jr. | Catcher
Buffalo, Minn.
Katie Carlson started all four games behind the plate for Saint Benedict last week and led the team’s offense to a 3-1 start to the season. On Saturday against Wis.-La Crosse, Carlson went 3-for-6 with two home runs and a pair of runs batted in. On Sunday against Gustavus, the junior went 4-for-6 with two doubles and a trio of RBI. For the weekend, Carlson finished 7-for-12 with a batting average of .583, totaling three doubles, two homers, and five RBI, along with a 1.33 slugging percentage.
MIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Megan Gavin
Concordia College
Sr. | Right-handed Pitcher
Cold Spring, Minn. | ROCORI
Megan Gavin posted strikeout totals of 12 and 13 in two starts last week to become just the fourth pitcher in Concordia program history to surpass 300 career Ks. Gavin blanked 12 batters in a 4-1 victory over Bethany Luther on Mar. 9 and fanned 13 more against Wis.-Superior on Mar. 12. Gavin now has 42 strikeouts in 21.0 innings pitched to go along with a team-leading 1.67 earned-run average this season.
MIAC Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week
Nick Aney
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr.
Rochester, Minn. | Century
Nick Aney won both his singles and doubles matches against Wis.-Eau Claire on Mar. 13. Aney started the day with a quick 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles and followed with a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles.
MIAC Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week
Zoie Becker
Saint Mary’s University
So.
St. James, Minn.
Zoie Becker extended her season-opening winning streak to five with a three-set, 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 win over St. Catherine at No. 5 singles last Friday and a straight-set, 6-3, 6-1 win over Wartburg at No. 4 singles the following afternoon. Becker is now 12-2 overall in her collegiate career.
