80 Winter & Spring Athletes Earn MIAC Academic All-Conference Honors

MOORHEAD, Minn. (6/28/22)---Concordia had 80 winter and spring student-athletes earn MIAC Academic All-Conference honors.

In order to qualify for Academic All-MIAC status, student-athletes must be sophomores, juniors, or seniors by academic standards with a minimum cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Students must also have completed one full-time academic year at their current institution prior to becoming eligible for the honor.

The 80 winter and spring academic award winners brings Concordia’s total for the entire year to 126. The 126 Cobber MIAC Academic All-Conference honorees is the most in a single academic calendar year for Concordia. It beats the old record of 124 set last year.

The Cobber women’s track and field team led the way for the winter/spring sports teams with 15 student-athletes receiving conference academic distinction. The men’s track and field had 11 honorees, while the women’s tennis and swimming and diving teams had the largest percentage of its student-athletes receive the honor. Women’s tennis had six of its 11 team members earn the honor, and swimming and diving had five of its squad receive conference academic honors.

As a conference, the MIAC had 1,301 student-athletes in the winter and spring seasons earn Academic All-Conference honors. Combined with the 779 fall-sport athletes who were honored in January, the overall total of Academic All-Conference selections for the 2021-22 academic year sets a new Conference-high of 2,080, surpassing the previous record of 1,778, set last June.

After two years of altered athletic requirements for Academic All-MIAC consideration due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on competition seasons, MIAC administrators approved permanent changes to conference policy last fall. An athlete must now be a member of a MIAC-sponsored varsity sports team, be academically and athletically eligible, have utilized a season of participation per NCAA and MIAC definitions, and have remained on the sports roster through the conclusion of the sports season in order to be eligible for Academic All-Conference honors.

Concordia Academic All-Conference Award Winners – Winter/Spring 2022
Baseball
Matt Gruber (Sr., Glenwood, Minn.)
Dawson Leer (Sr., Owatonna, Minn.)
Nate Leitner (Jr., Dilworth, Minn.)
Luke Levasseur (Jr. Alexandria, Minn.)
Nick Pederson (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.)

Men’s Basketball
David Birkeland (Sr., Hermantown, Minn.)
Nels Birkeland (So., Golden Valley, Minn.)
Talon Hoffer (So., Fargo, N.D.)
Charlie Rasmussen (So., Perham, Minn.)

Women’s Basketball
Maddie Guler (So., Pelican Rapids, Minn.)
Kaylie Isaman (Jr., Pelican Rapids, Minn.)
Jordyn Kahler (So., Wahpeton, N.D.)
Vanessa Kedl (Sr., Lamberton, Minn.)
Taviahna Tanin (Sr., Middleton, Wis.)
Autumn Thompson (Sr., Argyle, Minn.)

Men’s Golf
Tyler Bossert (Sr., Fargo, N.D.)
Sam Sadlowsky (So., Aitkin, Minn.)

Women’s Golf
Lillie Kirchner (So., South St. Paul, Minn.)
Kay Pederson (So., Lake Park, Minn.)

Men’s Hockey
Tyler Bossert (Sr., Fargo, N.D.)
Jacen Bracko (Sr., Calgary, Alta.)
Keaton Leininger (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Brock Montgomery (Sr., Grand Forks, N.D.)
Kevin Ness (So., Broomfield, Colo.)
Cole O'Connell (So., Moorhead, Minn.)

Women’s Hockey
Ellie Brewer (So., Nederland, Colo.)
Hannah Christian (Sr., Warroad, Minn.)
Jerica Friese (So., Argusville, N.D.)
Paige Hanson (So., Fargo, N.D.)
Becca Macklin (So., Lakeville, Minn.)
Maiah McCowan (Sr., Mandan, N.D.)
Brooke McMillen (Sr., Silver Bay, Minn.)
Allison O'Kane (Sr., Nelson, Minn.)

Softball
Caitlin Culleton (Sr., Vassar, Man.)
Megan Gavin (Sr., Cold Spring, Minn.)
Valerie Kolstad (Sr., Lewistown, Mont.)
Mackenzie Leither (Sr.,  Kimball, Minn.)
Emma Redlin (Jr., Eagan, Minn.)
Molly Wilde (Jr., St. Michael, Minn.)
Hannah Wilke (Jr., St. Anthony, Minn.)

Women’s Swimming and Diving
Rachel Andersen (So., Apple Valley, Minn.)
Jessica Bray (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.)
Kaitlin Cramer (Jr., West Chicago, Ill.)
Camille Gunderson (Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Brienna Timm (So., Alexandria, Minn.)

Men’s Tennis
Kipton Jenson (So., Worthington, Minn.)
Jake Peters (Sr., Glenwood, Minn.)
Grant Storm (Sr., Alexandria, Minn.)

Women’s Tennis
Anna Hacker (So., Madison, Minn.)
Luci Kulseth (So., St. James, Minn.)
Liv Meinders (So., Woodbury, Minn.)
Taylor Partington (Sr., Alexandria, Minn.)
Emily Savageau (Jr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Abby Westrum (Sr., Wadena, Minn.)

Men’s Track and Field
Grant Anderson (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Nolan Christenson (Sr., Alexandria, Minn.)
Jake Kerzman (Sr., Detroit Lakes, Minn.)
Justin Kringler (Sr., Becker, Minn.)
Alex Lerum (So., Plymouth, Minn.)
Jesse Middendorf (Sr., Melrose, Minn.)
Cole Nowacki (So., East Grand Forks, Minn.)
Colin Schuller (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Leo Smith (Sr., West Fargo, N.D.)
Cal Wright (Sr., Mora, Minn.)
Simon Zahrbock (Jr., Marshall, Minn.)

Women’s Track and Field
Isabel Fredrickson (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.)
Maddie Guler (So., Pelican Rapids, Minn.)
Carlie Heinecke (Jr., Rogers, Minn.)
Cayle Hovland (Sr., Willmar, Minn.)
Rhaegan Kiland (Jr., Fargo, N.D.)
Amelia Landsverk (Jr., Fosston, Minn.)
Greta Larson (So., Moorhead, Minn.)
Kelly Lorenz (Jr., Carlton, Minn.)
Kyra Nichols (Jr., Zumbrota, Minn.)
Sierra Ramberg (So., West Fargo, N.D.)
Kaitlyn Rooney (Sr., Decorah, Iowa)
Emily Rugloski (Sr., Baxter, Minn.)
Jacey Schlosser (Sr., Dalton, Minn.)
Meg Shercliffe (So., Alexandria, Minn.)
Emily White (Sr., Litchfield, Minn.)