ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners Tuesday in the sports of football, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, and men’s and women’s cross country. The awards are nominated by UMAC coaches and athletics communications staff and selected each week by the latter group.
FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Brady Turriff, Freshman, Martin Luther Knights
Matthews, N.C. / Sun Valley
- Brady Turriff passed for over 330 yards in the second consecutive week under center for MLC. The freshman quarterback threw for a career-high 337 yards and 4 TD's, including a long of 78 yards that found Thomas Koelpin in the first quarter.
FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Gabe Banks, Senior, Crown Polars
League City, Texas / Clear Springs
- Banks totaled 3 Interceptions including one returned for a touchdown leading Crown to their first win of the year.
FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Juan "JT" Garza III, Sophomore, Minnesota Morris Cougars
Rupert, Idaho / Minico
-Garza punted twice for the Cougars on Saturday for a total of 54 yards. He also had an 87 yard touchdown off a blocked punt. In addition to his impressive special teams performance, Garza also totaled up five tackles on defense.
VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Maggie Kohl, Junior, North Central Rams
New Hope, Minn. / Robbinsdale Cooper
- Kohl led the Rams to a win over Maranatha Baptist with 8 kills (4.0 per set) and 1 solo block on an efficient .583 hitting percentage.
VOLLEYBALL SETTER OF THE WEEK
Abby Distad, Freshman, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Kasson, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville
- Distad continues to post big numbers as the Vikings setter, most recently putting up 36 assists in the team's 3-1 win over MLC on Tuesday. Her 631 set assists on the year currently lead the UMAC and rank 40th nationally.
VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Ellie Fuller, Freshman, Crown Polars
Big Lake, Minn. / Homeschool
- Fuller totaled 41 digs and averaged 6.83 digs per set in an excellent defensive effort in two matches.
MEN'S SOCCER OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Alvin Wlejleh, Sophomore, North Central Rams
Heath Springs, S.C. / Andrew Jackson
- Wlejleh had a sensational 5-goal game versus the Lumberjacks to lead the Rams to a road win. This set a new program record for NCU. The sophomore also played a key role against UNW, playing 86 mins as the Rams tied the Eagles at home. On the week he totaled 13 shots, including 8 shots on goal and 5 goals scored.
MEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Leo Roque, Junior, Crown Polars
Cancun, Mexico
- Roque tabbed 2 clean sheets with 9 saves in two wins for Crown.
WOMEN'S SOCCER OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Mya Holmquist, Senior, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Buffalo, Minn. / Buffalo
- Holmquist ended last week eight eight total points, notching a hat trick versus Northwestern and firing the game-winning goal against Bethany Lutheran. She leaped atop the Yellowjacket standings in goals, with 14 goals and counting.
WOMEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Rachel Fuller, Sophomore, Crown Polars
Becker, Minn. / Becker
- Fuller tabbed 2 clean sheets and a total of 6 saves across two wins.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Maverick Hoogland, Freshman, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Catawba, Wis. / Phillips
- Hoogland saw action at the Augustana Interregional Invitational this weekend, running a personal best race time of 27:32 while running second for the Yellowjackets. This race time logged the best conference time for all freshmen, as he helped lead the Yellowjackets to a 12th place finish.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Ella Dufault, Sophomore, Crown Polars
Waseca, Minn. / Waseca
- Ella Dufault with a time of 19:27.2 to earn the 1st place finish at the NCCAA Regional 5k race.
The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of eight full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, Northland College, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.
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