ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced their Athlete of the Week award winners Tuesday in the sports of men's basketball, women's basketball, men’s track & field, and women’s track & field. The awards are nominated by UMAC coaches and athletics communications staff and selected each week by the latter group.
MEN'S BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Caden Stevens, Freshman, Northwestern Eagles
Highlands Ranch, Colo. / Mountain Vista
- Stevens came off the bench to lead the Eagles in scoring in both games last week, averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and a staggering 4 blocks per game across the two contests. Against UW-Eau Claire, the freshman put up 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 assists. Saturday vs. Carleton, he scored 16 points on 8-12 shooting and added 4 rebounds and 3 blocks. His 2.1 blocks per game lead the UMAC this season.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Mya Morris, Sophomore, Martin Luther Knights
Perham, Minn. / Perham
- Morris averaged 17.5 ppg this past week as the Knights won both contests, with victories over Luther College (62-47) and Carleton (63-57). Morris dropped 21 points against the Norse, hit four 3-pointers, and collected five boards on Tuesday. The guard followed that effort up with 14 points, once again making four shots from beyond the arc. Morris also impacted with six assists and got her teammates involved in the win over the MIAC school.
MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jesse Ortiz, Freshman, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Medford, Minn. / Medford
- Ortiz made his collegiate debut at the CSS Opener over the weekend. He took second in the 60-meter dash, which beat the previous school record in the preliminary rounds at 6.96 seconds. He followed that race with another record-setting performance in the finals, finishing the 60-meter dash in 6.92 seconds and improving his placement on the UW-Superior record list. This time currently sits 17th in all of NCAA Division III.
WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Simone Stephens, Sophomore, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Scottsdale, Ariz. / Saguaro
- Stephens took home a victory in the 5k this weekend at the CSS Opener. Taking control midway through the race and finishing with a 20-second cushion, her new personal-best time of 19:20.13 leads the UMAC by nearly a minute as she defeated NCAA DII and DIII competitors.
MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Carson Wilhorn, Sophomore, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Necedah, Wis. / Necedah
- Wilhorn competed in the shot put and weight throw over the weekend at the CSS Opener. His mark in the shot put was a personal best, improving by over a meter while his weight throw was a three-meter improvement. His mark of 15.20 in the weight throw leads the UMAC by nearly three meters, and also ranks 59th in the nation. Wilhorn's shot put heave of 12.79 meters currently ranks second in the league.
WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Bel Dimaze, Freshman, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Monticello, Minn. / Spectrum
- Dimaze took fourth in the high jump this weekend at the CSS Opener. She garnered a lifetime personal best mark of 1.50 meters, which stands atop the UMAC.
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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