ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced their Athlete of the Week award winners Tuesday in the sports of baseball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track & field, and men’s and women’s golf. The awards are nominated by UMAC coaches and athletics communications staff and selected each week by the latter group.
BASEBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Xander Meissner, Freshman, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Parker, Colo. / Legend
- Meissner continues to showcase his power in his first season with Bethany as he blasted three home runs on a weekend where he batted 6-of-12 and became the program's single season home run record holder. His 12 home runs this season lead all freshman in NCAA Division III and is currently a top 20 mark nationally. To add onto his special week, Meissner drew four free passes to reach base at a clip of .625, while he also added nine RBI and eight runs scored.
SOFTBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Peyton Bennett, Freshman, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Harrisburg, S.D. / Harrisburg
- Bennett was a key contributor in the Yellowjackets' series victory over Northwestern this past weekend. During the UMAC series she was 7-13 at the dish, scoring two runs and driving in four, which included her first two collegiate homers. Bennett's average now stands at .443 on the season.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Peyton Solberg, Senior, Northland Lumberjacks
Bessemer, Mich. / Johnston
- Solberg pitched in two games over the week, tallying seven innings. The senior threw the final two innings against St. Norbert and held the lead. Solberg retired all six batters he saw, striking out one. In the final game at LumberJack Field, the Bessemer, Mich., native gave the Jacks a great opportunity to get back into the game. Solberg pitched five innings against the Rams, where he struck out seven batters, gave up two hits, walked one, and did not give up a run.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Emmy Romportl, Junior, Crown Polars
Spooner, Wis. / Spooner High
- Romportl pitched 14 innings, earned two wins, and had 2 complete games allowing just 3 earned runs while totaling 17 strikeouts in the circle.
MEN’S TENNIS NORTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Griffen Jarchow, Junior, Northwestern Eagles
Luverne, Minn. / Luverne
- Jarchow went 5-1 to lead UNW to a 2-1 week and punch their ticket to the UMAC Tournament. His lone loss came at No. 2 singles at Hamline, but his No. 2 doubles team did defeat the Pipers, 6-3. The junior capped off his week with a dominant, 4-0 day in sweeps of Crown and Martin Luther.
WOMEN’S TENNIS NORTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Elise Jarchow, Senior, Northwestern Eagles
Luverne, Minn. / Luverne
- Jarchow racked up 6 wins on the week to lead Northwestern. Her 4-0 Saturday in wins over Crown and Martin Luther helped propel the Eagles into the UMAC Tournament and included wins of 6-1, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Stephen Wietzke, Sophomore, Martin Luther Knights
Pueblo West, Colo. / Pueblo West
- Wietzke appeared in two meets this week for the Knights and showed out in both of them. Wietzke finished 11th overall out of over 50 runners in the 100m dash (10.96 seconds) at the Gary Invitational hosted by Minnesota on Wednesday. The sophomore was the top UMAC finisher in the event. Wietzke followed that up by earning three first-place finishes at the Drake Alternative hosted by Gustavus on Saturday. In the 100m dash, Wietzke hit a new PR time of 10.89 seconds and ran the 200m in 21.82 seconds for first place. Additionally, Wietzke claimed first after being one of the legs in the 4x100m relay (43.50 seconds).
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Ella Dufault, Sophomore, Crown Polars
Waseca, Minn. / Waseca
- Dufault finished the 1500m with a time of 4:47.77 good for 1st in the UMAC. She also was a crucial part of the 4x400m relay team that had a time of 4:07.48 good for 1st in the UMAC.
MEN’S OUTDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Isaac Weiers, Senior, North Central Rams
Neillsville, Wis. / Neillsville
- Weiers continued his dominant senior campaign at the Gary Wilson Invite, setting a new meet and NCU record with a personal best high jump of 2.05 meters. This mark is currently tied for 1st in the UMAC and moves him up to #16 best in all of NCAA Division III this season.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Emily Ashton, Junior, Northwestern Eagles
Camas, Wash. / St. Mary's Academy
- Emily Ashton continued her impressive junior season as she won the javelin with a season-best throw of 36.75 meters (120'7"). Her heave broke the top 100 Division III ranking again, throwing a DIII 78th top distance. She has thrown over 36 meters in the last four meets and has not finished lower than 6th place in any meet this season. Ashton continues to lead the conference by nearly 3 feet.
MEN'S GOLF ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Nate Burke, Senior, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Duluth, Minn. / Denfeld
- Burke had a fine weekend at the Saint John's Spring Invitational. Friday's round at the Wapicada Golf Course saw him shoot a three-over 75, which included three-straight birdies on the front nine. Saturday's round saw him fire a 78, adding four birdies to his scorecard at the Monticello Country Club.
WOMEN'S GOLF ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Abby Schintz, Freshman, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Duluth, Minn. / Duluth East
- Schintz paced the Yellowjackets over the weekend at the Viking Women's Classic, hosted by Augustana College. Her first round saw her shoot an 83 before ending her weekend with a second-round score of 85.
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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