Athlete of the Week - February 24, 2025

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) announced the Athlete of the Week awards for the week of February 17-13.

The MIAA Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by head coaches and released each Monday at 4:00 p.m. (unless a federal holiday).
MIAA Baseball Position Player of the Week - Ryar Rinehart, Kalamazoo College
Junior first baseman Ryar Rinehart assisted the Hornets to a 2-2 split at Oglethorpe in their season-opening weekend. In Saturday's doubleheader, Rinehart set a program record with four doubles in a game and tied the school record for hits in a game with six. He followed it with three more hits on Sunday. Rinehart hit .667 (12-of-18) on the weekend, while totaling four runs, four doubles, one home run, and nine runs batted in. He additionally had a slugging percentage of 1.056 and an on-base percentage of .700. Rinehart finished the week with a perfect fielding percentage which included 27 putouts.

MIAA Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week - Uchenna Egekeze, Calvin University
Graduate student Uchenna Egekeze helped the Knights close the regular-season with a 74-47 win at Albion, followed by a 70-53 victory over nationally-ranked Trine. Over the last two contests, Egekeze totaled 11 rebounds, four steals, three assists, three blocks, and 28 points. He also went 11-of-16 for a field-goal percentage of .688. Overall, Egekeze is currently in the league's top three with 94 made free throws, a field-goal percentage of .559, and 48 steals.

MIAA Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week - Ruby Hogan, Kalamazoo College
Sophomore guard Ruby Hogan led the Hornets to a 75-62 victory at Alma, followed by a battle against nationally-ranked Trine to end the regular-season. In 78 minutes played over the week, Hogan totaled 51 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, and three steals. She concluded the week with a .500 field-goal percentage (20-of-40) and a .750 free-throw percentage (9-of-12). Hogan currently leads the conference with 401 points, 16.0 points per game, and 101 made free throws. She is also in the top three with 141 made field goals, 82 offensive rebounds, and 111 assists.

MIAA Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week - Liam Danitz, Hope College
Junior Liam Danitz competed at the Grand Valley State Tune-Up over the weekend. Danitz won both the 60m dash and the 200m dash against all levels of competition. He clocked in at 6.96 in the 60m dash. Danitz's time of 21.50 in the 200m dash is a new school record and currently the eleventh-fastest time in the nation.

MIAA Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week - Morgan Jeffries, The University of Olivet
Senior Morgan Jeffries participated in the Hillsdale Tune-Up over the weekend. Jeffries set personal-best times in both the 60m dash and the 400m dash. Her time of 8.14 in the 60m dash ranks her third in Olivet school history, while her performance of 1:03.04 in the 400m dash places her sixth in program history.

MIAA Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week - Owen Fremeau, The University of Olivet
Sophomore Owen Fremeau competed at the Hillsdale Tune-Up on Friday. He broke his school record in the shot put with a throw of 16.42m which ties him for 13th in the nation. Fremeau also threw his second-best mark in the weight throw with a toss of 18.11m and is the only thrower in the MIAA over 18 meters this season. He finished in second place in both events.

MIAA Women's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week - Alysia Townsend, Adrian College
Freshman Alysia Townsend competed at the Findlay Tune-Up on Friday. Townsend cleared an impressive height of 1.63m in the high jump once again, still marking as the highest leap in the MIAA. She also participated in the long jump for the first time in her collegiate career and broke Adrian's indoor record with a leap of 5.49m. Her long jump performance is currently tied-for-44th in the nation.

MIAA Men's Lacrosse Offensive Athlete of the Week - Brendan Mercier, Albion College
Senior attacker Brendan Mercier had an outstanding week of offensive performance in the Britons' 13-7 win at Otterbein. Mercier totaled three goals and two assists

MIAA Women's Lacrosse Offensive Athlete of the Week - Brooke Hoag, Trine University
In the season opener for the Thunder, senior midfielder Brooke Hoag helped Trine to a 14-10 victory at Wittenberg in scoring five goals. Hoag's third goal of the game marked her 100th goal of her career, making her just the fifth player in Trine history to achieve that accomplishment. She also picked up 10 groundballs and caused three turnovers to help to secure the win.

MIAA Men's Lacrosse Defensive Athlete of the Week - Drew Garrison, Calvin University
Sophomore defender Drew Garrison was crucial in Calvin's one-goal win at Lake Forest (11-10). Garrison picked up five ground balls and caused three turnovers in the ride/half field. When Lake Forest tied the game in the fourth quarter, he came up huge 20 seconds later with a goal in transition. Garrison also added an assist earlier in the game in transition. He has been a big part of the Knights' defense, ride, and transition game all year and showed it in all of those areas on Saturday.

MIAA Women's Lacrosse Defensive Athlete of the Week - Sarah Gross, Adrian College
Sophomore midfielder Sarah Gross played a strong all-around game in the midfield in Adrian's 16-3 win at Aquinas. Gross was a key to stopping Aquinas in transition by picking up six ground balls and causing two turnovers in the defensive end. Additionally, she added three goals and a draw control.

MIAA Men's Lacrosse Specialist Athlete of the Week - Sean Kohloff, Trine University
Junior face-off midfielder Sean Kohloff helped the Thunder to a 9-6 win against DePauw, followed by a 17-2 victory over Lawrence. Kohloff went 7-of-11 at the faceoff X and was a catalyst in the win against DePauw. He also added three groundballs in Trine's opening win that was a loss last season.  Against Lawrence, Kohloff went 10-of-13 at the faceoff X and totaled seven groundballs without playing past the third quarter.

MIAA Women's Lacrosse Specialist Athlete of the Week - Madeline Turcotte, Adrian College
Sophomore Madeline Turcotte assisted the Bulldogs to a 16-3 win at Aquinas on Sunday. In addition to Turcotte's 10 draw controls, she added two goals, four assists, and two caused turnovers.

MIAA Men's Swimming Athlete of the Week - David Bajwa, Calvin University
Senior David Bajwa played a key role in the Knights' securing the 2025 MIAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championship title. Bajwa opened the week of events as the lead-off in the 800 free relay that shattered the MIAA record with a time of 6:33.26. He also swam the first leg of the first-place 200 free relay (1:19.18).  Bajwa earned individual victories in the 50 free (19.69), the 100 fly (46.94), and the 100 free (MIAA record of 43.56). He swam the third leg of the first-place 400 medley relay (3:14.70) and closed the championships as the lead-off in the record-breaking 400 free relay (2:57.54).

MIAA Women's Swimming Athlete of the Week - Sara Kraus, Hope College
Senior Sarah Kraus led the Flying Dutch to the 2025 MIAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championship title. Kraus opened the championship meet as the second leg of the winning 800 free relay (7:28.02). She followed as the lead-off in the record-breaking 400 medley relay that clocked in at 3:44.43 and the record-setting 200 medley relay (1:41.02). Individually, Kraus won the 400 IM (4:25.66), the 100 back (55.25), and the 200 back (1:58.29).

MIAA Men's Diving Athlete of the Week - Wil Goodpaster, Calvin University
Senior Wil Goodpaster swept the diving competition at the 2025 MIAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, helping the Knights to the league title. On the three-meter board, Goodpaster earned a score of 489.05 which was over 100 points ahead of the runner-up. He then concluded the championships with a score of 479.85 in the one-meter dive.

MIAA Women's Diving Athlete of the Week - Veronica Skipper, Calvin University
Sophomore Veronica Skipper swept the diving competition at the 2025 MIAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. On the one-meter board, Skipper earned a score of 426.10. She followed that performance with a 415.40 in the three-meter dive.

MIAA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week - Rodrigo Alipio, Calvin University
Sophomore Rodrigo Alipio had a dominating performance this week and went undefeated against Illinois Institute of Technology at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. Alipio and his partner, Mario de Lima Neto, defeated Pedro Caro and Alex Feher with a score of 6-1. He went on to defeat Pedro Caro with a score of 6-2, 6-0. Alipio went 2-0 this week and only dropped three games total between singles and doubles.

MIAA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week - Rylee Lewis, The University of Olivet
Sophomore Rylee Lewis led the Comets to a 7-0 sweep against Manchester to open the spring season. Lewis partnered with Amelia Girard for a 6-2 victory at the top doubles flight versus Avin Demaso and Grace Keener. At No. 1 singles, Lewis earned a 6-3, 6-0 win against Demaso.
 

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