Athlete of the Week - April 28, 2025

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) announced the Athlete of the Week awards for the week of April 21-27.

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 Pitcher of the Week - Tyler Johnson, Alma College
Senior pitcher Tyler Johnson threw a complete-game shutout (10-0) against Trine on Saturday. Johnson only allowed two hits and did not allow any runs, while striking out 15 batters. He also set the career MIAA strikeout record and tied the Alma single-season record of 100 set in 1920. Johnson currently leads the league with six wins and 100 strikeouts.

MIAA Baseball Position Player of the Week - Cooper Mills, Kalamazoo College
Fifth-year senior shortstop Cooper Mills started all five games in Kalamazoo's 5-0 week. Mills slashed a .625/1.000/.727 with 11 runs scored, one double, a home run, six runs batted in, five walks, zero strikeouts, and nine stolen bases. He also almost amassed the 200 career hit mark this week. Mills currently leads the conference with 49 runs and 30 bases. Additionally, he is in the league's top five with 48 hits, 30 walks, and 92 assists.

MIAA Women's Golf Athlete of the Week - Rylee Smith, Trine University
Freshman Rylee Smith was the medalist at the MIAA Spring Finale. Her two-day score of 152 (78/74) led the Thunder to the team victory with a total of 640.

MIAA Women's Lacrosse Offensive Athlete of the Week - Audrey Booher, Calvin University
Junior attacker Audrey Booher had a standout performance in the final week of conference play. Matched up against the top two seeds in the MIAA Tournament, and against Kalamazoo (a team that sent the Knights to double overtime in the regular season), Booher totaled nine goals and five assists for a total of 14 points. She also collected two ground balls and caused one turnover on the week. Booher is currently ranked second in the league with 53 goals and 76 points.

MIAA Men's Lacrosse Defensive Athlete of the Week - Sam Spangler, Adrian College
Senior goalie Sam Spangler had a huge game in Adrian's lone contest of the week against Albion. Spangler made 13 saves, including seven in the second half, and went 62% (13-of-21) in the cage. He led the Bulldogs to their first win over the Britons since 2014. Spangler currently leads the conference with 226 saves, 13.29 saves per game, 893:59 minutes played and 181 goals against.

MIAA Women's Lacrosse Defensive Athlete of the Week - Mey Sun, Adrian College
Senior defender Mey Sun was a force in the defensive end for the Bulldogs this week in their 14-9 victory at Kalamazoo and their 12-11 edge over Albion in the first round of the MIAA Tournament. Sun caused six turnovers and picked up six ground balls over the week.  She was a crucial part in the must-win victory over Kalamazoo, causing five turnovers as the Bulldogs came from behind by holding the Hornets to just two goals in the second half. Sun currently leads the league with 36 caused turnovers. She is also Adrian's all-time leader in career caused turnovers with 148.

MIAA Men's Lacrosse Specialist Athlete of the Week - Nico Palazzolo, Adrian College
Freshman face-off midfielder Nico Palazzolo played a pivotal role in Adrian's first win over Albion since 2014. He went 50% (9-of-18) on the day at the face-off dot with five ground balls. Most importantly, Palazzolo contributed two goals off of face-off wins in transition, including the first goal of the game 15 seconds in. He is currently ranked fourth in the conference with 85 ground balls.

MIAA Women's Lacrosse Specialist Athlete of the Week - Madeline Turcotte, Adrian College
Sophomore draw specialist Madeline Turcotte led the Bulldogs to two crucial victories this week with a 14-9 win at Kalamazoo, followed by a 12-11 edge over Albion in the first round of the MIAA Tournament. In a must-win game against the Hornets to close the regular season, Turcotte won eight draw controls and added six goals and two assists to help Adrian clinch the No. 4 seed in the MIAA tournament. Turcotte then followed that with eight more draw controls and four goals in the Bulldogs' win against Albion. She currently leads the conference with 43 assists and 90 points, and is in the top five with 47 goals and 100 draw controls.

MIAA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week - Will Seymour, Kalamazoo College
Freshman Will Seymour went 2-0 at No. 5 singles and 1-1 at No. 3 doubles over the week as Kalamazoo clinched the outright MIAA championship. In the team's 7-0 shutout at Trine, Seymour and partner Sebastian Courtright notched a 6-3 victory over Nicholas Jen and Caleb Morris. Seymour went on to win his singles match 6-0, 6-3 against Emmett Wirth. At Wisconsin Whitewater, who is currently ranked 31st in the nation, Seymour earned one of Kalamazoo's two points that day with a 3-6, 7-5, 10-5 singles win against Charles Morgan.

MIAA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week - Alayna Campbell, Saint Mary's College
Senior Alayna Campbell helped the Belles to the third seed in the MIAA Women's Tennis Tournament. At No. 1 doubles, Campbell and partner Emma Kealy led Saint Mary's to its first win of the day with a 6-2 victory over Calvin’s Catherine Grissom and Marina Ribeiro. At No. 1 singles, Campbell clinched the team match (4-3) in dramatic fashion for the Belles with a 6-2, 7-6(10-8) win over Tessa Holman.

MIAA Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week - Zion Jackson, Trine University
Sophomore Zion Jackson had stellar performances at the Hillsdale Tune-Up on Friday. Jackson set a new school record and personal best in the 100m dash with a time of 10.49. He also ran a new personal record in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.16 and was the third leg in the men's 4x100m that broke the previous school record with a time of 40.81. Nationally, Jackson is currently 20th in the 100m dash, sixth in the 110m hurdles, and ninth in the 4x100m relay.

MIAA Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week - Jenna Allman, Calvin University
Graduate student Jenna Allman participated in the GVSU Extra Weekend on Saturday. In the invite section of the 3000m steeplechase, Allman ran 10:38.18 to win the race and set a lifetime personal best. Her performance also moved her to rank fifth all-time at Calvin, while she currently ranks seventh nationally. 

MIAA Men's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week - Ethan Spahr, Trine University
Senior Ethan Spahr won the first-ever MIAA-sponsored decathlon at the MIAA Outdoor Combined Events Championships. Of the ten events, Spahr had four lifetime personal records and becomes both the conference and the school record holder for the decathlon. Spahr is currently ranked seventh in the country.

MIAA Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week - Emily Norkowski, The University of Olivet
Senior Emily Norwkowski won the league's first-ever heptathlon at the MIAA Outdoor Combined Events Championships last week. She won the event with 3976 points, achieving personal best marks in five of the seven events along the way. Her performance is also currently ranked in the nation's top 50.

MIAA Softball Pitcher Athlete of the Week - Maddy Vrba, Kalamazoo College
Sophomore pitcher Maddy Vrba went 2-0 on the week with a 9-0 win at Albion and a 6-0 shutout against Alma. Vrba threw 11.1 innings total in the last two games. She only gave up six hits with zero runs and totaled five strikeouts. Vrba is currently in the league's top five with an earned-run average of 2.67, 11 complete games, five shutouts, and 42 runs allowed.

MIAA Softball Position Player of the Week - Emma Lee, Trine University
Junior outfielder Emma Lee had a remarkable week in helping the Thunder to a 4-0 record. She slashed a .900/2.000/.846 and totaled three home runs and 10 runs with nine hits and 13 runs batted in. Lee also contributed two doubles, four stolen bases, four putouts, and zero fielding errors. She is currently top five in the conference with a .426 batting average, an on-base percentage of .496, and 23 stolen bases.

Related Stories

Related Videos

Now Playing: