55 Cobbers Earn Academic All-Conference Honors
Concordia had 55 student/athletes who participated in winter and spring seasons during the 2015 season earn MIAC Academic All-Conference honors.
The Cobber women's basketball and women's hockey teams led the way for Concordia as both squads had eight players earn the academic distinction. The men's and women's outdoor track and field had seven student/athletes earn the award while men's basketball placed five players on the list.
The MIAC Academic All-Conference distinction is awarded to student-athletes who meet a combination of academic and athletic requirements. This year's totals ranks above the impressive numbers from a year ago, in which a then-record 610 student-athletes were recognized in the winter/spring, and 944 were honored overall. In addition to the record 356 Fall 2014 honorees, the MIAC set new records with both seasonal releases and the overall total for the second-straight year.
Academically, student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior, or senior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale to qualify for MIAC Academic All-Conference recognition. Athletically, student-athletes in team sports must compete in 50 percent of their team’s regular-season varsity contests. The team sports eligible were baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's hockey, softball and men's and women's tennis.
There were two changes to team sport athletic requirements: baseball pitching requirements were modified to five appearances or 20 innings pitched, and a new requirement was added to benefit hockey goalies, stating that goalies must play in one-third (33.3 percent) of their team's total minutes played for the regular season.
The winter and spring individual sports each have sport-specific criteria, and they include golf, swimming and diving and both indoor and outdoor track and field. The swimming and diving qualifications require a student-athlete to finish in the top 16 of an individual event or compete in a relay race at the MIAC championships to be eligible. Track and field qualifications were modified in 2014-15, and require student-athletes to score in an individual event or compete on a relay team at the MIAC Championships.
The conference honored 631 student-athletes with 2014-15 Winter and Spring Academic All-Conference awards Thursday, and the overall total of 987 honorees in 2014-15 is also a new MIAC best.
"It is continually amazing how our student-athlete achieve, both in the classroom and in competition," said MIAC Executive Director Dan McKane. "2014-15 was another banner year in the MIAC, and our record number of Academic All-Conference honorees is an outstanding reflection of the tremendous achievements of our student-athletes. Congratulations to all the Academic All-Conference selections , and thank you for being outstanding representatives of your institutions, the MIAC and NCAA Division III."
The record spring total included 389 women and 242 men. Women's outdoor track and field led with 88 honorees, and women's indoor track and field was next with 85 and women's hockey had an even 50 selections. Men's outdoor track and field had 52 student-athletes honored, while men's indoor track and field was next with 50 selections, with men's hockey adding 41 honorees to lead the men's sports.
Golf was moved from the fall to the spring in 2014-15 and its athletic requirements were modified to reflect the split-season nature of the sport. Beginning this year, student-athletes either had to compete in the MIAC Championships, or compete in a minimum of 12 competitive rounds.
Cobber MIAC Academic All-Conference Athletes - Winter/Spring 2015
Baseball
Eric Carlsen (Sr., Miltona, Minn.)
Timothy Carlson (Jr., Cumberland, Wis.)
Philip Kuball (Jr., Hutchinson, Minn.)
Men's Basketball
Jordan Bolger (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.)
Matt Ellingson (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.)
Scott Flotterud (Sr., Zumbrota, Minn.)
Tom Fraase (Jr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Aaron Zimmer (Sr., Foley, Minn.)
Women's Basketball
Mikayla Forness (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Morgan Gunderson (So., Aberdeen, S.D.)
Erin Januschka (Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.)
Jenna Januschka (So., St. Cloud, Minn.)
Olivia Johnson (Jr., Walcott, N.D.)
Emma Peterson (So., Benson, Minn.)
Katie Rosenfeldt (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.)
Annalise Savageau (So., Alexandria, Minn.)
Men's Golf
Coy Papachek (Sr., Fargo, N.D.)
Women's Golf
Katlyn Nelson (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Molly Zavadil (Sr., Fordyce, Neb.)
Men's Hockey
Charles Aus (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.)
Women's Hockey
Elizabeth Fransdal (Sr., Wayzata, Minn.)
Hannah Johnston (Jr., Warroad, Minn.)
Abby Kratzke (Jr., Zimmerman, Minn.)
Cassandra Petrich (Jr., Elk River, Minn.)
Chelsey Petrich (So., Elk River, Minn.)
Ellen Rethwisch (So., Plymouth, Minn.)
Amber Schaack (So., Jamestown, N.D.)
Kelsey Vandegrift (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.)
Men's Indoor Track and Field
Theodore Betting (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Mark Goss (Sr., Fosston, Minn.)
Benjamin Vickstrom (Sr., Alexandria, Minn.)
Gabe Wright (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.)
Cole Young (Sr., Bagley, Minn.)
Women's Indoor Track and Field
Hillary Birchem (Sr., Lisbon, N.D.)
Susan Drache (Jr., Roseville, Minn.)
Ingrid Floersheim (Jr., Little Falls, Minn.)
Mikayla Forness (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Olivia Johnson (Jr., Walcott, N.D.)
Emma Peterson (So., Benson, Minn.)
Men's Outdoor Track and Field
Kristian Aardahl (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Theodore Betting (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Joseph Hendrickson (So., Chancellor, S.D.)
Daniel McGuire (Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.)
Benjamin Vickstrom (Sr., Alexandria, Minn.)
Gabe Wright (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.)
Cole Young (Sr., Bagley, Minn.)
Women's Outdoor Track and Field
Hillary Birchem (Sr., Lisbon, N.D.)
Mikayla Forness (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Olivia Johnson (Jr., Walcott, N.D.)
Emma Peterson (So., Benson, Minn.)
Katie Rosenfeldt (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.)
Ashley Thompson (Jr., Oakdale, Minn.)
Melissa Uhrich (Jr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Softball
Kellie Morehouse (Jr., Bemidji, Minn.)
Women's Tennis
Morgan Sawatzke (Jr., Monticello, Minn.)