Concordia  had a record-setting 56 student/athletes earned MIAC Academic All-Conference honors for the winter and spring sports seasons.
Concordia had a record-setting 56 student/athletes earned MIAC Academic All-Conference honors for the winter and spring sports seasons.

Continuing To Set Academic Records

MOORHEAD, Minn. (6/27/19)--- Concordia student/athletes continue to excel in the classroom.

The Cobbers had a record-setting 56 student/athletes earn MIAC Academic All-Conference honors for the winter and spring sports seasons. That total is one better than the previous record in the winter and spring set back in 2015.

Concordia also set a new record for the total number of Academic All-Conference award winners for the entire 2018-19 season. The Cobbers placed 101 student/athletes on the Academic All-Conference list for the fall, winter and spring seasons.  

The Cobber women’s hockey and outdoor women’s track produced the most winter/sports Academic All-Conference award winners. Both teams had eight student/athletes earn the conference’s academic award. The Men’s hockey team was close behind with seven award winners while women’s basketball had five Academic All-Conference honorees.

Concordia had five student/athletes earn MIAC Academic All-Conference for the third straight year. The award is only awarded to sophomores, juniors and seniors so it marks the most consecutive honors one student/athlete can achieve. The three-time honorees include women’s hockey player Amelia Amon, Nicole Johannes from women’s softball, women’s swimmer Ciara White, women’s tennis player Lisa Neumann and women’s track and field athlete Shelby Gelinske.      

The MIAC 2018-19 Winter and Spring Academic All-Conference Teams included a record 745 student-athletes. Combined with the 427 Fall-sport athletes who were honored in January, the overall total of Academic All-Conference selections for the 2018-19 academic year sets a new Conference-high of 1,172, surpassing the previous record of 1,111, set last June.

This year's Academic All-Conference list spotlights 1,172 examples of student-athletes achieving excellence without compromise. The more than 700 Winter and Spring honorees also represents the highest seasonal total in MIAC history. Women's track and field led the way with 138 honorees, followed by men's track and field with 97. Seven sports set new MIAC highs, including baseball (58), men's basketball (32), men's golf (23), men's hockey (66), women's hockey (65), men's swimming and diving (32), and women's swimming and diving (51). The full Winter and Spring Academic All-Conference teams can be found below, and the Fall selections were announced in January.

In order to qualify for Academic All-MIAC status, student-athletes must be sophomores, juniors, or seniors by academic standards with a minimum cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Athletically, student-athletes in team sports must compete in 50 percent of their team's regular-season varsity contests. The winter/spring team sports eligible include baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's hockey, softball and men's and women's tennis. In addition, baseball pitchers who made five appearances or completed 20 innings pitched were eligible, as were hockey goalies who played 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. Golfers must compete in the MIAC Championships or complete a minimum of 12 competitive rounds in order to be eligible for the honor. 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 require student-athletes to qualify for an individual event or compete on a relay team at the Indoor or Outdoor MIAC Track and Field Championships.

MIAC Academic All-Conference honors are announced twice annually, after the completion of the fall and spring academic semesters.

Concordia Academic All-Conference Award Winners – Winter/Spring 2018-19
Baseball
Brett Erickson (Jr., Glyndon, Minn.)
Sean McGuire (So., Fergus Falls, Minn.)
Mason Penske (So., Marshall, Minn.)
Mitchell Ziebarth (Jr., Cambridge, Minn.)

Men’s Basketball
Jacob Fredrickson (So., Prior Lake, Minn.)
Andrew Holen (Jr., Bismarck, N.D.)

Women’s Basketball
Elizabeth Birkemeyer (So., Ada, Minn.)
Mira Ellefson (Jr., Hawley, Minn.)
Rachel Hoernemann (So., Ortonville, Minn.)
Amber Lingen (So., Wahpeton, N.D.)
Grace Wolhowe (Sr., Staples, Minn.)

Men’s Golf
Blake Kahlbaugh (Jr., Mahnomen, Minn.)
Gage Stromme (Jr., Fargo, N.D.)

Women’s Golf
Alyssa Dalen (Jr. Belgrade, Minn.)
Bailey Klause (So., Redwood Falls, Minn.)

Men’s Hockey
Marshall Barnes (So., Edina, Minn.)
Joe Burgmeier (Jr., Clear Lake, Iowa)
Eddie Eades (Jr., East Grand Forks, Minn.)
Brock Montgomery (So., Grand Forks, N.D.)
Kyle Siemers (So., Crown Point, Ind.)
Jacob Stephan (Jr., Eagle River, Wis.)
Alex Stoley (So., Manteca, Calif.) 

Women’s Hockey
Amelia Amon (Sr., Willmar, Minn.)
Brittany Boss (Sr., Little Canada, Minn.)
Megan Dondelinger (Sr., Bemidji, Minn.)
Callie Fagerstrom (So., Thief River Falls, Minn.)
Amanda Flemming (Jr. , Sartell, Minn.)
Maiah McCowan (So., Mandan, N,D.)
Megan Mohr (So., Sauk Rapids, Minn.)
Allyson Wiitala (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.)

Men’s Indoor Track & Field
Sam Haley (Sr., Delano, Minn.)

Women’s Indoor Track & Field
Kara Andersen (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.)
Miriah Forness (Jr., Casselton, N.D.)
Carly Fornshell (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Shelby Gelinske (Sr., Oakes, N.D.)
Josie Herrmann (So., New Prague, Minn.)

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
Will Berning (Jr., St. Michael, Minn.)
Sam Haley (Sr., Delano, Minn.)
Jacob Probst (Sr., Andover, Minn.)

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Kara Andersen (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.)
Miriah Forness (Jr., Casselton, N.D.)
Carly Fornshell (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Shelby Gelinske (Sr., Oakes, N.D.)
Josie Herrmann (So., New Prague, Minn.)
Jenna Stilwell (Sr., Jamestown, N.D.)
Colleen Vought (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.)
Elizabeth Vought (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.)

Softball
Nicole Johannes (Sr., Cold Spring, Minn.)

Women’s Swimming & Diving
Anna Backes (So., Willmar, Minn.)
Amy Warren (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Ciara White (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) 

Men’s Tennis
Erik Porter (Jr., Mandan, N.D.)
Jared Saue (Jr., Montevideo, Minn.)
Ben Swanson (So., Fargo, N,D.)

Women’s Tennis
Lisa Neumann (Sr., Annandale, Minn.)
Ivy Mattson (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.)