124 Cobbers Earn MIAC Academic Honors

MOORHEAD, Minn. (6/29/21)---Concordia had 124 student/athletes earn MIAC Academic All-Conference honors for the entire 2020-21 academic year. The 124 academic all-conference winners are the most ever for a single academic year for the Cobbers.

Concordia also had a record-setting 27 student-athletes receive the honor for the third consecutive year. Student-athletes can only win the honor three years because freshmen are not eligible.

The three-time Academic All-Conference honorees include: Sean McGuire and Mason Penske from baseball, Jacob Fredrickson (men’s basketball), Elizabeth Birkemeyer and Rachel Hoernemann (women’s basketball), Connor Haugrud (men’s cross country), Chris Claussen, Dan Johnson, John Voorhees and McGuire  (football), Bailey Klause (women’s golf), Marshall Barnes, Brock Montgomery, Kyle Siemers and Alex Stoley (men’s hockey), Callie Fagerstrom, Maiah McCowan and Megan Mohr (women’s hockey), Klara Beinhorn, Samantha Dalsin, Rachel Nemer and Hannah Sandin (women’s soccer), Anna Backes (swimming and diving), Carly Fornshell and Josie Herrmann (women’s track & field) and Bailey Gronner and Jill Klaphake (volleyball). 

The Cobber women’s soccer team led the way for the sports teams. They had 15 student-athletes earn the award. The football and women’s track and field teams had the second highest total as they placed 14 players on the Academic All-Conference Team. Men’s hockey also had double-digit award winners as they had 10 student-athletes on the academic list.

The 13 MIAC schools had a record-setting 1,777 student-athletes earn Academic All-Conference honors. The previous single-year high was 1,494, set last June. 

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. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the fall and winter seasons, the typical athletic requirements for those student-athletes to qualify for Academic All-Conference was waived this year. 

For the spring sports of baseball, softball, and tennis, student-athletes must have competed in 50 percent of their team's regular-season varsity contests. In addition, baseball pitchers who made five appearances or completed 20 innings-pitched were eligible for the honor. Golfers must have competed in the 2020-21 MIAC Championships or completed a minimum of 12 competitive rounds in order to be eligible for the honor, while track and field qualifications required student-athletes to qualify for an individual event or compete on a relay team at the 2021 Outdoor MIAC Track and Field Championships.

2020-21 Concordia MIAC Academic All-Conference Award Winners
Baseball
Matthew Gruber (Jr., Glenwood, Minn.)
Justin Kloster (So., Minnetonka, Minn.)
Dawson Leer (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.)
Nathan Leitner (So., Dilworth, Minn.)
Luke Levasseur (So., Alexandria, Minn.)
Sean McGuire (Sr., Fergus Falls, Minn.)
Mason Penske (Sr., Marshall, Minn)
Benjamin Swanson (Sr., Fargo, N.D.)

Men’s Basketball
David Birkeland (Jr., Hermantown, Minn.)
Jacob Fredrickson (Sr., Prior Lake, Minn.)
Jackson Johnsrud (Jr., Starbuck, Minn.)
Ryan McGinnis (So., Maple Grove, Minn.)

Women’s Basketball
Carolynn Becker (So., St. Joseph, Minn.)
Elizabeth Birkemeyer (Sr., Ada, Minn.)
Rachel Hoernemann (Sr., Ortonville, Minn.)
Kaylie Isaman (So., Pelican Rapids, Minn.)
Vanessa Kedl (So., Lamberton, Minn.)
Bailee Larson (Jr., Buffalo, Minn.)
Taviahna Tanin (Jr., Middleton, Wis.)
Autumn Thompson (Jr., Argyle, Minn.)

Men’s Cross Country
Nolan Christenson (Jr., Alexandria, Minn.)
Hans Frank-Holzner (Sr., Fergus Falls, Minn.)
Connor Haugrud (Sr., Detroit Lakes, Minn.)
Justin Kringler (Jr., Becker, Minn.)
Jesse Middendorf (Jr., Sauk Centre, Minn.)
Leo Smith (Jr., West Fargo, N.D.)

Women’s Cross Country
Carly Fornshell (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Isabel Fredrickson (Jr., Bloomington, Minn.)
Ingrid Harbo (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.)
Josephine Herrmann (Sr., New Prague, Minn)
Amelia Landsverk (So., Fosston, Minn.)
Kelly Lorenz (So., Carlton, Minn.)
Meritt Miller (Sr., Baxter, Minn.)
Kaitlyn Rooney (Jr., Decorah, Iowa)
Emily Rugloski (Jr., Baxter, Minn.)

Football
Lance Berg (So., Roseville, Calif.)
Chris Claussen (Sr., Glenwood, Minn.)
Chase Dockter (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Zachary Ellingson (Sr., Hawley, Minn.)
Nathan Essendrup (So., Grove City, Minn.)
Jake Evans (So., Willmar, Minn.)
Isaac Habedank (Jr., Twin Valley, Minn.)
Benjamin Hoggarth (Jr., Fargo, N.D.)
Dan Johnson (Sr., Rosemount, Minn.)
Sean McGuire (Sr., Fergus Falls, Minn.)
Quin Miller (So., Aitkin, Minn.)
Jacob Sandvig (So., Millbank, S.D.)
Isaac Stene (Jr., Gary, Minn.)
Alec Thingvold (So., Moorhead, Minn.)
John Voorhees (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.)

Men’s Golf
Tyler Bossert (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.)

Women’s Golf
Abbey Frauenholtz (So., New Ulm, Minn.)
Bailey Klause (Sr., Redwood Falls, Minn.)

Men’s Hockey
Marshall Barnes (Sr., Edina, Minn.)
Tyler Bossert (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.)
Jacen Bracko (Jr., Calgary, Alta.)
Christian Cakebread (Sr., Fargo, N.D.)
Michael Johnson (Jr., Thief River Falls, Minn.)
Keaton Leininger (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Maximilian Mona (Sr., Edgewater, Minn.)
Brock Montgomery (Sr., Grand Forks, N.D.)
Kyle Siemers (Sr., Crown Point, Ind.)
Alexander Stoley (Sr., Manteca, Calif.)

Women’s Hockey
Hannah Christian (Jr., Warroad, Minn.)
Callie Fagerstrom (Sr., Thief River Falls, Minn.)
Maiah McCowan (Sr., Mandan, N.D.)
Megan Mohr (Sr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.)
Allison O’Kane (Jr., Nelson, Minn.)

Men’s Soccer
Tyson Aberle (Jr., Aberdeen, S.D.)
Soren Beckstrom (So., Waverly, Iowa)
Casey Christensen (So., Farmington, Minn.)
Cameron Rumpza (So., Watertown, S.D.)

Women’s Soccer
Megan Barnick (So., Fargo, N.D.)
Klara Beinhorn (Sr., Brookings, S.D.)
Elizabeth Corradi (So., Bemidji, Minn.)
Samantha Dalsin (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.)
Amanda Edwards (So., Bismarck, N.D.)
Grace Lawlor (So., Helena, Mont.)
Sarah Liimatta (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.)
Olivia Murdoff (Jr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Rachel Nemer (Sr., Fargo, N.D.)
Greta Nye (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.)
Sophia Robinson (So., Boseman, Mont.)
Hannah Sandin (Sr., Zimmerman, Minn.)
Audrey Schaefer (So., Falcon Heights, Minn.)
Lauren Tschider (Jr., Detroit Lakes, Minn.)
Lauren Zanotti (Sr., Moorhead, MN)

Softball
Riley Bergstrom (Sr., Big Lake, Minn.)
Megan Gavin (Sr., Cold Spring, Minn.)
Mackenzie Leither (Jr., Kimball, Minn.)
Hannah Wilke (So., St. Anthony, Minn.)

Swimming and Diving
Anna Backes (Sr., Willmar, Minn.)
Jessica Bray (So., Maple Grove, Minn.)
Kaitlin Cramer (So., West Chicago, Ill.)
Camille Gunderson (So., Sioux Falls, S.D.)

Men’s Tennis
Shota Oda (Sr., Kanagawa, Japan)
Jake Peters (Sr., Glenwood, Minn.)

Women’s Tennis
Emily Savageau (So., Bismarck, N.D.)

Men’s Track and Field
Nolan Christensen (Jr., Alexandria, Minn.)
Hans Frank-Holzner (Sr., Fergus Falls, Minn.)
Jacob Kerzman (Jr., Detroit Lakes, Minn.)
Jesse Middendorf (Jr., Melrose, Minn.)
Colin Schuller (Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Leo Smith (Jr., West Fargo, N.D.)
Simon Zahrback (So., Marshall, Minn.)

Women’s Track and Field
Lauren Forness (So., West Fargo, N.D.)
Carly Fornshell (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.)
Isabel Fredrickson (Jr., Bloomington, Minn.)
Carlie Heinecke (So., Rogers, Minn.)
Josephine Herrmann (Sr., New Prague, Minn.)
Cayle Hovland (Jr., Willmar, Minn.)
Rhaegan Kiland (So., Fargo, N.D.)
Amelia Landsverk (So., Fosston, Minn.)
Kelly Lorenz (So., Carlton, Minn.)
Meritt Miller (Sr., Baxter, Minn.)
Sofia Palme (Sr., Princeton, Minn.)
Kaitlyn Rooney (Jr., Decorah, Iowa)
Jacey Schlosser (Jr., Dalton, Minn.)
Emily White (Jr., Litchfield, Minn.)

Volleyball
Anna Brakke (Jr., Fargo, N.D.)
Bailey Gronner (Sr., Wright, Minn.)
Jill Klaphake (Sr., Sauk Centre, Minn.)
Alexis Turn (Sr., Kennedy, Minn.)
Kendra Wiggs (Jr., St. Hilaire, Minn.)