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2022-23 Athletes of the Week

Apr. 24-30

Annah Miller - women's outdoor field
Miller won her fourth weekly honor after hitting the A standard again in both the shot put and discus at the Drake Relays. She threw the shot 13.70 meters and the discus 44.65 meters.

Erica Ralfs - softball pitcher
Ralfs threw a pair of complete-game shutouts in her two appearances during the week. She struck out 17 over the combined 14 innings. She recorded 13 strikeouts in a 2-0 win over Cardinal Stritch before striking out four in a 5-0 shutout of Indiana South Bend.

Nolan Rudd - men's outdoor track
Rudd had the Bees' top performance at the Kip Janvrin Open in Des Moines. He set a school record and hit the A standard in the 3000-meter steeplechase, finishing in 9:18.68.

Mick Saloninas - men's outdoor field
Saloninas won his fourth field athlete of the week award. He again hit the A standard in the shot put, recording a throw of 16.15 meters at the Drake Relays. He also posted a mark of 46.93 meters in the discus.


Apr. 17-23

Jared Tigges - men's golf
Tigges tied for third place in a field of 80 at the Verhille Invitational at Finkbine in Iowa City, Iowa. He shot rounds of 72 and 75 for a 147 total.


Apr. 10-16

Annah Miller - women's outdoor field
Miller broke a school record with a throw of 47.03 meters in the discus at the Jim Duncan Invitational to earn her third straight athlete of the week award. The throw was the top effort in the CCAC this season. She also took eighth in the shot put with a throw of 13.55 meters.

Mick Saloninas - men's outdoor field
Saloninas won his third straight award by improving his A standard in the shot put with a toss of 16.78 meters, the best mark in the conference. He also placed 10th in the discus with a mark of 46.83 meters.

Maddie Wiltrout - women's lacrosse offensive
Wiltrout scored seven goals in a 17-6 win over Culver-Stockton to help St. Ambrose clinch the No. 2 seed in the Heart Conference Tournament. She added an assist, three ground balls and five draw controls in the win.


Apr. 3-9

Annah Miller - women's outdoor field
Miller won her second straight award after winning both the shot put and discus at the SAU Easter Weekend Meet. She set a PR and hit the B standard with a throw of 43.78 meters in the discus. She won the shot with an A-standard throw of 13.68 meters.

Jake Mucha - baseball player
Mucha finished 6-for-12 with one double and two triples and drove in four runs over four games. He was 3-for-3 with four runs scored in a win over Indiana South Bend and also had two hits in a win over Calumet.

Mick Saloninas - men's outdoor field
Saloninas repeated the honor by improving his A standard in the shot put with a throw of 16.20 meters. That was good for first place and is the top throw in the CCAC. Saloninas also won the discus with a mark of 48.36 meters.

Audrey Warner - women's lacrosse offensive
Warner tallied 15 goals and seven assists over four games during the week. She collected a season-high eight points (five goals, two assists) against William Penn before posting another five-goal performance against Ottawa.


Mar. 27-Apr. 2

Annah Miller - women's outdoor field
Miller won both the shot put (13.30 meters) and the discus (43.31 meters) at the SAU Spring Opener. Both marks hit the B standard.

Will Reemtsma - men's outdoor track
Reemtsma won the 400-meter hurdles at the SAU Spring Opener in 53.00 seconds to qualify for NAIA Nationals. He was also part of the winning 4x100-meter relay team.

Mick Saloninas - men's outdoor field
Saloninas hit the A standard in two events at the SAU Spring Opener. He won the shot put with a throw of 13.30 meters and the discus with a mark of 43.31 meters.

Adrian Zietara - baseball player
Zietara had a pair of four-hit games in hitting .727 (8-of-11) for the week. He finished 4-for-6 with two runs scored in a 13-11 win at Olivet Nazarene then went 4-for-4 with two doubles and the only run scored in a 1-0 win at Indiana South Bend.


Mar. 13-19

Reagan Engberg - softball player
Engberg batted .455, collecting five hits in 11 at bats. She had at least one hit and scored at least one run in all four games during the week. Engberg also drove in five.


Mar. 6-12

Nick Fox - men's volleyball defensive
Fox totaled 20 blocks over 14 sets, a 1.43 per set average, last week. He recorded at least four blocks in each of the team's four matches. He also contributed offensively, posting 3.21 kills per set with a .494 hitting percentage.

Nolan Hayes - men's lacrosse defensive
In a game against a team receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll, Hayes came up with 12 big saves in a 10-8 win over Madonna. He continued his strong play with nine saves in an 18-9 win over Midland.

Maggie Samson - women's lacrosse defensive
Samson led St. Ambrose to a pair of victories last week, a 13-12 overtime win at Marian and an 18-6 win at Franklin College. Samson came up with two huge saves in the final two minutes as part of a 13-save performance. She then made a pair of saves in 20 minutes against Franklin.

Tyler Yetka - men's lacrosse offensive
Yetka scored four goals in a 10-8 win over Madonna, a team receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll. He then came back with three goals and one assist in an 18-9 win over Midland.


Feb. 6-12

Annah Miller - women's indoor field
Miller won the shot put with a first-place PR of 47 feet, 0.75 inches at the SAU Tune Up. It is the top throw in the CCAC and second-best in the NAIA. She also placed fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 49 feet, 4.5 inches.

Jonah Wilson - men's indoor field
Wilson set a PR with a throw of 54 feet, 10 inches to win the shot put at the SAU Tune Up. It is the second-best mark in the conference and seventh-best in the NAIA this season.


Jan. 30-Feb. 5

Will Reemtsma - men's indoor track
Reemtsma set school records in both the 600-yard dash (1:11.78) and as part of the men's distance medley relay team (10:14.82). Both times hit the A standard. Reemtsma also hit the B mark in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.38 seconds and finished third in the 400-meter dash in 48.43 seconds.


Jan. 16-22

Annah Miller - women's indoor field
Miller won the shot put with an A-standard throw of 44 feet, 6.25 inches at SAU's Bumble Rumble. It is the top mark in the CCAC and ranks 10th in the NAIA.

Mick Saloninas - men's indoor field
Saloninas, who already posted an A-standard effort, won the shot put at the Bumble Rumble with a throw of 54 feet. He has the top throw in the conference and ranks fifth in the NAIA.


Jan. 9-15

Jaynee Prestegaard - women's basketball
Prestegaard averaged 28.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 2.0 steals over a pair of games. She set career highs of 34 points and 16 rebounds and matched a school record with eight blocks in a 103-100 overtime loss to Olivet Nazarene.

Jonah Wilson - men's indoor field
Wilson took second in the shot put with a throw of 52 feet, 7.25 inches at SAU's own Battle in the Hive. He is ranked second in the CCAC in the event.


Dec. 19-25

Will Spriggs - men's basketball
Spriggs set career highs with 34 points and seven steals in SAU's game at Trinity International. He also added six rebounds, five assists and one blocked shot.


Oct. 31-Nov. 6

Genevieve Bowyer - women's soccer defensive
Bowyer scored two goals, including what proved to be the game winner three minutes into overtime, in a CCAC Tournament quarterfinal victory over Judson Saturday. She also added a goal in a shutout win over Calumet earlier in the week.

Jill Kavalauskas - women's volleyball attacker
Kavalauskas helped St. Ambrose secure the No. 2 seed in the CCAC Tournament by averaging 3.6 kills per set and hitting at a .341 clip over three matches last week. She closed the regular-season with 18 kills, while hitting .452, in a 3-0 win over Olivet Nazarene.


Oct. 24-30

Taylor DeSplinter - women's soccer offensive
DeSplinter scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in a 3-1 win at Bellevue. She also scored a pair of goals in a 5-0 win over Governors State.

Meredith Siebers - women's volleyball attacker
Siebers registered double-digit kills in all three matches, including 15-kill performances against Hannibal-LaGrange and Cardinal Stritch. She hit .417 for the week.


Oct. 3-9

Tom Casey - football offensive
Casey tied a school record with seven touchdown passes in SAU's 58-22 win over Judson. He threw three touchdowns in both the second and third quarters before tying the record with his seventh touchdown strike in the final period.

Jeremiah Crawford - football special teams
Crawford returned a kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown to provide the final points for St. Ambrose in a 58-22 win over Judson.

Rachel Willette - women's soccer defensive
Willette came up with four saves and allowed just a single goal in SAU's 2-1 comeback victory over St. Francis (Ill.).


Sept. 26-Oct. 2

Jill Kavalauskas - women's volleyball attacker
Kavalauskas averaged 4.4 kills while hitting at a .392 clip to lead St. Ambrose to three wins on the week. She totaled 19 kills against Judson, 12 against Cardinal Stritch and nine in just two sets against Iowa Wesleyan.


Sept. 19-25

Kaitlyn Brunson - women's soccer offensive
Brunson scored a first-half hat trick in a 6-1 win over Roosevelt. She netted three goals in the first 23 minutes of the match to help the Bees remain unbeaten in CCAC play.

Adeline Smith - women's cross country
Smith earned her second Runner of the Week award after placing 13th among 83 runners at the Grand View Viking Invitational. Her time in the 5K event was 20:27.


Sept. 12-18

Taylor DeSplinter - women's soccer offensive
Desplinter had seven points on the week, scoring a pair of goals in a 3-3 tie with Olivet Nazarene, then netting what proved to be the game-winner in a 3-1 win over Saint Xavier.

Yemi Ward - football offensive
Ward caught four passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-30 loss to Lawrence Tech. His final two scores came 26 seconds apart as part of a 20-point fourth quarter for St. Ambrose.


Sept. 5-11

Luke Benes - men's cross country
Benes placed fourth among 45 runners at SAU's own Fighting Bee Invitational. He ran the 8K course in 27:32 to help St. Ambrose finish second out of seven teams.

Hannah Sondag - women's volleyball setter
Sondag averaged 5.65 assists and 2.0 digs per set and totaled 11 aces to help St. Ambrose to a 5-1 record on the week. It included CCAC victories over Trinity Christian and Indiana South Bend to help the Bees move to 3-0 in league play.

Adeline Smith - women's cross country
Smith covered the 5K course at the Fighting Bee Invitational in 20:58 to place sixth in a field of 53 runners. She helped St. Ambrose finish second out of seven teams.