(WIAC) – The WIAC has announced its Kwik Trip Athletes for the week of April 7-13.
Area athletes are in bold face.
BASEBALL
Position
Sam Paden, Senior (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), Outfield of UW-Whitewater
Paden led the Warhawks with a .565 batting average on the week, recording 13 hits in his 23 at-bats. He knocked in six runners, while rounding the bases four times himself. Paden had a four-hit outing in the third game of the Warhawks series against No. 8-ranked UW-La Crosse. He recorded at least one hit in all six games and had four multi-hit performances. Paden extended his hitting streak to nine games through games on April 13.
Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Jack Olver, Senior, Thirdbase, DeForest, Wis. (DeForest)
UW-Oshkosh, Carter Stebane, Senior, Infield, Brillion, Wis. (Brillion)
UW-Platteville, Justin Fago, Senior, Infield, Mesa, Ariz. (Desert Ridge)
UW-River Falls, Max Krebs, Sophomore, Infield, Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (Simley)
UW-Stevens Point, Anthony Tomczak, Senior, Catcher, Muskego, Wis. (Muskego)
UW-Stout, Leyten Bowers, Junior, Shortstop, Mineral Point, Wis. (Mineral Point)
Pitcher
Connor Brinkman, Senior (New London, Wis./New London), Lefthanded Pitcher of UW-Oshkosh
Brinkman picked up a save and pitched a scoreless start for the Titans during the week in 8.2 total innings with a 0.00 ERA. His first relief appearance since 2022 came in UW-Oshkosh’s 6-3 win over UW-Whitewater on April 10. He then started the first game of the doubleheader against UW-Eau Claire on April 13, throwing the first 7.2 innings of a 12-inning contest that didn’t have a score until UW-Oshkosh knocked in two runs in the top of the 12th. He struck out four batters against five hits and four walks.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Nicholas Meuser, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Burnsville, Minn.
UW-La Crosse, Isaiah Katz, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Fall Creek, Wis. (Fall Creek)
UW-River Falls, Parker Nedland, Freshman, Righthanded Pitcher, Anoka, Minn. (Anoka)
UW-Stevens Point, Isaiah Piscitello, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Wausau, Wis. (West)
UW-Stout, Nathan Weckop, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Hampton, Minn. (Randolph)
UW-Whitewater, Max Huseboe, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Ripon, Wis. (Ripon)
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Offense
Cecy Cantu, Junior (Katy, Texas/Katy), Midfielder of Southwestern University
Cantu put together a strong week for the Pirates. She opened with four goals against UW-Stout on April 11, followed by a showing with six goals and five draw controls against UW-Eau Claire on April 12, and closed out the week with an eight-goal performance against Hamline University (Minn.) on April 13.
Also nominated:
College of Saint Benedict, Ava Mosley, Freshman, Attack, Stillwater, Minn. (Stillwater)
Colorado College, Sofia Mancino, Sophomore, Attack, Sag Harbor, N.Y. (St. Paul’s – Concord, N.H.)
Hamline University, Avery Wilson, Senior, Attack, Rogers, Minn. (Rogers)
UW-Eau Claire, Jess Stiller, Sophomore, Midfielder/Defense, Evergreen, Colo. (Evergreen)
UW-River Falls, Murphi Specht, Freshman, Midfielder, Green Bay, Wis. (Bay Port)
UW-Stevens Point, Aubrey Keeping, Freshman, Attack, Moorhead, Minn. (Moorhead)
UW-Stout, Mai Nou Vang, Senior, Midfielder, Green Bay, Wis. (Preble)
Defense
Evelyn Baher-Murphy, Senior (Mountain View, Calif./Los Altos), of Colorado College
Baher-Murphy helped lead the Tiger defense to another strong week, surrendering only eight goals in three games, including a shutout against Augsburg University (Minn.) on April 13. Baher-Murphy finished the week with three caused turnovers, four ground balls and a draw control.
Also nominated:
College of Saint Benedict, Chloe Lewis, Junior, Goalie, Brooklyn Park, Minn. (Osseo)
Hamline University, Matilda Urbia, Freshman, Goalie, Eagan, Minn. (Eagan)
UW-Eau Claire, Alexandria Shea, Senior, Goalie, Pleasant Prairie, Wis. (Indian Trail)
UW-Stevens Point, Emily Griege, Sophomore, Goalie, Chesterfield, Mo. (Westminster Christian Academy)
UW-Stout, Emilia Bullock, Freshman, Goalie, Delafield, Wis. (Kettle Moraine)
SOFTBALL
Position
Maggie Ward, Junior (Downers Grove, Ill./North), Designated Player of UW-Whitewater
Ward hit .583 for the week, going 7-for-12 at the plate to help the Warhawks to a 5-1 record. She jumped up to the two-spot in the lineup as the designated player for the final three games of the week to go 5-for-9 with a double, a triple and three RBI. For the week, Ward posted an on-base percentage of .583 and slugging percentage of .833.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Molly Marquardt, Sophomore, Catcher/Infield, Manhattan, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West)
UW-La Crosse, Maddy Bornbach, Junior, Firstbase, Marshfield, Wis. (Marshfield)
UW-Oshkosh, Morgan Rau, Senior, Infield, Downers Grove, Ill. (South)
UW-Platteville, Felicia Teubert, Senior, Outfield, Clinton, Wis. (Clinton)
UW-River Falls, Kelly Aultman, Senior, Infield, Plainfield, Ill. (North)
UW-Stevens Point, Jesse Klicker, Senior, Infield, Spring Grove, Ill. (Richmond-Burton)
UW-Stout, Stephanie Kuhn, Sophomore, Outfield/Firstbase, Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview)
Pitcher
Madi DeBennette, Sophomore (Wadsworth, Ill./Carmel Catholic), Righthanded Pitcher of UW-Whitewater
DeBennette picked up wins in all three of her appearances in the circle without allowing a single earned run during the week. She opened the week with a one-hitter in six innings of work at Elmhurst University (Ill.) on April 10. She struck out three in the 8-0 win. DeBennette fanned eight to register the win in 4.1 innings at Augustana College (Ill.) on April 12. She wrapped up the week with a complete-game three-hitter in UW-Whitewater’s 2-0 victory over Carthage College (Wis.) on April 13. She struck out four without issuing a walk in that contest. For the week, DeBennette struck out 15 in 17.1 innings of work with an ERA of 0.00.
Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Sydney Nemetz, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Marinette, Wis. (Marinette)
UW-Platteville, Morgan Erickson, Freshman, Righthanded Pitcher, Rochester, Minn. (Century)
UW-River Falls, Alexa Dusterhoft, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Ramsey, Minn. (Anoka)
UW-Stevens Point, Morgan Harwood, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Neenah, Wis. (Neenah)
UW-Stout, Anna Blanford, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Elmwood, Wis. (Elmwood)
MEN’S TENNIS
West Division – Singles
Drew Van Fossen, Senior (Germantown, Wis./Germantown), of UW-Whitewater
Van Fossen helped the Warhawks earn two sweeps to begin WIAC play on April 12. He won his first match of the day at No. 4 singles in straight sets (6-4, 6-4). In the second match, Van Fossen moved up to the top singles flight, where he took the 6-4, 7-5 over UW-Stevens Point’s Benoy.
Also nominated:
No other individuals were nominated.
West Division – Doubles
Tyler Nelson, Junior (Waunakee, Wis./Waunakee) & Payton Adkisson, Senior (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson)
Nelson and Adkisson paired up in the Warhawks No. 2 doubles flights in the two conference dual matches on April 12. The pair opened up the day with a 6-3 victory against UW-Eau Claire, before surviving a tiebreaker against UW-Stevens Point in match two, 7-6 (2).
Also nominated:
No other individuals were nominated.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Track
Sam Blaskowski, Senior (Oshkosh, Wis./West), of UW-La Crosse
Blaskowski won the 100-meter dash (10.17 seconds) at the UW-Platteville Invitational on April 12. He ran 10.15 in the preliminaries, the top time on the NCAA Division III Honor Roll. Blaskowski now has six of the top-seven times in the 100-meter dash in NCAA Division III history.
Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Londyn Little, Senior, Columbia, Ill. (Columbia)
UW-River Falls, Trever Jensen, Senior, Big Lake, Minn. (Big Lake)
UW-Stevens Point, Logan Murphy, Sophomore, Sheboygan Falls, Wis. (Sheboygan Falls)
UW-Whitewater, Christian Patzka, Senior, Black Earth, Wis. (Wisconsin Heights)
Field
Charlie Nolan, Junior (Normal, Ill./West), of UW-Oshkosh
Nolan broke the standing 20-year program decathlon record with 7,139 points during UW-Oshkosh’s first home meet since 2014 on April 11-12. He won six of the individual events on his way to besting the old school record of 7,103 points, while tallying the most points in Division III this season by more than 200 points.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Yakob Ekoue, Senior, Hopkins, Minn.
UW-La Crosse, Alex Wagner, Freshman, La Crosse, Wis. (Central)
UW-River Falls, Jaren Spridco, Sophomore, New Berlin, Wis. (West)
UW-Stevens Point, Jack Gjovik, Sophomore, Eagle River, Wis. (Northland Pines)
UW-Stout, Jesse Fowler, Junior, Neillsville, Wis. (Auburndale)
UW-Whitewater, Jackson Koppen, Sophomore, Sun Prairie, Wis. (East)
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Track
UW-Whitewater – 4×100-Meter Relay – Danielle Pouska, Junior, Algonquin, Ill. (Jacobs); Dakota Mitchell, Freshman, Sun Prairie, Wis. (West); Kelly Huerta, Freshman, McHenry, Ill. (McHenry); Cici Stennett, Freshman, Barrington, Ill. (Barrington)
Pouska, Mitchell, Huerta and Stennett set the program record for the second consecutive meet and jumped to third in the national rankings with their performance at the UW-Platteville Invitational on April 12. They combined for a clocking of 46.03 seconds – the third-fastest in NCAA Division III this season – to break their previous mark by six-tenths.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire – 4×400-Meter Relay – Emilee Booker, Senior, Genoa City, Wis. (Badger);
Mya Cinnamo, Sophomore, Rosemount, Minn. (Rosemount);
Lauren Jex, Junior, Germantown, Wis. (Germantown); Kylee Grabarski, Junior, Waunakee, Wis. (Waunakee)
UW-La Crosse, Anna Plautz, Sophomore, Stevens Point, Wis. (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Andrea Glaz, Senior, Oak Creek, Wis. (Oak Creek)
UW-Stout, Lilly Roberts, Junior, Green Bay, Wis. (West)
Field
Megan Hunt, Senior (Lemont, Ill./Lemont), of UW-Oshkosh
As the Titans hosted their first outdoor home meet in 11 years on April 11-12, Hunt tallied three top-25 marks on the 2025 NCAA Division III outdoor qualifying list, including a personal best 4,804-point performance in the heptathlon, which ranks third in the nation this season. During the heptathlon, she won the high jump, shot put, 200-meter dash and long jump, while finishing no less than third on the remaining three events. Her personal-best high jump mark of 1.66 meters sits eighth in NCAA Division III this year and her 5.68-meter long jump is 17th. Hunt set an additional personal best distance of 10.74 meters in the shot put.
Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Madison Habberstad, Sophomore, Rochester, Minn. (Century)
UW-Platteville, Brenna Noon, Senior, Oregon, Ill. (Oregon)
UW-River Falls, Georgia Mundt, Freshman, Utica, Minn. (Lewiston-Altura)
UW-Whitewater, Kenni Czarnecki, Senior, Muskego, Wis. (Muskego)
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