Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Associate Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
GRINNELL, Iowa – The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced its Performers of the Week award recipients for the week of November 6 -12, 2023 on Monday.
MWC sports information directors nominate student-athletes for the Performer of the Week honor by sport and vote as a committee to select the winners.
For the winter season, Performers of the Week will be recognized every week on Monday (football, basketball) and Tuesday (swimming & diving) once their seasons have been triggered (three MWC institutions competing) and will conclude the week prior to the sport-specific Conference tournament/championship.
The Performer of the Week award winners are as follows:
Football Defensive Performer of the Week
Thomas DeChesaro, Lake Forest College
DeChesaro scored his first career touchdown during Saturday's loss to Chicago, picking off a pass and returning it 41 yards to give the Foresters a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. He recorded a second interception to end the Maroons' first drive of the third quarter and picked off another pass to thwart a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth. In addition to the interceptions, DeChesaro added a pass breakup and three tackles on the afternoon.
Football Offensive Performer of the Week
Trey Birdsong, Cornell College
Birdsong capped a terrific junior year with another big performance, racking up 191 all-purpose yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns. He became Cornell's new single-season leader for receiving touchdowns with 13, breaking a long-standing mark of 12 set by Joe Campanelli in 1968. Birdsong's 1,829 all-purpose yards shattered Cornell's season record of 1,659, set by Devan Clark in 2017. Birdsong had six receptions for 117 yards against the Pioneers.
Football Special Teams Performer of the Week
Erik Flores, Ripon College
Flores was perfect in Ripon's 55-34 win at Lawrence on Saturday, the 22nd consecutive victory for the Red Hawks in the series. The senior connected on all 6 extra points and had 7 kickoffs for 320 yards (45.7 average).
Men’s Basketball Performer of the Week
Luke Meinholz, Ripon College
Meinholz was Ripon's biggest offensive weapon in its first two games of the season, averaging 17.0 points per game on 48% shooting in games against national contenders St. Norbert and Coe. He also chipped in 7.5 rebounds per game, 4 assists per game and 3.5 steals per game in 34 minutes per game last week.
Women’s Basketball Performer of the Week
Sarina Dacio, Knox College
Sarina Dacio scored a total of 48 points in a pair of victories for the Prairie Fire last week. She also grabbed 10 rebounds and 4 steals. In the 97-43 win over Dominican on Wednesday, Dacio finished with 19 points thanks to a 4-for-6 showing from beyond the arc. In the triple overtime 115-105 win over Westminster on Saturday, she shot 13-for-22 from the field and racked up 29 points. She scored 17 points in overtime. For the week, Dacio shot .556 overall and .455 from long-range.