Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Associate Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
GRINNELL, Iowa – The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced its Performers of the Week award recipients for games played August 26 through September 1, 2024, on Wednesday.
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 fall season, Performers of the Week will be recognized every week on Monday (football, soccer) and Tuesday (cross country, women’s tennis, volleyball) 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:
Men’s Cross Country Performer of the Week
Lance Miller, Knox College
In the opening race of the year, Miller crossed the tape ahead of all the other collegiate entrants to win the Bob Schultz Invite hosted by Loras College. The junior from Mascoutah, Illinois, wrapped up the 5K in 15:17.1, three seconds ahead of the next finisher. His time would be a school record in both the indoor and outdoor 5K by nine seconds or more as well. Miller was the team’s top finisher at the NCAA Regionals last year, placing 63rd in the field of 230 runners.
Women’s Cross Country Performer of the Week
Jenny Cortes, Ripon College
Cortes took fourth place individually (and second among Division III runners) at the Tom Barry Invitational on Saturday hosted by St. Norbert, finishing ahead of 21 Division I runners. Her time of 19:30 is the eighth-fastest 5K in Ripon women's cross country history.
Women’s Tennis Performer of the Week
Pari Chavan, Grinnell College
Chavan got her season off to a remarkable start, posting a title at No. 2 singles in the highly competitive University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawk Invitational. The unseeded Grinnellian reeled off victories over the second and third seeds from UW-Eau Claire (7-6, 2-6, 10-6) and UW-Oshkosh (6-1, 6-1), respectively, before winning a marathon thriller over the host school’s top seed 6-3, 2-6, 11-9 in the title match. Her efforts helped Grinnell to the team crown for the second year in a row.
Volleyball Defensive Performer of the Week
Carly Puffer, Cornell College
Puffer was named to the All-Tournament Team at Aurora's Jim Coleman Memorial Classic. The 23rd-ranked Rams finished the weekend 2-1, highlighted by a five-set win over No. 21 UW-Stevens Point. Puffer totaled 18 blocks (1.38 bps) in three matches and averaged 1.62 kills per set.
Volleyball Offensive Performer of the Week
Kaylee Celus, Monmouth College
Kaylee Celus made an impressive college debut this weekend with 31 kills, a .441 hitting percentage, 12 digs and three aces in two matches, seven sets. The freshman leads the conference in hitting percentage (.441 to .359), kills per set at 4.43 and points per set at 4.86. In her first ever college match, Celus finished with 21 kills, an ace and a .486 hitting percentage against Bluffton on Friday. In the second match of the day, she had 10 kills and hit .364 against Waynesburg with two aces. Celus missed the final two matches of the weekend with a family commitment as the Scots went 3-1 overall in Ohio, 2-0 with Celus on the court.