Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
OSHKOSH, Wisconsin – The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced its Performers of the Week award recipients for games played October 6-12, 2025, 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 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:
Football Defensive Performer of the Week
Colin Finnigsmier, Knox College
Cornerback Colin Finnigsmier made the game-saving play of the 20-17 homecoming victory over Grinnell on Saturday, picking off a pass in the end zone on a 2nd-and-goal pass from the 8 with only 44 seconds to play. In addition, he broke up another pass and recorded five tackles, one going for a 3-yard loss. It was Finnigsmier’s second interception of the season, both of which ended last-minute drives in the two Prairie Fire one-score victories this season. The junior is the league leader in passes defended this fall with eight (no one else has more than five) and his two interceptions are tied for second.
Football Offensive Performer of the Week
Chase Newman, Monmouth College
Chase Newman had a record-setting day for the Scots on Saturday with 13 catches for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns. His 301 yards are a single-game Monmouth record and the 4th most yards by a wide receiver in Midwest Conference history. He tied his own school record with 4 TDs and also set a Monmouth record for longest play from scrimmage with a 98-yard touchdown. His 13 receptions are a career-high, one more than he had against Lake Forest last month. The sophomore leads the MWC in receptions, receiving yards (by 200), receiving touchdowns, total touchdowns, points and yards per game.
Football Special Teams Performer of the Week
Walter Kilgore, University of Chicago
Kilgore made his second 50-yard field goal of the season on Saturday to become one of only two players in the country with multiple 50+-yard field goals this season. He also was a perfect 9-9 on extra points to extend his streak of made extra points to 36.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week
Seth Schroeder, Ripon College
Schroeder collected the first hat trick of his career as Ripon tied Knox College this week, adding in an assist in the Red Hawks' 6-0 win over Maranatha Baptist. Schroeder currently sits as second in the MWC for goals this season.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Performer of the Week
Christian Karabetsos, Lake Forest College
Karabetsos helped the Foresters earn two more narrow victories on the road in league play to extend their season-opening win streak to 13 games. After the team came out on top 2-1 at Lawrence on Tuesday, he scored the only goal in the 65th minute of Saturday's 1-0 triumph at Beloit. The senior defender played all 90 minutes in both games and helped the defense limit each opponent to five shots on goal.
Women’s Soccer Defensive Performer of the Week
Veronica Presberg, Lake Forest College
Presberg helped Lake Forest post a pair of shutouts on the road as the team extended its season-opening winning streak to 14 games. She played all 90 minutes of each game as the Foresters did not allow a shot on goal in Wednesday's 3-0 victory at Lawrence on Wednesday and limited Beloit to five attempts on target in Saturday's 5-0 final.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week
Katy Adler, Illinois College
Adler scored two goals and had an assist as IC posted a pair of MWC victories last week, which also helped the Lady Blues to the best conference start in program history at 4-1. In the 3-0 win over Beloit on Wednesday, Adler got IC on the board with a goal just over 15 minutes into the contest. She followed that on Saturday with an assist on the Lady Blues’ first goal and then scored IC’s second goal of the day en route to a 5-0 win over Cornell.