Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
HILBERT, Wisconsin – The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced its Performers of the Week award recipients for games played October 12-18, 2026, on Tuesday.
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 and winter seasons, Performers of the Week will be recognized every week on Monday (football, soccer) and Tuesday (cross country, women’s tennis, volleyball, swim and dive) 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:
Women’s Tennis Performer of the Week
Clara Hills, Lawrence University
Clara went a perfect 6-0 this week, winning all three of her No. 1 singles matches and all three of her No. 1 doubles matches for Lawrence University women’s tennis. Hills helped the Vikings earn team victories over Ripon and Monmouth before closing the week against Illinois College. Against Illinois College, Hills earned a 6-0, 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles and a 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles to close out a perfect week at the top of the lineup.
Women’s Volleyball Offensive Performer of the Week
Bella Van Lannen, Lawrence University
Van Lannen earned All-Tournament Team honors at the UW-Stevens Point Invitational after a standout offensive week. She opened the week with 12 kills on 19 attempts for a .632 hitting percentage in Lawrence’s three-set sweep of Ripon, then added nine kills against UW-Whitewater. At the invitational, Van Lannen led Lawrence with 15 kills against #2 UW-Oshkosh, added 10 against #1 Illinois Wesleyan and finished with 11 against UW-Stevens Point.
Women’s Volleyball Defensive Performer of the Week
Ally Olmstead, Cornell College
Olmstead was dominant in the front row, averaging 1.78 blocks per set during Cornell's 2-1 week. The junior led the Rams to home sweeps over Monmouth and Grinnell as Cornell improved to 5-0 in MWC play. Olmstead recorded six blocks in the Monmouth match.
Men’s Cross Country Performer of the Week
Michel Heinrich, Luther College
Heinrich finished 5th out of 401 runners at the Linfield George Oja Invitational with a time of 23:51.7. Luther finished 10th overall as a team in a field of 33 teams.
Women’s Cross Country Performer of the Week
Joley Berger, Ripon College
Berger set another best conference mark this week, running a 21:11.9 6k for a 6th place finish at the Augustana Interregional Invitational. Berger's time sits atop the MWC leaderboard by almost 30 seconds, and finishes ahead of the top runners from nationally ranked programs like WashU, UW-La Crosse, Emory and Wartburg.
Men’s Swim and Dive Performer of the Week
Evan Ingraham, Grinnell College
Ingraham was a quadruple winner as the Pioneers defeated Augustana College 159-128 Friday. He won the 100-yard backstroke and 100 butterfly in times of 52.41 seconds and 51.78, respectively, while also swimming legs on the first-place 200 medley (1:34.33) and 200 freestyle relays (1:25.11). The freestyle team’s time ranks ninth in GC history. Ingraham has the top time in the MWC in the backstroke and ranks second in the fly. The Pioneers are also ranked first in both relays.
Women’s Swim and Dive Performer of the Week
Sarah Schueler, Grinnell College
Schueler was a triple champ for the Pioneers in Friday’s 168-129 victory over Augustana College, taking first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:17.21), 200 breaststroke (2:35.63) and 200 individual medley (2:18.82). She leads the MWC in both the butterfly and breaststroke.