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 September 21-27, 2026, 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 Offensive Performer of the Week
Nate Wrublik, Monmouth College
Wrublik ran for 219 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a 56-7 home win over Ripon. Wrublik had 192 yards on the ground in the first half, including a career-best 92-yard touchdown run. After scoring on the opening drive of the third quarter, Wrublik was done for the day with the sixth-highest single-game rushing tally in MC history. He has 389 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in two conference games this season and overall leads the MWC in rushing yards and touchdowns.
Football Defensive Performer of the Week
Jamal Thompson, Cornell College
Thompson recorded a career-high 16 tackles and returned a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown in a 26-13 road loss to Luther. The senior linebacker tallied nine solo tackles. Thompson has accumulated 30 tackles over his last two games.
Football Special Teams Performer of the Week
Sean Medcalfe, Luther College
In Luther’s 26-13 win over Cornell, Medcalfe was 2-for-2 on field goals, connecting from 51 yards (tying his own school record) and 36 yards. He averaged 54 yards on six kickoffs (324 total yards) with one touchback. Medcalfe also recorded three punts for 112 yards (37.3 average), pinning the Rams inside the 20-yard line once with the longest punt being 45 yards.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week
Moaye Yao, Ripon College
Yao was involved in all of Ripon's goals this week as the Red Hawks went 2-0 in MWC games, beating Beloit 3-1 before ending Grinnell's seven-game win streak with a 1-0 victory. Yao scored two goals against the Buccaneers while assisting on Ripon's third goal, then went on to score the game-winner against Grinnell in the 72nd minute. Yao currently sits second in the conference in goals per game.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Performer of the Week
Sebastian Covarubias, Ripon College
Covarubias had a strong week in goal for the Red Hawks as Ripon went 2-0 in conference play. Covarubias recorded three saves against Beloit, helping Ripon win 3-1, before notching 11 saves in a 1-0 shutout win over Grinnell to give the Pioneers their first loss of the season. Corvarubias currently sits third in the MWC for save percentage and second in goals against.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week
Aniela Rossi, Knox College
Rossi helped lead Knox's offense to a 2-0 week as she scored three goals in the two games, finding the back of the net twice against Grinnell and once against Cornell. The sophomore’s second goal on Tuesday was the game-winner against the Pioneers.
Women’s Soccer Defensive Performer of the Week
Annabelle Pollock, Luther College
Pollock played a full 90 minutes on Saturday, helping the Luther defense limit Illinois College to three shots on goal in a 2-0 Norse victory.