BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) recognized some of its best and brightest winter-sport student-athletes on Thursday with the announcement of the basketball, hockey, swimming & diving, and indoor track & field Elite 22 Awards.
Saint John’s Ryan Thissen and Saint Mary’s Lindsey Lettner were the recipients of the men’s and women’s basketball Elite 22 awards, with Bethel’s Matt Berezowski and Augsburg’s Elizabeth Fagerlind earning hockey honors. The swimming & diving Elite 22 awards went to St. Olaf’s Nick Starcevich and Gustavus’ Marit Isaacson, while Gustavus’ Tyler Smith and Bethel’s Hailey Gregg were honored in indoor track & field.
The MIAC Elite 22 Award recognizes the true essence of the term “student-athlete” by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in their sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among their peers. Modeled after the NCAA Elite 90 Award, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average (GPA) in each sport who meets similarly high, sport-specific athletic requirements.
In all sports with MIAC team postseason tournaments, including basketball and hockey, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the individual with the highest GPA on the active postseason roster of a playoff-qualifying team. In swimming & diving and indoor track & field, the winner is the individual with the highest GPA who was named All-Conference. Each winner must be a junior or senior and in at least their second full academic year at their current institution. Ties are broken by the number of credits earned at current institutions.
Berezowski (Jr. | Irvine, Calif. | Orange Lutheran) saw action in 18 games as a defender on the Royals’ men’s hockey team, helping Bethel secure a second consecutive MIAC Playoff berth in 2024-25. Berezowski is a business major with an emphasis in innovation and entrepreneurship and has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average at Bethel.
Fagerlind (Sr. | Kasson, Minn. | Kasson-Mantorville) helped lead Augsburg to the program’s first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III Women’s Hockey Tournament this winter as a defender for the MIAC champion Auggies. An accounting and finance major with a 4.0 at Augsburg, this is Fagerlind’s second consecutive Elite 22 honor in women’s hockey.
Gregg (Sr. | Colorado Springs, Colo. | Air Academy) earned a pair of All-Conference honors at the 2025 MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, helping the Royals to a first-place finish in the 4×400-meter relay (3:56.83) and adding a third-place result in the 4×200-meter relay (1:46.60). Gregg has a 4.0 GPA while majoring in elementary education (K-6) and teaching English as a second language at Bethel.
Isaacson (Sr. | St. Paul, Minn. | Central) picked up All-Conference honors in three individual events and five relays at the 2025 MIAC Swimming & Diving Championships. Isaacson won the 400 individual medley (2:06.27), was the runner-up in the 400 IM (4:34.22), and placed third in the 100 freestyle (53.14). She also helped the Gusties to relay crowns in the 200 freestyle relay (1:35.48) and 800 freestyle relay (7:42.47), runner-up results in the 200 medley relay (1:46.17) and 400 freestyle relay (3:33.97), and a third-place finish in the 400 medley relay (3:54.12). This is her second consecutive Elite 22 honor in women’s swimming & diving, as she has maintained a 4.0 GPA while majoring in both Spanish and geography with GIS concentration at Gustavus.
Lettner (Jr. | Trempealeau, Wis. | Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau) was a 25-game starter averaging nearly 30 minutes per game for the Cardinals in 2024-25. Lettner scored 176 points and registered 62 rebounds and 19 steals to help Saint Mary’s secure a berth in the MIAC Women’s Basketball Playoffs and the program’s highest winning percentage overall since the 2017-18 campaign. Lettner is an accounting major with a 4.0 GPA at SMU.
Smith (Sr. | Norwood Young America, Minn. | Central) won the 1000-meter run at the 2025 MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships with a time of 2:28.59 to set both personal and facility records in the event. He also earned All-Conference honors as the runner-up in the 800-meter run (1:55.12). This is Smith’s second Elite 22 Award of the 2024-25 academic year, having previously received the honor for the men’s cross country season last fall. Smith has a 4.0 GPA while majoring in public accounting at Gustavus.
Starcevich (Jr. | Blaine, Minn. | Spring Lake Park) picked up four All-Conference honors at the 2025 MIAC Swimming & Diving Championships in February, finishing as the individual runner-up in both the 50 (20.79) and 100 (45.69) freestyles in addition to swimming on the Oles’ second-place 400 freestyle relay (3:07.79) and third-place 200 freestyle relay (1:24.41) teams. He has a 4.0 GPA while majoring in mathematics at St. Olaf.
Thissen (Sr. | Rosemount, Minn. | Eastview) was named the MIAC Men’s Basketball Joe Hutton Offensive Player of the Year earlier this month after averaging 16.4 points and 2.8 assists per game for the regular season co-champion Johnnies. Thissen started all 16 conference games for Saint John’s and scored at least ten points in 15 of them while surpassing the 20-point plateau in five contests. Thissen is now a three-time recipient of the MIAC Elite 22 Award for men’s basketball, having previously received it in both 2022 and 2023. He has a 4.0 GPA while majoring in biochemistry with a pre-med focus at Saint John’s.
A physical award will be provided to the winners to commemorate their MIAC Elite 22 Award. The conference also recognizes the honorees on the MIAC Elite 22 Award website, which archives each of the winners throughout the academic year.
| 2024-25 MIAC Elite 22 Award | Elite 22 Home Page |
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