St. Paul – The Three Crowns highlighted this year’s 2012-13 MIAC Men’s Golf Awards released Monday by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Gusties took home two of the conference’s three individual honors by claiming the Player-of-the-Year and Coach-of-the-Year awards. Senior Alex Kolquist (Hermantown, Minn.) was named the MIAC Men’s Golf Player-of-the-Year, while his coach, Scott Moe, was voted the MIAC Men’s Golf Coach-of-the-Year.
St. Olaf freshman Charlie Johnson rounded out the top honors by receiving the MIAC Men’s Golf Freshman-of-the-Year award.
The MIAC Men’s Golf Awards were nominated by and voted on by the conference’s head coaches. The 2012 MIAC All-Conference team was determined by their performance at the conference championships in the fall, and was honored at that time.
Alex Kolquist was voted the league’s top player in 2012-13 after a tremendous season and an unforgettable performance at the MIAC Championships. While most of the golfers struggled in the cold, windy conditions, Kolquist thrived, shooting a nine-under-par 207 over the course of the three-day tournament. With his performance, the senior broke the previous MIAC Championships record and set a new 54-hole school record.
This season, Kolquist led the MIAC with a 72.6 scoring average, which was 1.5 shots better than anyone else in the league. The MIAC Individual Medalist played in 10 events, finishing in the top 20 all but once with seven top-10 finishes and five appearances in the top five. Kolquist will lead Gustavus at the 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships this week in Destin, Fla. His stroke average is currently ranked fifth in NCAA Division III.
Scott Moe, now in his 16th season at the helm of the program, was voted the MIAC’s top coach in 2012-13 after guiding his team to its seventh conference championship in his tenure. The Gusties will make their 14th NCAA Division III Golf Championships appearance under Moe’s direction this week in Destin, Fla. His team’s league-best 298.2 scoring average was the only average in the MIAC below 300. The Gusties team played in 10 events this season, finishing third or better every time out, with five first-place finishes and a pair of runner-up efforts. He coached a trio of All-Conference players and Kolquist to MIAC medalist and Player-of-the-Year honors in 2012-13, as his team captured the conference title by a 16-shot margin. Moe has been named the MIAC Coach-of-the-Year eight times with the last coming in 2010.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the seventh annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for men’s golf. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition. Representing the Gusties on this year’s team is Andrew Oakes (Jr., Hermantown, Minn.).
Matt Higgins of the MIAC contributed to this release.