BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) recognized some of its best and brightest spring sport student-athletes on Monday with the announcement of the spring sports Elite 22 Awards. Gustavus was well represented as Carter Clemensen (So., Cologne, Minn.) received the baseball Elite 22 Award and Michael O’Neil (Jr., Edina, Minn.) took home the men’s tennis honor.
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 his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her 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 has also met similarly high sport-specific athletic requirements.
In all sports with MIAC team postseason tournaments, including baseball, softball and tennis, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the individual with the highest GPA on the active roster at the MIAC Playoff championship contest. In outdoor track and field, the winner is the individual with the highest GPA who was named All-Conference. The recipient must be a sophomore, junior or senior and in at least his or her second season of competition with their current team.
Clemensen, an exercise physiology major with a 3.89 GPA, started in 35 of 37 games at second base for the Gusties, tallying a .281 batting average (34-121) with 25 runs and 15 RBI. Clemensen tied for the team lead with eight doubles, posted 10 multiple-hit games, and safely reached base for a stretch of 13 consecutive games. In the field, Clemensen made 68 assists, 49 putouts, and six errors for a fielding percentage of .951. After two years as the starting second baseman, Clemensen has helped the Gusties achieve a 45-31 overall record and 25-15 mark in the MIAC, including the first conference championship since 1980.
O’Neil, a philosophy and economics double major with a 4.00 GPA, earns his second consecutive MIAC Elite 22 Award. O’Neil continues to add to his list of accolades after recently receiving CoSIDA Academic All-District and MIAC All-Conference honors. This season, O’Neil went 14-9 overall and 6-0 in the MIAC in singles, and 17-10 overall in doubles with a 6-1 mark in the conference. O’Neil spent the majority of the season at No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles. O’Neil has been on three MIAC championship teams, having never lost a single conference match, and has been on three NCAA tournament teams.