https://midlandathletics.com en-us https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hjortkjaer_05-04-26 Lucas Hjortkjaer, a senior from Hvalsoe, Denmark, did well at his home track as he competed in the 1,500-Meter race in the 2026 GPAC Track & Field championships, held in Fremont. He led the field in the 1,500-meter run, claiming the conference title with a time of 3:54.28, helping the Warriors earn 6th place at the conference meet. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hjortkjaer_05-04-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Groninga_05-04-26 Mackenzie Groninga, a sophomore from Blair, Nebraska, played a pivotal role in the Warriors' Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament run that ended with a GPAC tournament championship victory. Groninga started three games, going seven innings in all three starts while also coming into two games in relief. She pitched 28.1 innings with a 4-1 record, giving up just four runs during her time in the circle and striking out 32. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Groninga_05-04-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Avila_03-16-26 Maci Avila, a senior from Henderson Nevada, earned All-American honors with a fourth-place finish in the 138-pound bracket at the NAIA Nationals. After receiving a first-round bye, the No. 6 seed opened with a 10-0 technical fall before falling to Samantha Barragan of Texas Wesleyan in the quarterfinals. Avila responded with three straight consolation wins to secure All-American status, including an 11-4 decision over Hastings’ Reagan Gallaway and a 13-6 victory against Ottawa’s Aileen Lester. She fell to Barragan in the third-place match by technical fall, finishing the season 25-9. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Avila_03-16-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Avila_3-02-26 Maci Avila, a senior from Henderson Nevada, captured the conference championship in the 138 weight class and qualified for nationals at the GPAC championships over the weekend. Avila defeated Ari Hen (Waldorf) by fall at 1:56, then topped Lisa Hoeflich (Hastings) by technical fall, 10-0, at 1:51 in the semifinals. In the championship bout, Avila upset fourth-ranked Reagen Gallaway (Hastings) by decision, 8-4. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Avila_3-02-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bell_02-09-26 Taylor Bell, a senior from Brandon Manitoba, helped the Warriors with five goal contributions in Midland's 10-2 win over Colorado State on Friday as the Warriors returned to the Sidner Ice Arena for the first time in two months. Bell scored two goals at the end of the first period before earning two assists in the second and one in the third for three total assists in the game. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bell_02-09-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bell_03-23-26 Taylor Bell, a senior from Brandon Manitoba, played a pivotal role in Midland’s 4-0 run at the ACHA Championships, helping the program secure its first national championship. Bell scored two goals in the tournament, including an overtime winner in the final game of pool play to lift Midland to a 1-0 victory against Adrian and clinch a spot in the semifinals. After the Warriors’ 4-3 overtime win against Maryville in the semifinals, Bell delivered again in the national championship game against Liberty. With the score tied 3-3, 118 minutes into the game, in the third overtime period, and Midland on the power play, Bell’s initial shot was stopped, but she collected the rebound and fired it over the goalkeeper’s left shoulder and into the net for the game-winner to secure the Championship for the Warriors. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bell_03-23-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bell_092225 Taylor Bell, a senior from Brandon Manitoba, played a pivotal part in the Warriors' three-game sweep of Lindenwood over the weekend. In the Warriors' 10-0 win on Friday, Bell scored two goals and earned an assist before earning an assist on Saturday and two more goals on Sunday in games that finished with scores of 7-0 and 6-0, respectively. Over the three games, Bell racked up four goals and two assists, bringing her total up to four goals and five assists on the season. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bell_092225 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bernard_4-27-26 Ja’Myri Bernard, a sophomore from Lafayette, Louisiana, turned in a strong performance at the Prairie Wolf Outdoor Invite on Friday. He placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.32 seconds. Bernard also competed in two relay events, running on the 4x100-meter relay alongside Jameson Painter, Jason Jeffers and Aiden Mountain, as well as the 4x400-meter relay with Raheem Richards, Noah Sherman and Chris Medlock. Both relay teams finished second. The 4x100 posted a time of 42.51 seconds, while the 4x400 finished in 3:19.70, a mark that ranks fourth all-time in program history. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bernard_4-27-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Berry_12-1-25 Tyra Berry, a freshman from Milbank South Dakota, performed well in the Warriors' game against College of Saint Mary on Tuesday. Berry came off the bench to play 28 minutes and lead the team in scoring with 15 points, shooting 5-12 from the field and 4-8 from behind the three-point line. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Berry_12-1-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bliss_092925 Brayden Bliss, a senior from Tuttle Oklahoma, finished as the meet runner-up when the Warriors traveled to Grand Island, Nebraska, to compete in the 2025 Prairie Circuit Conference (PCC) Shoot over the weekend. Bliss connected on 467 of 500 targets while his team hit 2,378 of a possible 2,500 targets to finish second at the shoot. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Bliss_092925 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Campbell_10-6-25 Victoria Campbell, a freshman from Embro Ontario, played a pivotal part in the Warriors' sweep of Minnesota over the weekend. In the first game, in which Midland won 14-1, Campbell played a part in five of the 14 goals, earning two goals and assisting three. In the second game on Sunday, she was the standout performer, scoring five goals and assisting two in the Warriors' 13-0 win, bringing her overall total to seven goals and five assists for the weekend. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Campbell_10-6-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Castellanos_10-20-25 Addison Castellanos, a senior from Murrieta California, lead the Warriors to their first conference win on Saturday as they beat Waldorf 3-0 in Forest City, Iowa. Castellanos got the scoring started in the 10th minute with a penalty kick goal before doubling the lead just after the start of the second half. That puts her total on the year at five as she leads the team in goals this year. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Castellanos_10-20-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Denkert_11-10-25 Tyson Denkert, a senior from Kenesaw Nebraska, ran for 248 yards and eclipsed the Midland University all-time career rushing record as the Warriors defeated the Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers, 45-7, Saturday afternoon at Joe Quintal Field. Now at 3,370 career rushing yards, Denkert surpassed the mark held by Shawn Riley, who ran for 3,245 yards, a record set 28 years ago in 1997. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Denkert_11-10-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Feit_11-17-25 Aria Feit, a senior from Lincoln Nebraska, led Midland in a highly contested dual with Morningside on Saturday. The Mustangs eventually won by just a point, but Feit was the top competitor for the Warriors, earning two first-place finishes in the 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle events. She finished the 1,000 in 11:41.03, one minute and 19 seconds in front of second place, and the 500 in 5:46.53, 21 seconds in front of second. She also swam the anchor leg in Midland's first-place finish at the 400-yard medley relay event to kick off the dual, swimming the final 100 yards in 59.17 seconds.  https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Feit_11-17-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Garcia_10-6-25 Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran, a senior from Barcelona Spain, scored the winning goal to give Midland the victory over 11th-ranked Bellevue on Wednesday. With the game tied 1-1 in the 79th minute, Hugo Garcia stepped up to take a free kick from 30 yards out before curling the ball into the top right corner to give Midland the 2-1 victory, cementing themselves in the NAIA top 25 coaches poll. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Garcia_10-6-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Garcia_9-8-25 Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran, a senior from Barcelona Spain, had one goal and two assist in the Warriors 3-0 win over York on Wednesday. The reigning GPAC offensive player of the year has five goals in the first five games of the season as he looks to improve on his junior year where he scored 12 goals and had four assists. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Garcia_9-8-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Gibson_092225 Tom Gibson, a senior from Bury St. Edmunds England, scored his first collegiate goal in the Warriors' 2-1 away win at Dordt on Saturday. Gibson was pushed forward from his center-back position because of a corner when Jaime Jerez lofted a ball back into the box. Gibson was able to break free inside the six-yard box and head home the opening goal. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Gibson_092225 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Guthard_9-29-25 Sydney Guthard, a Sophomore from Hickman Nebraska, played a pivotal part in the Warriors' pair of wins this week. In the Warriors' win over Doane on Wednesday, Guthard racked up 17 digs and three assists before picking up five more digs on Saturday in the sweep of Dakota Wesleyan. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Guthard_9-29-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hardy_2-2-26 Krista Hardy, a senior from Plattsmouth, performed well at the Concordia Classic over the weekend. After earning first place in the high jump last week with a successful 1.63-meter jump at the Cyclone Open, Hardy earned silver this week after completing the 1.61-meter jump but failing at 1.66 meters. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hardy_2-2-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hardy_2-23-26 Krista Hardy, a senior from Plattsmouth Nebraska, outperformed the field at this year's GPAC championships in Sioux Center, Iowa. Hardy cleared a season's best 1.66 meters in the high jump, earning the NAIA B standard and the GPAC championship as the best high jumper in the conference. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hardy_2-23-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hardy_3-9-26 Krista Hardy, a senior from plattsmouth Nebraska, represented Midland University at the NAIA Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday. More than 1,000 athletes from NAIA member schools gathered at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center as Krista Hardy secured all-American honors for the second time in her career after finishing eighth in the high jump with a leap of 1.61 meters, tying with four other jumpers. Hardy completed the 1.61 jump on her first try before failing at 1.66 three times to end her competition and finish in the last all-American spot. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hardy_3-9-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hjortkjaer_01-26-26 Lucas Hjortkjaer, a senior from Hvalsoe Denmark, continued his strong senior season among a field of NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and junior colleges athletes at the Cyclone Open in Ames, Iowa, hosted by Iowa State University. Hjortkjaer led the pack in the 1,000 meters, finishing first overall with a time of 2:27.73, besting his season-best time that he ran at the Dordt Open on January 10th by 2.74 seconds. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hjortkjaer_01-26-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hjortkjaer_10-20-25 Lucas Hjortkjaer, a junior from Hvalso Denmark, paced the field at the Platte River Rumble on Friday, placing first overall (25:23.6) out of 70 runners from all levels of athletics. He was in fifth place at the 5,000-meter mark and took the lead at 7,000 meters, holding off a pack of runners from Creighton University as the Bluejays took spots two through six. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hjortkjaer_10-20-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hodges_4-06-26 Holiness Hodges, a freshman from Tacoma, Washington, was pivotal in the Warriors' two wins this past week against Graceland and Baker. While she had 15 receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown offensively between the two games, it was her defense that helped Midland earn two shutout victories. In the 26-0 win over Graceland, she had four solo tackles and one tackle for loss to go with two interceptions, one of which she returned for 65 yards all the way to the house for a touchdown. In the 12-0 upset win over Baker, Hodges had four and a half tackles and two pass breakups. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hodges_4-06-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hodnet_4-27-26 Emma Hodnet, a senior from Commerce City, Colorado, had a standout week, helping the Warriors to a 3-1 record and the GPAC regular-season title. In a 2-1 victory over Morningside in the second game on Friday, Hodnet got the scoring started with an RBI double in the fourth inning as Midland earned a split in the series and entered the final day of the regular season tied for first place with three other teams. On Saturday, when the Warriors needed it most, Hodnet went 4-for-8, including a decisive three-run home run in the sixth inning of game two with the score tied at 2-2. Midland went on to sweep Doane and secure at least a share of the GPAC title. For the week, Hodnet batted 7-for-16 with two runs, one double, two home runs, six RBIs, one walk, and one stolen base. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Hodnet_4-27-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Johnson-10-13-25 Brodey Johnson, a junior from North Bend, Nebraska, had a record-setting day in the Warriors' 60-52 double overtime comeback win over 17th-ranked Concordia. After being down 31-7 at the half, Johnsen led Midland's comeback attempt, scoring 38 points in the second half to send it into overtime. After Johnson threw for touchdowns in the first and second overtime, Midland's defense came up with a stop to secure the win. Johnson ended up completing 37 of 60 passes for 424 yards and seven touchdowns, all school records. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Johnson-10-13-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Jones_11-10-25 Lauren Jones, a sophomore from Omaha Nebraska, helped the Warriors reverse sweep Hastings in the final game of the regular season before leading the team in hitting percentage in Midland's GPAC opening round sweep of College of Saint Mary. Jones earned 13 kills in the five-set win over the Broncos before earning eight kills on 11 total attacks in the sweep of the Flames. She also earned six block assists, eight digs, and one assist over the two games. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Jones_11-10-25 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Kopecky_4-06-26 Lawson Kopecky, a freshman from Lincoln, Nebraska, played a big role in Midland's 2-0 week against Ottawa and Missouri Valley. In the Warriors' 19-0 win over Ottawa on Wednesday, Kopecky played both goal scorer and playmaker, earning four goals and four assists. On Saturday, Kopecky focused on goal scoring, firing seven goals into the back of the net to help secure the 18-1 victory on the road at Missouri Valley. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Kopecky_4-06-26 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Kuffler_102725 Ashlyn Kuffler, a freshman from Chilliwack British Columbia, played a huge part in helping the second-ranked Warriors win three out of four games over the weekend, including a sweep of first-ranked McKendree University on Thursday and Friday. Kuffler scored one goal and one assist in the two games versus McKendree before scoring two goals in Midland's 2-0 win over fifth-ranked Maryville on Saturday. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Kuffler_102725 https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Lordeus_12-1-25 Butch Lordeus, a junior from Deerfield Beach Florida, led the team with 28 points in their out-of-conference game against Clarke on Sunday after the snow postponed the game a day. Lordeus went 6-9 from three and 10-14 from the field as he scored eight points in the first two and a half minutes, with Midland bursting out to a 17-0 lead after starting the game going 7-7. https://midlandathletics.com/aotw/Lordeus_12-1-25