Miles Souza, Staff Writer
The winter sports season was one for the ages and was a season of broken records. Every team in the winter sports season had at least one record broken or milestone achievement. Six outstanding athletes were awarded and recognized by the Midwest Conference for their achievements.
Senior guard Hannah Welte’24 was awarded Second Team All-Midwest Conference recognition for the first time in her career. Welte was a force on defense like usual. Over the season, Welte picked up 65 steals, averaging 2.6 a game, which ranked her second in the conference in that category. Her 210 career steals put her fourth in program history.
To go along with her defense, Welte took a step up on offense and was one of the best scorers in the conference. Her 12.5 points per game ranked her top ten in the conference in points. She also ranked fourth from the free throw line, with an average of 76%.
Her teammate, Elizabeth Kalk’24, whom she’s shared the backcourt with since high school, was also awarded Second Team All-Conference. This was her second time being recognized. Kalk was a force to be reckoned with on offense.
She averaged 12.8 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game, both ranking ninth in the conference. She also averaged 3.4 assists per game, which placed her top three in that category. Kalk also became the 16th member of the 1000-point club and sits 11th on the all-time scoring list.
From the men’s team, center Azeez Ganiyu’24 was awarded First Team All-Conference. He was the first men’s basketball player to earn this recognition since the 2015-2016 season. Ganiyu was a force in the paint, racking up 12 double-doubles this season.
His 9.1 rebounds per game ranked him second in the Midwest Conference with 116 of those being offensive. He was first in that category, 42 more than the next best. He also ranked second in blocked shots with 39.
Senior sprinter Candis Damtse’24 was crowned women’s Midwest Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship Outstanding Track Performer. Damtse was dominant over the championship weekend and took home both the 200M and 400M championships. Her time of 59.01 in the 400 broke the Beloit school record by a half second and was also the only sub-minute time in the 400 this season.
Freshman swimmer Jeremy Mueller’27 was awarded Midwest Conference Male Newcomer of the Year. Mueller was dominant throughout the whole season, breaking 11 school records and nine personal records.
Mueller took home two conference titles in the 100 and 200 Freestyle. His time of 45.22 in the 100 was a MWC Championship meet record. He also placed first 18 times this season.
To round it off, diver Helena Harrison’25 earned Midwest Conference Female Diver of the Year. She took home the Midwest Conference title in the 1M dive. She also placed second in the 3M dive. Over the course of the season, she also broke the 1M and 3M Beloit dive records twice.
Featured Image Credit: Beloit College
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