UMD Bulldogs "ALLETE" Moments: Classroom
Throughout this year, UMD Athletics is partnering with Minnesota Power, ALLETE to highlight the Bulldogs accomplishments in the 3 C's: Classroom, Competition, Community. 


25 University of Minnesota Duluth Division II senior student athletes representing 13 sports have earned a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award for 2025-2026.


Those Bulldogs are:

Kira Almsberger  -- Track/CC
Emily Bastian -- Track & Field 
Justine Carsrud -- Track & Field 
Carly Chaney -- Tennis 
Kaycee Chavez -- Soccer 
Taylor Dawyduk -- Softball 
Paige Decker -- Volleyball 
Kate Fitzgerald -- Track & Field 
Alaina Hageman -- Track/CC 
Thomas Hanson -- Baseball 
Alex Heidorn -- Track/CC 
Kendal Jenkins -- Softball 
Ava Johnson -- Softball 
Caden Klebba -- Baseball 
Connor Kostynick -- Track & Field 
Miriam Marsan -- Soccer Eden 
Marybeth Mathews -- Track & Field 
Myra Moorjani -- Basketball 
Sarah Osborne -- Soccer
Jake Raines -- Football 
Gabriel Richardson -- Baseball 
Megan Sandgren -- Track & Field 
Kyle Walljasper -- Football 
Elizabeth VanLoon -- Track/CC 
Maria Zanotti  -- Soccer 

The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to NSIC academic senior student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher (student-athletes can only earn the award once). Each student-athlete will be recognized by the NSIC with a certificate of achievement and a wristwatch. A total of 324 student-athletes from the NSIC's 16 institutions received the award in its 17th year.


Dr. Myles N. Brand, visionary leader, educator and reformer, served as the President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 2003-2009. He passed away in September 2009 at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Brand presided over passage of the most comprehensive academic reform package for intercollegiate athletics in recent history – a package that refocused the attention of student-athletes, coaches and administrators on the education of student-athletes. Brand also changed the national dialog on college sports to emphasize the educational value of athletics participation and the integration of intercollegiate athletics with the academic mission of higher education. His impact on Division II ran deep by implementing an identity campaign and a strategic-positioning platform tied to specific divisional attributes. He challenged Division II to continue its game environment and community engagement focus, and improve academic success rates.


About Minnesota Power, ALLETE:
Our bold vision centers on our commitment to climate, customers and communities. We're a clean-energy leader under our EnergyForward strategy, already delivering 50% renewable energy ahead of all other Minnesota utilities. Now we're doubling down on that with a vision to deliver 100% carbon-free energy to customers reliably and affordably by 2050. Learn more at: https://www.mnpower.com/CarbonFreeEnergyVision