Who are the best players in the North Central region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
I’m one of the coaches for the Grinnell women’s & non-binary team. I would just like to give a huge shoutout to our senior captains Rui (Betty) Lin (11), Sara Garcia (4), and Lucy Leither (22). These women are incredibly impactful both on and off the field.
Betty has been an incredible defensive force for us these past few years. She has a great eye for the field which helps her come down with jump balls and find smart opportunities to get D’s. She has been a great example for our handlers and has insane flick hucks that help kick start our D lines offensive flow.
Sara is a workhorse through and through. I can’t count the number of handblocks I’ve watched her get - there are too many. She is a very smart cutter using her speed to beat opponents on deep cuts or out work them in the under space. I’ve also watched her get some crazy layout catches, her last one was to take half on Macalester in the backdoor bracket.
Lucy is a great handler defender repeatedly shutting down reset options and limiting other team’s backfield movement. Offensively she is incredibly smart, both helping cue up other cutters down field and knows exactly how to get open when she is needed. She also does a great job of always winning the disc even when she’s under tough pressure. She made the Chad Larson Experience last summer and playing with that team shows whenever she’s on the field.
These three are also just incredible leaders. I wish I could show everyone the thought and care they put into everything they do for this team. This was an incredibly selfless group of women and I’m excited to see what they do post-graduation.
2 Likes
Grace Milhaupt from St Olaf Vortext for sure! An amazing players, super versatile, changes their whole offense!
Seconding this! Grace is amazing. Leina Goto for sure deserves an all-region nod, she’s the cornerstone of Vortex.
Michigan Tech coach checking in.
I can only really speak for the teams that we played against at Regionals.
Grinnell: Lucy and Betty were consistent matchups that we prepped for. Lucy was a downfield workhorse that required changing the look repeatedly. Betty was a problem for us last year and continued to give us fits this year. Both very deserving of an all-region look.
Winona State: Everything ran through Greta, strong throws and defensive intensity. Clear leader for the group.
Carleton: Massive stable of talent but hard to overstate how important Frankie is for this group. When the pressure was on in our game to go Frankie was the one who kept everything steady and was making the massive plays that you would expect from your star.
Michigan Tech:
To avoid writing a novel for everyone on our tiny roster I will limit myself to 3 that caused an pretty outsized impact.
McKenna Dawson(#9) - Senior captain, emotional leader and offensive handler. Kenna used her size and throws all year long. She suffered a concussion mid season and we missed her at a tournament, she made a full recovery before regionals and was incredibly impactful despite missing a month of training.
Haniya Frayer(#2) - Niya is a junior captain and workhorse of a player. Plays as many points a needed with a smile on her face and a nearly unmatched motor. During the game to go we had to literally rip an out of her arm between points because she refused to take a break to get it fully removed while others were playing. Huge pulls with both hands.
Harlo Plendl(#10) - A theme that we had over the weekend from other coaches was “how do we stop #10” . Great question, if I knew, I would tell you. Harlo is a sophomore and is one of the most improved players we have. They could not throw a flick last year but their speed and athleticism was unmatched. This year their throws and field sense made them a matchup nightmare that I am certain would have drawn heads in the PNW at nationals.
Coach shoutout - Bex and Nick coaching both the Grinnell Women’s team and Men’s team. It is a big task and they do it well. Cameron and the whole Carleton staff is always a delight to play against. So kind and still intense. Coaching in this region is such a privilege.