Rochester, MN-
Following strong performances over the course of the 2018 NJCAA softball season, two student-athletes from the Minnesota College Athletic Conference have earned NJCAA Softball All-America honors.
Talyn McClaflin and Kayla Christopherson of Itasca Community College were each tabbed to the prestigious year-end teams. Additionally, several MCAC athletes from both the Southern and Northern Division of the MCAC softball ranks were tabbed in the inaugrual FastPitch News (FPN) post-season teams.
.607 Batting Average 11 Home Runs 75 RBI's .972 Slugging % Freshman Big Lake, Minnesota |
Itasca Community College finished second in the competitive MCAC Northern Division this past spring, with McClaflin leading the Vikings to a 6-2 Northern Division record and 26-19 overall mark. The Big Lake, Minnesota product finished 2018 second in the nation in both batting average at .607 and RBI's with 75. McClaflin was a key factor in the 4-3 post-season record for ICC across the NJCAA Region XIIIB and National Championships and scored a total of 56 times for the Vikings.
ICC also relied heavily on fellow Viking All-America Kayla Christopherson. A sophomore infielder from Zimmerman, Minnesota, Christopherson hit for a .555 average in 2018, with 76 hits in 137 at-bats. She had 38 RBI's and scored 63 runs herself over the course of the spring. Christopherson excelled defensively as well for head coach Kyle Erickson, turning in a .937 fielding percentage. Her ability to set the table for Itasca as their leadoff hitter allowed for teammate McClaflin to produce great offensive numbers in both MCAC and NJCAA competition.
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.555 Batting Average 63 Runs Scored 76 Total Hits .937 Fielding % Sophomore Zimmerman, Minnesota |
.The full list of NJCAA Division III Softball All-America teams is at: http://www.njcaa.org/sports/sball/2017-18/div3/all-americans/index
In addition to the NJCAA Division III Softball All-America teams released today, the Fastpitch News (FPN) Coaches Association has also named an All-America group for all college softball levels, including the Division III NJCAA programs.
Included on the FPN post-season All-America teams from the Minnesota College Athletic Conference are:
Talyn McClaflin, Itasca Community College, Player-of-the-Year, 1st Team
Teizha Kaluna, Northland Community & Technical College, 1st Team
Andrea Wagoner, Central Lakes College, 1st Team
Lisa Kossan, Central Lakes College, 1st Team
Kayla Christopherson, Itasca Community College, 1st Team
Sam Lupkes, M State-Fergus Falls, 2nd Team
Lindsey Swanson, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, 2nd Team
Alex Saxhaug, Mesabi Range College, Honorable Mention
Aby Kienholz, Ridgewater College Honorable Mention
Ashley Pool, St. Cloud Technical & Community College, Honorable Mention
Anna Peters, Itasca Community College, Honorable Mention
For the FPN release, please visit: https://fastpitchnews.com/college-softball-news/2018-fpn-njcaa-diii-all-american-team/352331
Complete Minnesota College Athletic Conference softball information, including final stats, standings, All-Division teams an more is available at: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/sball/index
This release sponsored in part by:
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About the Minnesota College Athletic Conference
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State system. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.