All-America Honors for MCAC Softball Athletes

All-America Honors for MCAC Softball Athletes

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. 

 

.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: 

The United Heroes League seeks to keep military kids healthy and active through sports while their parents are serving the nation.  The United Heroes League is headquartered in Hastings, Minnesota and offers several opportunities for colleges, businesses, organizations and individuals to help support their cause.  The #1 goal for the United Heros League is to ensure that all 5 million military kids are able to develop critical life skills through sports.  This intense focus on youth development and serving the families of our miliary service members motivates the United Heroes League to keep programs focused. This focus has also inspired over 90 professional athletes and over 30 sports franchises to lend their name and support to the United Heroes League.

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.