Winona, MN-
As the 2019-20 fall sports season across the Minnesota College Athletic Conference draw to a close, Nicklasson Athletic, the United States Marine Corps and Adidas - the signature sponsors of the MCAC honors and awards programs - look to recognize mentors selected for exemplary performance with their teams.
Divisional Coach-of-the-Year awards were decided by the coaches, as well as a Region COY honors; the following list represents those elected by their peers for having a great season. MCAC Coach-of-the-Year awards are sponsored by Nicklasson Athletic, the United States Marine Corps and Adidas; for more, please visit: https://www.mcacsports.org/general/2019-20/releases/20190725pmu42a
2019 Fall Sports MCAC Coaches-of-the-Year
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MCAC Volleyball Southern Division Co-Coach-of-the-Year Amber Zitzow Rochester CTC Jen Watson Western Technical College |
Western Technical College volleyball coach Jen Watson and RCTC's Amber Zitzow shared COY honors in the MCAC South for 2019. Amber Zitzow has built the Rochester Community & Technical College Yellowjacket volleyball program into a National power in the NJCAA Division ranks. This past fall, Zitzow led RCTC to a 31-4 overall record and impressive 14-0 MCAC Southern Division mark. The Yellowjackets finished 4th in the NJCAA Division III National Tournament. Jen Watson of Western Technical College led the Cavaliers to their best season in several years; WTC finished two matches above .500 this year at 13-11 and were 6-8 in MCAC Southern Division play. |
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MCAC Volleyball Northern Division Coach-of-the-Year
Jane Peterson Central Lakes College |
Jane Peterson concluded her 29th MCAC season at Central Lakes like many before it; as a champion. The Raiders went 12-2 in MCAC play and swept the Region XIIIB tournament to earn their bid to nationals Central Lakes was 21-14 overall in 2019. |
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MCAC Football Western Division Co-Coaches-of-the-Year
Eric Issendorf NDSCS
Jeff Linder Minnesota West CTC |
Eric Issendorf, NDSCS (top) and Jeff Linder Minnesota West (bottom) tied for Coach-of-the-Year honors in the Western Division of MCAC Football. Issendorf's Wildcat squad spent much of the 2019 season in the NJCAA Top 20 poll and concluded the season at a 8-2 overall record.
Linder led his team back to the post-season in 2019, producing a strong 6-4 overall mark and 2-2 Western Division tally.
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MCAC Football Eastern Division Coach-of-the-Year
Robb Kolodziej Central Lakes College |
Robb Kolodziej guided his Central Lakes College squad through some early-season challenges; sitting at 0-5 in mid-September, the Raiders reeled off six successive wins to qualify for the MCAC post-season in a must-win game over Northland, and eventually capturing the MCAC State Championship. |
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MCAC Men's Soccer Co-Coach-of-the-Year
Frank Spaeth Riverland
Brady Eichhorn-Hicks Anoka-Ramsey |
Riverland's Frank Spaeth (top) and Anoka-Ramsey's Brady Eichhorn-Hicks (bottom) tied in voting for COY honors for MCAC men's soccer in 2019. Riverland finished the season with a 9-6-1 mark, putting together a 9-2 run in their last 11 games.
Anoka-Ramsey CC continued their dominance of the Region XIII Men's Soccer Championship, winning in OT over the Blue Devils and moving on the the 2019 District Tournament. The Golden Rams went 9-6-1 in 2019 under Eichhorn-Hicks.
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MCAC Women's Soccer Co-Coach-of-the-Year
Brady Eichhorn-Hicks Anoka-Ramsey
Bryan Weiss Rochester CTC |
Brady Eichhorn-Hicks and RCTC's Brian Weiss share the COY award in MCAC women's soccer. Eichhorn-Hicks led Anoka-Ramsey to the 2019 Region XIII Championship and advanced the Golden Rams to the Great Lakes District championship; they were an impressive 9-3-1 this past fall.
Under Weiss, the resurgent Yellowjacket program put together it's best season in several years, going 7-6-2 overall and advancing to the Region XIII Final. Weiss mentored GK Fatima Sanchez-Hernandez, who was top-5 nationally in saves.
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NJCAA Region XIII Football Coach-of-the-Year
Robb Kolodziej Central Lakes College |
Robb Kolodziej pushed all the right buttons in the post-season for Central Lakes, leading the 4th seeded Raiders to two successive road wins and ultimately the MCAC State Championship, in a 47-19 win over Itasca Community College.
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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.