ST. PAUL, Minn. – Macalester College athletics had two student-athletes win the MIAC Elite 22 Award for their respective sports, the conference announced today. Junior Reece McKee (Charlottesville, VA./Charlottesville) won for men's cross country and junior midfielder Ian Staresinic (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) won for men's soccer.
 
The MIAC Elite 22 Award recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Modeled after the NCAA Elite 90 Award, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest GPA in cross country, volleyball and soccer who meet similarly high, athletic requirements.
 
A geography major, McKee has a cumulative grade point average of 4.00. This fall, McKee earned All-MIAC honors at the conference championships on Oct 28. He finished 14^th, with a time of 25:26.6, which helped the Scots to a fifth-place finish. He also earned All-Region honors on Nov 11. At the NCAA North Region Meet, McKee finished 24^th in a personal best time of 24:58.0.
 
A biology major, Staresinic has a cumulative grade point average of 3.98. This season, he played a fundamental part of the Scots' midfield, helping the Scots reach the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs. Staresinic started in all 19 games this fall and tallied a goal against Carleton on Oct 11. Macalester finished the season with a record of 11-3-5 (5-2-3 MIAC).
 
Click here for the MIAC's full release.